by Eileen Wong
Food Runners Weekend Dispatcher
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| Donna W. loading donations at the Ferry Building Farmers Market |
They’re strong, they’re kind, they’re humble and they’re
compassionate. Who are they? They are our Food Runners volunteers. They pack
the food in their cars to deliver to our neighborhood feeding programs. What would Food Runners do
without them?
We wouldn’t be possible. We simply could never afford to
support thousands of San Franciscans without the generosity and talent offered
by our volunteers. Some do their
runs solo, some with partners or friends, some as a family, but whatever form
they choose for their runs, the impact they bring to our neighborhoods is truly
inspiring.
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| Food Runners Volunteer Appreciation Party in full swing, 4.17.2019 |
To show appreciation to the volunteers, Mary Risley, hosts a
gathering at her residence twice a year. We enjoy libations, light supper. We meet, mingle, and share our Food
Runners stories with one another. Like Jaime’s story from the most recent
Volunteer gathering on April 17.
Jaime told about her food run delivering food to North Beach Citizens on
Kearny near Broadway one bright, sunny morning. While unloading the food, her
activity caught the eye of a dapper young man passing by. He inquired as to her
mission which led to which led to discussion of her community service and ended
with the two making plans for a dinner date.
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Volunteers enjoying the party. Clockwise from top left: FR Director Mary Risley &
Mark B. Dave R & Priscilla S. Les T. & Sue L. Mat R & Tory M. |
After performing one of her very first runs, Volunteer Jodi
shared her story via email. "I grew up in the Sunset, where yesterday's
run was. Lycee Francais [the pick up location] used to be the Conservatory of
Music and I took summer classes there for a couple of years as a kid. More
recently I went to a number of chamber music concerts there with my parents
before the Conservatory moved. Now my mom is in assisted living two blocks
away. Edgewood Center, where I delivered the food, started out as an orphanage. My mother escaped the Nazis on
the Kindertransport (from Vienna), and when she and her brother came to the
States, they spent time at Edgewood. When I was telling the guys who helped me
unload the food this story, one of them said his father had escaped
Czechoslovakia on the Kindertransport. (The Kindertransport saved close to
10,000 Jewish children during the war.)
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| More Volunteers chillin' at the party. |
There’s no doubt how incredibly grateful we are for all that
Food Runners Volunteers do. Not
only do they deliver food, but they also deliver love, kindness and commitment
in the quest to alleviate hunger in our communities and make wasted food a
thing of the past.
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