NEWS Local food pantry helps make life better
St. Anne volunteer happy to help
St. Anne’s Food Pantry at 271 S. Wallace St, in Porterville is a lifeline for many families in Porterville and Springville. George Martinez of the Knights of Columbus gave a tour of the food pantry and showed their cold storage and freezers filled with perishables, as well as many boxes of fresh fruit, fresh breads and pastries, canned goods, boxes of cereals, huge burlap bags of rice, potatoes, as well as fruit juice drinks, and water, and much much more.
The pantry has to work under strict guidelines from the USDA, and families can receive food aid once a month, per the government guidelines. The panty posts what kind of food is donated on a weekly basis, and there are income limits per individual or household.
Besides keeping track of government regulations Martinez needs to keep strict and meticulous notations on the temperatures of the pantry freezers and cold storage because government inspectors who can always stop by.
Local growers and Food link supplies St. Anne’s pantry with food, as well as local grocery stores who are part of the Feeding America program, such as Savemart, Grocery Outlet, Walmart, Panera, and Aldi in the near future according to Martinez. They also work with the Central California Food Bank, and the Porterville Area Coordinating Council.
“There are special bags put together for the homeless, that contain toiletries and non-perishable food stuffs. Things that they can open easily with pop-top cans,” said Martinez.
About 100 families a day on an average are served at the food pantry, which is open every Wednesday and Thursday. A centralized computer system that is linked with other food banks keeps track of their clients.
Students from local high schools volunteer at the pantry and do their community service, especially during the summer. There are always many volunteers from Catholic Daughters of America and the Knights of Columbus, usually between 25 to 15 on any Wednesday or Thursday.
Angelica Chapa, who is a full-time care-giver for her mother and brother, volunteers at the pantry. She also attends Butterfield High School during the week when able. She said, “Volunteering at the pantry gives young people (students) the chance to interact with other people. It gives them a new perspective on life. Seeing the homeless come in for help, because they have nowhere to go. It gives a chance for the young people or students to help these people, and that makes their lives better. Learning empathy.
I feel happy to help the homeless and less fortunate. Many of them live by the river. It’s sad. So we are happy to help them.”
Carole Moffett and her sister in law came in to St. Anne’s pantry and filled out paperwork. Moffett said she came to Porterville at the beginning of the year, and her grown son and grandson work in the fields. “This is wonderful for me,” she said, “it will help stretch my food budget. They give you a balanced nutritional food for a balanced diet. And I like to be able to prepare a good hearty meal for my family when they come home from work.”
Trucks drove in and delivered a huge donation of watermelons, cantaloupes, and potatoes from local growers, and later a delivery of bicycles came in from Walmart. The bicycles will be repaired or spruced up and the Knights will donate them to SCICON, Martinez said.
Lupe Zamudio was happy to receive a box of food from the pantry, as well as a fresh watermelon, and said, “I am very grateful to the church, and we are blessed in this country. I am very proud to be here, and both my children have served in the military for years.”
Another box of food, fruit and other supplies were ready for Frank Rodriquez, who said, “I thank the church, St. Anne’s for their help.”
Volunteer Esmeralda Quintero from Monache High School said she knew how important food was to people, and she now understood how many people need food. “Working here has allowed me to see that many people really are in need and it makes me feel good that I was able to help.” Quintero and other students finished up the boxes that the Catholic Daughters filled with non-perishable food stuffs; like canned goods, boxes of cereal, rice, beans, and other goods; and the students filled them with fresh fruit and vegetables.