The latest “Feed the Need” excursion took place on Saturday, May 28, 2010 of Memorial Day weekend at four locations in South Los Angeles.
Again, it was made possible through the combined efforts of Maximum Force Enterprises, Professional Community Intervention Training Institute (“PCITI”) graduates and members of the Professional Peacekeepers Collaborative Alliance, A Foundation For Kids (“AFFK”) and A Better LA In addition to the direct benefit of getting much needed food into the hands of areas hard hit by the economy, this program also provides a unique connection between the neighborhoods and community workers. This helps create the foundation of relationships that are so important in helping the communities achieve peace from within.
Two truckloads of food and durable goods (30 pallets) were donated by Unified Grocers, Frito Lay, Quaker Oats, ClementPappas Beverages, Snak King, Skechers USA, AVON, LeapFrog and delivered by McLane FoodServices and their great driver Ruben Bracey. The two loads of food product were secured by AFFK board members Marilyn Potter of Tropicana/Pepsico and Ron Ryan of The Complete Logistics Company, and both Marilyn and Ron spent the day with the volunteers and helped unload the trucks at each stop.
This time, the locations included a park in West L.A., an LAPD “stop in center”, and two neighborhoods in Watts. We delivered food that included Kellogg’s and Quaker cereals and oatmeal, Frito Lay chips, bottled water and juices, frozen fish, yogurt, corn meal and several other items. There were also educational toys donated by Leap Frog, gift items including AVON product of makeup, candles and throw blankets, and even new shoes from Skechers for some of the kids. One volunteer, a father of 4 who had recently been laid off from his union job, was especially excited about the pallets of oatmeal. “That’s food stretcher”, he said of the oatmeal – “It can be eaten by itself for breakfast or mixed with dinner foods to help the budget stretch.”
The process that Aquil Basher, executive director of Maximum Force Enterprises, has established is a beautiful thing to watch. Aquil is usually the first one in the truck unloading product into the waiting hands of the instantly assembled line of volunteers that work together to pass each box of food from the truck up to the distribution point – sometimes stretching about 20 people long. The line itself is this great rainbow of ages, genders and colors. There were Yankees, Dodgers, Trojans, bruins, Angels and Washington Nationals working together. This bucket brigade format was played out at all 4 stops, with different participants each time carrying out the same smooth continuous motion and shouts of encouragement as they quickly emptied the trucks.
One of the more impressive aspects of the “Feed the Need” program is the volunteers involved at each location. They live in these neighborhoods and have many of the same needs and set-backs of the people they are serving. These volunteers show up early to help unload the trucks, organize the food and products for orderly distribution, then smile and greet each neighborhood guest that comes through the line. It is a long day and a lot of work. Not all of the guests share the great spirits of the volunteers, as they are sometimes frustrated by the lines and the process. Sometimes the donated food come in small lots of different items which upsets some people when they see their neighbor receiving the last box of the food brand they really wanted. The volunteers are the target of this temporary frustration, but they cruise through the process as they work to lift the spirits of that person and continue the respect and dignity that is as important for the guests to receive as is the food. These people struggling through difficult times do not always have the opportunity to give to others – and it is wonderful to see them enjoy this role.
Aquil estimates that approximately 3,000 children and adults benefited from Saturday’s distribution. The “Feed the Need” program carries on, as A Foundation for Kids continues to work with its contributing organizations to keep the donations coming. “Feed the Need” will be back in mid July to hit four more neighborhoods. Each month of the program new things are learned and changes are made so that they can continue to do this better than it has been done before.
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The latest “Feed the Need” excursion took place on Saturday, May 28, 2010 of Memorial Day weekend at four locations in South Los Angeles.
Again, it was made possible through the combined efforts of Maximum Force Enterprises, Professional Community Intervention Training Institute (“PCITI”) graduates and members of the Professional Peacekeepers Collaborative Alliance, A Foundation For Kids (“AFFK”) and A Better LA In addition to the direct benefit of getting much needed food into the hands of areas hard hit by the economy, this program also provides a unique connection between the neighborhoods and community workers. This helps create the foundation of relationships that are so important in helping the communities achieve peace from within.
Two truckloads of food and durable goods (30 pallets) were donated by Unified Grocers, Frito Lay, Quaker Oats, ClementPappas Beverages, Snak King, Skechers USA, AVON, LeapFrog and delivered by McLane FoodServices and their great driver Ruben Bracey. The two loads of food product were secured by AFFK board members Marilyn Potter of Tropicana/Pepsico and Ron Ryan of The Complete Logistics Company, and both Marilyn and Ron spent the day with the volunteers and helped unload the trucks at each stop.
This time, the locations included a park in West L.A., an LAPD “stop in center”, and two neighborhoods in Watts. We delivered food that included Kellogg’s and Quaker cereals and oatmeal, Frito Lay chips, bottled water and juices, frozen fish, yogurt, corn meal and several other items. There were also educational toys donated by Leap Frog, gift items including AVON product of makeup, candles and throw blankets, and even new shoes from Skechers for some of the kids. One volunteer, a father of 4 who had recently been laid off from his union job, was especially excited about the pallets of oatmeal. “That’s food stretcher”, he said of the oatmeal – “It can be eaten by itself for breakfast or mixed with dinner foods to help the budget stretch.”
The process that Aquil Basher, executive director of Maximum Force Enterprises, has established is a beautiful thing to watch. Aquil is usually the first one in the truck unloading product into the waiting hands of the instantly assembled line of volunteers that work together to pass each box of food from the truck up to the distribution point – sometimes stretching about 20 people long. The line itself is this great rainbow of ages, genders and colors. There were Yankees, Dodgers, Trojans, bruins, Angels and Washington Nationals working together. This bucket brigade format was played out at all 4 stops, with different participants each time carrying out the same smooth continuous motion and shouts of encouragement as they quickly emptied the trucks.
One of the more impressive aspects of the “Feed the Need” program is the volunteers involved at each location. They live in these neighborhoods and have many of the same needs and set-backs of the people they are serving. These volunteers show up early to help unload the trucks, organize the food and products for orderly distribution, then smile and greet each neighborhood guest that comes through the line. It is a long day and a lot of work. Not all of the guests share the great spirits of the volunteers, as they are sometimes frustrated by the lines and the process. Sometimes the donated food come in small lots of different items which upsets some people when they see their neighbor receiving the last box of the food brand they really wanted. The volunteers are the target of this temporary frustration, but they cruise through the process as they work to lift the spirits of that person and continue the respect and dignity that is as important for the guests to receive as is the food. These people struggling through difficult times do not always have the opportunity to give to others – and it is wonderful to see them enjoy this role.
Aquil estimates that approximately 3,000 children and adults benefited from Saturday’s distribution. The “Feed the Need” program carries on, as A Foundation for Kids continues to work with its contributing organizations to keep the donations coming. “Feed the Need” will be back in mid July to hit four more neighborhoods. Each month of the program new things are learned and changes are made so that they can continue to do this better than it has been done before.
– Scot Obler, A Better LA volunteer
For more pictures click here.