Drive-n-Dash Turkey Drive

First week at Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services was INTENSE!

8000 Thanksgiving meals through this parking lot...

As the new VISTAS, Jessy and I dove right in with the staff, arriving at 5:45 am and braving the chill. A crowd of people was already lining up down block as I biked in, huddled with their blankets and pushcarts. Another volunteer and I rolled a cart of hot chocolate down the street, passing out steaming cups of coco to the adamantly grateful queuers. Although I still get queasy at the thought of so many.. disposable.. cups (ack! in the words of Aunt Susie), I was happily surprised that almost everyone went to great length to get those cups into the garbage can!

New co-workers! Jessy and Robin 

Over 6000 turkeys and 2000 hams were donated to SFBFS earlier on Friday- literally, a turkey "drive" as people were directed to cruise through the lot and hand the food out their windows- which were then bagged and distributed at a rate well over 800 per hour.  

Baggin' the turkeys....

  Incredible organization on the part of SFBFS staff made the day- and endless line- flow smoothly; soul music blasting from the jerry-rigged sound system inspired a beeline of families and individuals to strut along the parking lot toward their free Thanksgiving meal. It was pretty awesome.

Lots and lots of turkeys...

The next two days were spent prepping for the Run to Feed the Hungry on Thanksgiving morning. This year is the 18th annual event, with rain forecasted to fall for the first time. Luckily, we had a team of Americorps NCCC on board, an army of young energetic folk who assisted in opening some 26K+ granola oat bars and and equal amount in cases of water. 

Americorps team having some fun at work

Thank goodness SFBFS offered to feed staff lunch out at the warehouse! Around noon several stacks of pizza were delivered- did you know pizza is officially a vegetable? At least now according to Congress it is...

We unwrapped 30K granola bars for the race!