To give back to the community, Benjamin Perlin works at his local Habitat for Humanity Re-Store and also volunteers at a local veterans’ home. In the past, Benjamin Perlin has donated his time to several other organizations in the Nashville area. One of the nonprofits where Ben Perlin volunteered is Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, which undertakes a number of different programs to address hunger in Nashville and surrounding towns.

One of the organization’s unique programs is Project Preserve. Through this initiative, Second Harvest provides meals and other necessities to Feeding America food banks and partner agencies across the country. The organization leverages its logistics and manufacturing abilities to create tray-pack meals, boil-in-a-bag food items, disaster relief kits, and other custom products. 

Project Preserve aims to extend the life of perishable products so that they can meet the needs of hungry people across the nation. Through a cook-chill manufacturing facility, the program can produce more than 50 different boil-in-a-bag products. These nutritious meals undergo thorough USDA inspection and help food pantries and partner agencies across the nation provide nutritious, easily prepared foods. Many of these products end up in Meals-On-Wheels programs or in mobile pantry distributions.