Grand Opening Soon
Save this date! November 18, 3-7 pm, is set for the family-friendly grand opening and open house. We postponed it because we wanted to have our new programs up and running for the community to witness what their support has provided. All in the community are invited to this informal gathering with a short program at 5:30 featuring some of those who have been the cheerleaders and financial backers for the project. There will be music and food trucks and something for the youngest among us. Each household will receive a “passport” to travel through the building and several stamps on the passport will qualify you for the free food. Monetary sponsors so far include the Town of Sahuarita and Pima County Community and Workforce Development, but more are certainly welcome. Stay tuned for more information and plan to join us!
We Score Major Award
It was SFB-CRC’s first ever national award. Executive Director Carlos Valles represented us in Colorado Springs September 21 at the National Association of County Community and Economic Development’s annual meeting to collect the Community Development Award. Pima County nominated us for developing and implementing our one-stop hub concept—a food bank also offering workforce development, health/nutrition, and family support services. “It is so gratifying,” Carlos said, “to know that Pima County and NACCED value our mission, and the county feels that their investment in this project was worth their while.”
Key Volunteer Honored
The Green Valley News/Sahuarita Sun and nearly 30 volunteers, staff, and board members (pictured at left) honored our volunteer operations manager Sue Eaton on September 14 for her selection as one of AZ19’s Most Influential People. Sue ensures that our operation runs smoothly during our four food distributions per week and handles intake on all new food bank visitors. Respected by everyone in the organization, Sue, along with her spouse Walt Burzycki, deserve our gratitude for 13 years of selfless devotion to SFB-CRC.
Bayer Backs Us Big Time
Our 170 volunteers, some year-round, some winter visitors, are the backbone of SFB-CRC, but sometimes we are blessed with drop-in volunteers, too. Bayer, based in Marana, provided us with a $10,000 grant for the weekend BackPack program for students who would otherwise be hungry on weekends. Ten volunteers from their workforce pitched in to pack them with food for the kids. We’re so grateful for Bayer’s commitment to the young people in our community whose families are under resourced.
Dashers Deliver
Like the famous reindeer Santa depends on, DoorDash delivery drivers, dubbed “dashers,” take a large load off our volunteers, and the program significantly strengthens our ability to help homebound clients.
Executive Director Carlos Valles received an email out of the blue from DoorDash, a national organization that provides food delivery services asking him if SFB-CRC would like to participate with their philanthropic arm to help our own homebound food bank clients. Of course, the first question was…how much? As it turned out, we are delighted to be receiving the equivalent of $100,000 in delivery services to our 70 homebound households at no cost. FIND OUT MORE