We have a small staff compared to most food banks (regional warehouse & distribution centers) – 18 to be exact. It is very important that our staff is on the same page with our planning and efforts to drive our programming to the highest possible level of impact we can produce. We could not reach the people we reach without lots of help from lots of people.
We work with a dedicated group of agency partners who are on the front lines of distributing food to struggling people through church food pantries, soup kitchens and community centers.
These dedicated people have devoted many years to opening their doors to the community to serve as each feels called to do so by conscience or faith and sometimes both.
Our connections continue now through the school systems in several counties. We will have 12 schools in several counties now working with us to reach struggling parents and their children with not just food assistance, but new positive relationships that are building the foundation for children to improve and consider a brighter future that they had thought about before. There are even connections within each school program with local churches, businesses, organizations and individuals that have come together to foster this relationship.
We have a direct service program for food distribution in each county called the Tailgate Distribution. This is happening with the support of some very dedicated volunteers who brave the elements and use their hands and backs to get large amounts of food out to a large number of people in a short time. Many locations are staffed by unique volunteers who have stepped up to help for many years.
We are also blessed to have thousands of volunteers who come to our warehouse and help keep our office running, pack and sort food and help keep the facility very clean.
Some come for a special “community work day”. Some come for the reason of satisfying a class requirement or a service learning project, but many come just because they see a need and want to be a part of the solution.
For all of this to function smoothly requires intense coordination by this small staff of people who all are striving to do their best. We feel the effect very quickly when someone is sick or on vacation. This effort allows millions of pounds of food to get into the hands of those who would do without if we weren’t here. This food would be in the landfill and tens of thousands of people would not be eating around the table tonight. In the course of the work week it could easy to begin to take for granted all the human resources we have connection with throughout the 8 counties to make a difference for many people we will never meet. But, it is important to stop and acknowledge all who are involved and just say thank you for all you do to help us all pull in the same direction.