Food Bank marks anniversary with gala Friday night

The Yuma Community Food Bank is holding a gala celebration Friday night, inside of its warehouse, to mark its 40th anniversary.

“It’ll be in the warehouse, and the attire is more ‘Yuma gala,’ which I would say is more Harvest Dinner, dress up in your fanciest clothes that you want to wear in a warehouse,” said Executive Director Shara Merten.

With a dinner from Fresh Taste Catering and a live band and DJ playing music which was popular around 1978 when the food bank was born inside a small Yuma house, the Warehouse Gala could be one of the more memorable fundraisers the community has seen in a while.

“We’re going to have some pretty fun stuff going on, to celebrate someone’s birthday,” Merten said.

Beyond the food, there will be auction items and the chance for attendees to watch typical food bank activities getting done, such as filling backpacks with food and supplies for hungry children.

The warehouse typically feeds about 200,000 people per year.

Additional lighting and festive centerpieces will add to the ambiance of what is normally a bare-bones space, and there are “surprises” in store in the cooler and freezer areas, Merten added.

“I just think having it in the warehouse gives us a better picture of just what happens. And if you’re a supporter of the food bank you get to see how your support is utilized. And where we live and what we do, and how we do it,” she said.

The celebration will involve a look in the rear-view mirror.

“We’re looking at some of those who actually started this adventure, and the donors who continue to support us. And we’ll be looking into the future, what will the food bank look like in the future to support our community,” she said.

Merten and her staff have been researching the history with the help of former Yuma mayor Marilyn Young, going back to when a group of concerned citizens began the first bank in a small Yuma home.

“It took those with some vision to see how best they can help feed families,” she said. “They had no relationship with these families. But someone told someone, and it was easy for them to talk to a neighborhood to get food, and then distribute it.

“And then to move forward 40 years, from a house into 100,000 square feet, I think that’s really telling as to what the heart of Yuma looks like,” she said.

The food bank moved into its present location, 2404 E. 24th St. in Yuma, in 2003. It had been the site of a paper plate factory, which helped inspire the thousands of notes of gratitude written by clients to donors on paper plates.

One area the YCFB is looking to move into in the future is cooking classes for clients, helping them learn the best, most nutritious ways to prepare the food they’re receiving.

Merten said the food bank is feeling some of the effects from the improving economy, but there will always be a core need for food.

“There are more people working, but we’re always going to be faced with the veterans, the people on fixed incomes. There’s a large element in our society, within Yuma, that will never be able to stand on their own, so there will always be a need for the food bank within the community,” she said.