food banks need donations year-round
Parisa Amini
The United Food Bank is in its busiest season with the holidays coming around, but the demand for food is ongoing.
The UFB is the main provider for over 250 agencies across four counties of Arizona. They cater to such organizations as The Boys and Girls Club, The Salvation Army and many others.
In order to feed these agencies, the UFB has to rely on outside sources for support since they are a non-profit organization. They receive that help from the government, FEMA, the Feeding America campaign, and grocery stores.
Grocery chain Basha’s is among the large contributors to the UFB.
They are currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, but donations are roughly the same amount.
The contributions from Basha’s is more than just food.
The company helps the UFB take care of the trucks they use on a daily basis. The grocery chain pays for the labor costs, while the food organization pays for the parts.
The money not spent on expenses like these, means more money spent on meeting demands. Currently, 98 percent of what the UFB takes in, goes right back into their programs.
Their biggest contributor, however, are the individual donations and food drives that people across the state hold on their own.
They rely on three types of donations: food, funds and time.
Last year, the UFB had enough volunteers that equaled 19 full-time employees, which provided nearly a 50 percent increase in the number of employees.
Donna Rodgers is the director of resource development for the UFB and is one of its 29 employees who work every day to help meet the needs of the hungry, but volunteers are always needed.
“Our job is to get the food out the door,” said Rodgers, “and we couldn’t do what we do without our volunteers.”
Their last fiscal year, from July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009, they raised nearly 13 million pounds of food.
While this was considered a good year for the organization, the demands of the agencies were greater than what they could provide. The agencies requested over 3.3 million pounds of food that could not be provided.
“I’m not trying to make a smart remark, but people always ask me ‘when do you need food donations’ and I always tell them, ‘When do you eat,'” Rodgers said.
The holiday season is their busiest time, but come the first week of January, donations drop off.
“It’s like someone turns off the faucet,” Rodgers said.
Regardless of the decrease in donations, the team works hard to meet the demands. There is no budget for advertising since their main focus is to feed people.
The UFB worked with the ASU Polytechnic campus in creating a nutritional plan to make sure that the people they feed get not only quantity, but also quality.
The program is called the Nutrient Tracking and Enhancement System, or NTES. Their main goal is to assure that those who receive food are eating correctly.
Rodgers stressed the fact that the UFB is always looking for donations year-round.
“It goes quick, we are always looking for donations,” he said.
Rodgers oversees all donations that come in. She once had a woman donate a sizable amount of money and called her personally to thank her.
Upon talking to the woman, Rodgers found out the woman was recently laid off.
“She just got her severance check and made her first donation,” Rodgers said.
The woman said she realized that the needs of others was greater than her own. The UFB believes that donations, no matter how small, are always appreciated.
“Two dollars is like two million to us,” Rodgers said.
Monetary contributions are not the only way to get involved.
Volunteer coordinator for the UFB, DeAnna Yazzie is ready to take volunteers. Individuals and groups of all sizes are always welcome.
“All they have to do is call and I’ll find a (job) for them to do,” Yazzie said.
There are several events coming up that people can take part in.
On Nov. 21 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., the UFB is holding their annual turkey drive-thru.
The event will also happen Nov. 23 through 25. The hours will be extended from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. to cater to donators that cannot make it during daytime hours.
For more information about the UFB and how you can get involved, visit their Web site at http://www.unitedfoodbank.org.
