The latest volunteer news from Second Harvest Food Bank
For the Volunteers Who Power Second Harvest
VIP Volunteer 

Greetings, volunteers! It’s a rainy start to spring but it’s dry inside Second Harvest’s operations—food from our generous donors is coming in on the loading dock, and our fantastic volunteers are sorting and packing it for people in need around us. It’s Spring, and we’re humming with activity!  

Are you a student wondering how you’re going to spend your Spring break? You could spend it on the beach, baking in the sun (or soaking in the rain)—or you could spend it helping people. Why not spring for an Alternative Spring Break this year? Come and help Second Harvest feed the community. Beach tans fade, but the good feelings you’ll have from helping people in need will last much longer.  

(But everyone, please note, we will be closed from March 27-31 for inventory.)  

Besides the help we need in the sort room, we’re also actively seeking a volunteer to help out in our kitchen and to prepare tasty food to power our volunteers.  

Finally, we’re gearing up for a special evening to thank our volunteers. Please join us on May 5, Cinco de Mayo, from 5:30-8pm, for our Volunteer Appreciation Dinner . Great food, raffle prizes, networking, and more.  

To RSVP or to volunteer, as always, please contact Bly or use the form below.  

With gratitude,
Bly
Volunteer Spotlight
Lourdes "Tia" Gomez
Volunteering is not just about the privileged helping the needy. Many of the men and women who generously give their time to the Food Bank sometimes need some help getting by themselves. And this should not be surprising—after all, many people who have received help from their community want to pay it back by helping others.

Lourdes Gomez is one of those generous souls. She has been helping to sort and pack food in Second Harvest’s sort room up to five times per week, for three years. The bags of produce that Lourdes packs go out to our Food For Children sites across the county, helping children and families acquire enough nutritious food to stay productive and healthy. She also brings in homemade foods like mole, ceviche, and sopes to feed the other volunteers, who affectionately call her “Tia.”

And though you don’t need experience to volunteer at the Food Bank, Lourdes brings a wealth of experience to our sort operations—12 years of work at a local packing company! But even more important is Lourdes’ sincere desire to help people in need, which comes—in part—from knowing herself what it’s like to have an empty fridge.

And when Lourdes brings home fresh fruits and vegetables, she shares them with her housebound neighbor, who is unable to work or to travel to Second Harvest’s distributions.

Lourdes says helping others through Second Harvest is like therapy for her. It lifts her spirits to work with all the staff and volunteers.

“I also am in need, but I know there are people that need [food] more than me. It feels good knowing that even though I’m struggling, I can help my community.”
Quiz Time
Think you know all about CalFresh, California's version of SNAP (formerly known as food stamps)?

Recent Events
Annual Awards Dinner
At our Annual Awards Dinner, Second Harvest recognized the exceptional organizations, schools, businesses, and agencies that helped achieve our goal of 4.5 million meals raised during the Holiday Food & Fund Drive, and who support our work throughout the year. Here are just a few pics; you can see the full gallery of photos here .
Video - Day of Action
Last week, Second Harvest staff took a break from our regular work for a "Day of Action," dedicated to reaffirming positive values of collaboration and community. We got together and packed food, called our legislators, thanked our donors, and more.

Check out the video of staff in the sort room packing "bonus bags" of food and staples. And if you want to come and help out some time, we always need sort room volunteers--that's how we get our donated food sorted and packed to go out to our programs and partner agencies across the county! Just email Bly .

See the video on Facebook or YouTube.
What would you like to see in the Volunteer Voice? Please send your feedback and suggestions to bly@thefoodbank.org.