Saturday, August 23, 2008

Mobile food bank operators want to help Socorro County

Julia M. Dendinger Valencia County News-Bulletin

Special to El Defensor Chieftain

MEADOW LAKE — It is an admittedly clichéd saying, but it really was all about people helping people Aug. 18 in Meadow Lake. More than 100 people lined up in front of San Juan Diego Mission just before 1 p.m. to get a little help in the form of fresh produce and staple foods.

Thanks to the Mobile Food Pantry, a new program from the Roadrunner Food Bank and the local parish monthly food distribution, close to 130 Meadow Lake families received bread, bags of potatoes, fresh cabbage, and canned and dry goods.

"This is such a great program. There are no restrictions, and we will go anywhere the truck can go," said Alissa Wolfe, the mobile pantry manager. "This allows us to go places and help people who don't have regular access to food pantries or soup kitchens.

"A lot of the areas we are going to don't have grocery stores either. We are concentrating on Lincoln County — it's 100 miles to a supermarket, and when you get there, you have to fill up your gas tank and there's nothing left for food."

The 2,500 pounds of food from the mobile pantry were brought to Meadow Lake through the sponsorship of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Roadrunner communications officer Sonya Warwick said.

"While we do serve more than 240,000 hungry New Mexicans every year, we estimate that there are still 100,000 we don't reach because they can't get to a food pantry or soup kitchen in our service area," Warwick said.

Solomon Moya of the Peralta St. Vincent de Paul conference, said Linda Strasburg, the archdiocesan president of the society, contacted him about finding a location in Valencia County for the mobile food pantry to visit.

"There are a lot of people who can't get into our centers in the valley," Moya said. "The need is great; people have to spend so much money on transportation right now, it's difficult to get food sometimes."

Deacon Steve Rangel, the director of deacons and pastoral outreach for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, said it is a constant battle to reach out to the poor in rural communities. "It sounds trite, but this really is people helping people," he said. "The community is coming together and working hand in hand to provide for their needs."

Strasburg said the society was happy to work with the local parish's food distribution program, which has been running for about four years. "The food from the Roadrunner Food Bank can feed about 50 families," she said. "All we need is a parking lot, a sponsoring organization and some volunteers."

To bring the 2,500 pounds of food to a distribution site, Roadrunner needs a sponsor. "It can be a business or an individual. The food is about four cents per pound, so that's $100 a month," Warwick said. "We ask for a 12-month commitment so that people in the community know the distributions will be consistent."

Strasburg and Warwick said there are no income or residency restrictions placed on food recipients. "We don't ask for proof of income or legal status," Strasburg said. "We do ask for a name, address and phone number and we only use that information if there is a food recall."

Wolfe said that, as the manager of the mobile pantry, one of the things she is most proud of is the program's ability to bring fresh produce to people.

"When people donate food to pantries, it's canned goods and dry packaged foods, which are great and we need," she said. "But it is so great to bring fresh food to people. It has gotten so expensive to buy perishable foods, so a lot of people don't."

Warwick said the food bank would like to bring the mobile pantry to more places in Valencia County as well as further south into Socorro County. "We know there is a need in both, and we would like to get services to the people there," she said.

As the sun tracked across the sky, the line grew shorter as people left with their arms full. One woman, who had caught a ride with her neighbor, said she had come to the distribution site before.

"Not every month, but a few times. I've needed to come. There are seven people in our house, and we used the last of our hamburger last night," she said. "When you need it, you need it."

The woman went on to say that, while she is job-hunting right now, purchasing food is a challenge.

"To get my food stamps, I have to send in a job search log. Last time I sent it in, the signature got cut off so I lost my food stamps for the next two weeks," she said. "This came along at just the right time."

Her neighbor, Joe, was also getting provisions. "Right now, it's me and a roommate, but my girlfriend and her three kids are moving down this week," he said. "I bought a house up here on contract from a friend; it needs work. That takes time and money I don't really have."

Joe estimated the food he got Monday would last for about a week or less, especially with four more people on their way. "This is going to be a lot of help," he said. "I've had to use food pantries up in Idaho; there's really no work up there for about six months out of the year."

Just over an hour after beginning the distribution, volunteers handed out the last bag of potatoes and the final box of crackers. Tables were turned on edge to signal the end, leaving more than 30 people still in need.

"We really need people to adopt these distribution sites," Warwick said. "Our goal is to have a truck on the road every day to reach as many people as possible."

If an individual or business is interested in sponsoring a distribution site, Wolfe can be reached at 505-349-8937. The Roadrunner Food Bank can be reached by calling 505-247-2052 or visitin the Web site at www.rrfb.org.

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