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It's in the bag! Partnership with LyondellBasell yields unique results
In October, LyondellBasell graciously agreed to support the program for three months by donating 16,500 pounds of plastic resin to make the bags pledged to the Houston Food Bank. LyondellBasell’s donation included extra resin to Victory Plastic, who agreed to manufacture the bags, to cover the cost of making the bags produced for the Food Bank.
“This partnership saved the Houston Food Bank approximately $15,000 last fall, which allowed us to distribute an additional 45,000 meals with the funds saved,” says Kreger. “Linking one of the plastic industry’s largest producers of resin with one of the nation’s largest hunger relief agencies – both right here in Houston – is a natural fit,” said Tim Roberts, LyondellBasell Executive Vice President of Olefins and Polyolefins – Americas. “This is another example of how the products we produce are helping improve the quality of life for people around the world and how we engage in the communities where we operate.”
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This unusual partnership began with an idea from John Kreger, director of product resources for the Houston Food Bank, to approach companies that might donate plastic resin and manufacturing to create bags for several Food Bank programs that rely on bags. We use approximately 63,000 recyclable plastic bags each month, so partnering with a donor for bags could be a great savings to us. Kreger spoke with Jeff Applegate, president of the Greater Houston Manufacturing Association, who liked the idea and sent several e-mails on our behalf. The e-mail caught the attention of Bill Diecks, a member of The South Texas Section of the Society of Plastics Engineers, who then contacted several companies that manufacture the resin to see if they would be interested. 
LyondellBasell’s generous donation will provide 93,000 quart-size bags that are used for repacking bulk rice and bean donations into portions for family boxes (31,000 used monthly), and 96,000 recyclable plastic shopping bags used for the Backpack Buddy program to pack nutritious nonperishable foods for selected kids to take home for the weekend (32,000 used monthly).
LyondellBasell has committed to donating an additional quarter’s worth of resin, but the Food Bank is currently seeking a partner to donate the manufacturing component. If you are interested in donating the bag manufacturing, please contact 
