COURTESY PHOTO

Food distributed to veterans, needy students

On Friday, April 20, several Southern California groups came together to distribute food to Irvine Valley College veterans and needy students.

These groups included the Orange County Food Bank, Compassion Ministry of Vineyard Anaheim, The Original Manassero Farms, LoavesandFishesx10 and IVC classified staff.

The groups were able to provide food to about 20 students (eight vets and 12 EOPS students). With children and families, another 49 individuals were assisted. At the event, 1,200 pounds of food was distributed, with about 40 pounds per family distributed.

Juric: Appreciation comes through volunteering

As parents, my husband and I are always reminding our children how appreciative they should be for having a roof over their head, food on the table and a stable and loving family to support them.

There are so many people out there who are not as fortunate.

That is why when a friend invited my two boys and me to go “gleaning” with her and her boys at the Great Park in Irvine, I jumped at the opportunity to help our children learn a valuable lesson about being appreciative for what they have.

Operated by a well-known, Orange County-based charity whose mission is to eliminate waste and hunger, these gleaning events are held in partnership with local farmers that allow the charity to pick the crops that remain after the initial crops are picked and sent to market. Rather than destroy the plants that appear too small or blemished, the charity works with farmers – with the help of volunteers from OC-based food banks, kitchens and pantries – to harvest the remaining crops that are donated to feed families in need.

When we first arrived at the gleaning event early one Saturday morning, we weren’t sure what to expect, other than that we would be getting dirty while helping others. As we waited, the parking lot quickly filled with people of all ages and from all walks of life.

We were told we would be harvesting cabbage, to which I heard my boys say, “who would want to eat that?” Rather than answer them, I decided to ignore their comment, knowing that once we got to the field and got started, the boys would quickly understand.

While most of the volunteers were from specific church or community organizations, the six people in our group had no affiliation, so it was decided we would pick for the charity’s own food pantry.

For the next two hours, we worked our way down the neatly planted rows of cabbage, piling them up for the boys to carry back to the provided milk crates. The boys then went to work peeling away the leaves, stalk and blemished outer layers, placing the cabbage carefully in the crates. We made quick work and by the time we were finished, we had packed up 14 large milk crates filled to the brim.

While the boys marveled at how much cabbage we had picked, the real reward came when the charity informed us that the cabbage the six of us gleaned would feed 500 to 1,000 people. It was then that the message hit home and my own boys realized how many people in our own community go hungry each day – people just like them.

As we said our goodbyes and took a few pictures to document our hard work, the organizers gave each of the boys a small head of cabbage to take home.

Later that night we made chicken tacos using the cabbage from our gleaning trip, and when we finished eating, the boys both told me how great the cabbage tasted and how wrong they were to have not wanted it.

They also said how thankful they were to have been able to provide food for so many others – and asked when we could go gleaning again.

–Patti Juric is a 38-year member of the community, a wife, mother, professional copywriter, health care advocate and a 14-year cervical cancer survivor. She currently lives in Mission Viejo with her husband of 10 years and their three young children.

UPDATES: ‘LOAVES AND FISHES X10’

We can’t help but love what we do.

Sometimes we can’t help but love what we do at GCHope.

Two weeks ago we received a call from a local school in Santa Ana asking if GCHope had a children’s bike in stock because there was a student in need. The school noticed that one of their fifth grade students had missed an entire week of school. Wondering if she was ill, they called her mother. The mother explained that they just moved about twenty minutes further from the school, but she didn’t have money that week to pay for little Veronica to take the public bus to school so she stayed home. Veronica normally takes a bus alone at 6:30 am that drops her off at least 4 miles away from school and she walks the rest of the way herself.

GCHope didn’t have a bike at the time but we were sure that we would know someone who did. We posted a Facebook request on March 5 asking if anyone had a children’s bike no longer being used that they would be willing to donate. We were overwhelmed with the response. Within twenty minutes we got call from Robert Flournoy, a great friend of GCHope’s from Loaves and Fishes x10, saying that he and his wife would like to personally purchase and donate a bike for this young girl. As if one person’s immediate response wasn’t enough to be grateful for, thirty minutes later, three other individuals – Jeff Jetton, Ramiro Lopez, and Marie Gilbert Adams – all volunteered to donate a bike. Our staff was overwhelmed by the generosity of these individuals as well as everyone else who shared the status or liked it. It was so beautiful to witness the urgency with which these people reacted in order to help a child in need.

Last week GCHope and Robert and Joy Flournoy were able to deliver the bike to a very appreciative little girl. Veronica couldn’t contain her excitement with a smile from ear to ear when she saw the bike. She was so grateful that she would have a safe way to get to school on her adorable pink bike.

Veronica is one of six kids living in a trailer with a total of twelve people. Her parents are hard-working gardeners doing their best to provide for the family. In addition to the bike another donor gave Veronica a helmet and a gift card to buy anything else she might need. Veronica’s mother said the gift card came at just the right time because she has been worried about buying school uniforms that Veronica will need for junior high school next year.

GCHope is so grateful to Robert and Joy Flournoy, Fishes and Loaves x10, and to all who volunteered to help this family in need. It’s moments and stories like this that remind us how blessed we are and that we are meant to share our blessings with others.

Photo on the right: Joy and Robert Flournoy, Veronica, her mother, little sister, and Elia Perez from GCHope.

 

posted by Carly Visbal |on Basic Needs, Blog |No comments