Dear Jason,
I was talking to the El Paso food bank CEO Susan Goodell this morning. She told me about an experience she'd had at a Walgreens earlier this week.
"The cashier asked me why I was buying so much sunscreen. I explained that it was for our volunteers who are out in the sun distributing groceries at the food bank. And she said, 'You mean, there's a place you can go to for food?'"
It turns out that the cashier is the only one in her family of seven who has a job, and on that one meager income (a starting cashier makes $10/hr) is unable to make ends meet.
Just think about it. This Walgreens cashier — putting herself at risk by going to work every day so that the rest of us can buy groceries, medicines and household needs — is unable to feed herself and her family.
She's not alone. In the midst of record layoffs and an historic economic contraction, more people have filed for unemployment in Texas in the last four weeks than in all of 2019. People are out of work, and instead of two bread-winners in the household, there is now only one.
Or none.
Thankfully we have food banks serving each one of the 254 counties in Texas, where people like the Walgreens cashier can get a week's worth of groceries for their family.
It's important to understand that the need is there. But so is the ability to help.
When Amy and I showed up for our volunteer shift at the El Paso food bank yesterday we were struck by just how big the operation has grown in the last couple of weeks. Dozens of volunteers, dozens of National Guard, dozens of paid "Get Shift Done" workers (food service employees who've recently been laid off).
After having our temperature taken, going through safety instruction that reminded us to always wear gloves and a mask and keep more than six-foot distance from other volunteers, we were led to the warehouse where we met our volunteer supervisor.
Dave is retired military. Tough and a little gruff, but full of concentrated, efficient energy and very precise direction. He was the leader our volunteer unit needed. At first he had us sort pallets of donated items into distinct categories so that they could be prepared for distribution. All dairy over here. Blackberries, blueberries, raspberries on that pallet. Chips, chocolate, and snacks over there. Frozen foods and meat right here.
"Ever used one of these?" he asked as he brought over a pallet jack. I had when I worked in a grocery store in college, but it had been a while. As I struggled to move the newly built pallet of vegetables over to another part of the warehouse a young man named Chris came over and helped me. "Looks like the pallet is damaged, we're going to have to move the jack out a little and then push this together."
He reset the jack and got it moving in the right direction while Dave and I pushed on either side. I asked Chris what he did for a living.
"I work at a Sam's Club stocking shelves."
"And so on your day off you come down to the food bank and do the same thing for free?"
"Yep!"
When we finished sorting, we took our places on an assembly line, six feet apart from one another. A box would cruise down the line on rollers, and at each station food items would be deposited. My station started with tomatoes (5 large tomatoes per box), then when those ran out, jalapeño peppers (a handful). Then bell peppers and eggplant (one per box). And lastly potatoes (four). Amy was in charge of onions, tomatillos, and sweet potatoes.
I later learned that while it's great to have so much fresh produce, dairy, and meat, it masks a real challenge for the food bank: they are struggling to afford non-perishable items like rice and beans. That means they have a logistical problem of getting this stuff shipped, organized, sorted and distributed before it spoils AND they are still not able to get as much of the non-perishables that are a fundamental part of our diet and our food security.
One of the great things about volunteering at the food bank is you end up meeting people you might not otherwise get to know.
When we started on the assembly line the first person we met was Alex, who, when I asked how he heard about the volunteer opportunity said "one of your Powered by People phone bankers called my wife yesterday and asked her if she could volunteer. She said 'yes' and then turned around and told me to be here by 8am!"
He gave me a kind of "thanks, pal!" look afterwards. But I could tell he was into it. He kept working on engineering solutions to our chueco rolling track to keep the boxes from getting stuck as they rolled down the line.
Dione, who told me she was named after the mother of Aphrodite, was let go from a bar on Cincinnati street when they had to close down. She now works with Get Shift Done, which pays her for her time at the food bank.
Andrea, from Canutillo, is a mother of two. She's also a nurse and was just let go from her job. Everything is focused on coronavirus, and no one is scheduling surgeries or other procedures. "They just don't need me right now." So she's spending her time volunteering at the food bank.
Sergeant Elizondo was deployed to the food bank with his National Guard unit. He's a graduate of Ysleta High. Prior to the pandemic his job had him traveling throughout Texas, Oklahoma and beyond. But now he's focused on helping at the food bank in El Paso.
As our shift was coming to a close and we were getting ready to leave, a guy named David Montes came up and introduced himself. He told me that he is a boxer and had a title fight scheduled at the Don Haskins center in El Paso before the pandemic hit. The fight's been cancelled, and he doesn't know when he'll be able to box professionally again. "But now I'm doing my part until this is over!"
Dave, Chris, Alex, Dione, Andrea, Sgt. Elizondo, and David... and everyone else out there... made me so proud of this town, so grateful for everyone who is volunteering to get the food out, and everyone who is donating to make sure there is food to distribute.
Amy and I are going to continue to volunteer and donate and support those who need the help and those who are providing the help.
I hope you'll join us,
Beto
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