Nancy McCluskey-Moore
The 2018 SaddleBrooke Ranch (SBR) Food Drive will be held on March 17 between 8:30 and 10:00 a.m. Residents need to place their donations at the end of their driveway by 8:30 a.m. for collection, consolidation and transport to MountainView Clubhouse in SaddleBrooke.
More than 60 resident volunteers are involved in the SBR Food Drive, with Bob Wample serving as the 2018 chairperson. Unit Coordinators are the following:
1 Ted Wierman; 2 Tom Reddy; 3 Mike McGinnis; 4a Tom Ridolfo; 4b Les Brown; 7 Larry and Denise Sandoval; 8a Betty Ryan; 14a Tony Zoellner; 16a Terry Zimmerman; 16b John Green; 46a Bob Washburn; and 46b Michael Bosky.
SBR residents have been contributing to the SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) Food Drive for over five years. SBCO forwards all contributions to the Tri-Community Food Bank, Inc (TCFB) located in Mammoth. TCFB helps meet the food needs of residents of San Manuel, Mammoth, Oracle and as far north as Aravaipa. In TCFB’s service area, 20 percent of households live below the poverty level and 10 percent are below 50 percent of the poverty level.
In 2017, the SBR Food Drive produced over 360 bags of groceries and $7,600 in cash contributions, worth a total of nearly $60,000 in buying power. The TCFB reports that Food Drive donations helped provide emergency food boxes to 3,732 households supporting nearly 12,000 people. In addition, the TCFB provided 250 Thanksgiving and 250 Christmas holiday food baskets.
All SBR residents are encouraged to attend an information meeting on Wednesday, March 7 at the Hacienda from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. Cynthia Chevalley, the Chairperson of TCFB and Steve Groth, President of SBCO, will provide information about the Food Drive and the all-volunteer food bank. Food recipients provide half of the volunteer labor for TCFB, with residents of SaddleBrooke communities providing the other half. TCFB is an IRS 501(c)3 and AZ non-profit charitable organization. Following the meeting, volunteers will deliver handouts to their neighbors explaining what is needed and how they can help.
Needed food donations include: canned meals (e.g., stew, chili, spaghetti), dried or canned beans, canned tuna or meat, cereals, peanut butter, jelly, “Helper”-type meal mixes, instant potatoes, crackers, pudding mixes, rice, canned tomato products.
Toiletries and paper products are also welcome.
Please note that no glass containers, used or opened containers/packages or foods with an expiration date prior to April 2018 can be accepted.
If you prefer to donate money, make your check payable to SBCO with “Food Drive” on the memo line. Checks can be delivered to the Bistro on March 14 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., to your local unit volunteers anytime or on Saturday, March 17. A cash donation of $1 allows TCFB to purchase up to $7 worth of food due to its bulk purchasing power. According to Bob Wample, there are already three SBR residents that have each agreed to match up to $500 in donations. Others willing to make a similar offer should contact Bob at 559-696-3769 or [email protected] so the information can be relayed to the Unit Coordinators. All donations of $25 or more will receive a written acknowledgement from SBCO If you have not volunteered but would like to help, contact Bob.