Because of you, more children will start the school day ready to learn, without the pang of hunger as a distraction. Our Back-to-School campaign reminds us that along with pencils and paper, children need a daily supply of food to take on new concepts, run on playgrounds, and socialize more successfully.
Our Community Health and Agriculture Education teams have collaborated to develop the new Food Shuttle Academy, an online learning platform with free, self-paced lessons on health, nutrition, agriculture, and more!
Our Spring Match challenge, made possible by generous funders, including SOLV Energy and the Mead Family Foundation, exceeded the $105,000 goal, raising an additional $70,000 to erase hunger!
Love, Tito’s has a heart for community gardens and increasing access to fresh, healthy foods. Their philanthropic Love, Tito’s Block to Block program, reconnects neighborhoods and creates community gardens and farms throughout the United States. Our hearts are in full bloom knowing that our Camden Street Garden will be the next beneficiary of Block to Block, allowing neighbors with mobility challenges to access our many activities more easily.
On Thursday, September 29, from 12 to 1 p.m., friends and supporters of the Food Shuttle and the Food Bank are invited to join us for an online event to learn the ways these two agencies are joining forces to address the issue of food insecurity in our community. A Virtual Town Hall will be presented, featuring the Food Shuttle’s VP of Operations and Logistics, Melvin Acosta, and the Food Bank’s SVP of Operations, Charlie Hale
Every Tuesday, Inter-Faith Food Shuttle delivers over 4,000 pounds of food to Iglesia Hispana Emanuel for their weekly food distribution. The church community relies on the donation to serve the vast number of families it feeds each week. What began as a small food pantry ten years ago, serving around 60 families, skyrocketed when COVID-19 struck, rapidly growing to 70, 100, 200…500 families.
By Elizabeth Stahl, Communication Intern From the farm to nutrition, Elizabeth's Friday Full Of Fun continues at the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle warehouse this week!
Life in the warehouse for Dennis Wooten is non-stop! Being the warehouse manager for Inter-Faith Food Shuttle is no easy task. Overseeing every aspect of food intake and food distribution, Dennis also supervises volunteers and truck maintenance. I was privileged to catch him during a few moments of down time to ask him a few questions.
What is your favorite part about fighting hunger?
I never knew anything about fighting hunger until I started working here. When I found out about it, I fell in love-deeply in love. I wake up every morning for this.”
Tell me about what you do here at the Food Shuttle:
“My job is to oversee the food that comes in and the food that goes out. I am in charge of routing the truck drivers, overseeing community service and volunteers, making sure they are happy- and I do truck maintenance whether cleaning the coolers or cleaning the insides.”
What is a typical day like for you, Dennis?
“The first thing I do every day is to check the route sheets and the volunteer sheets so I know how to start my day and to get the trucks on the road then I go from there.”
What is one thing you wished more people did?
I wish more people would volunteer more and give back more. Just join in, hold hands, and help everyone that needs help. Each dollar or each volunteer helps in some way. One bag of rice will feed an entire family; I wish more people would help.”
What is your guilty pleasure food?
“I eat a banana every day!”
How many volunteers would you say you work with each week?
“I would say about 300 or so per week, about 40 drivers and the rest volunteer around the warehouse.”
How did you get started with Inter-Faith Food Shuttle?
“A friend of mine told me about driving trucks for the Food Shuttle, so I came down here for an interview and got the job. I drove trucks for three years before I became the warehouse manager- I learned Inter-Faith Food Shuttle inside and out.”
What else do you have to say about Inter-Faith Food Shuttle?
”We are a non-profit. Me, myself, being a manger, I cannot do this job without my volunteers. I cannot do it without the unpaid truck drivers that volunteer here. We have a wonderful family here at Inter-Faith Food Shuttle.”
Dennis and the Food Dude
Dennis works hard to fight hunger and the ensure that people in need around our community receive food. We could all learn something from not only Dennis himself, but more so his heart- his dedication and compassion are endless.
If you are interested in volunteering with Dennis whether driving trucks, packing grocery bags, or working around the warehouse, please email emily@foodshuttle.org! Your help, as always, is greatly appreciated!
