Anita is famous for her classic 1954 Chevy pickup.

At the Dove Springs Food Pantry, volunteers’ eyes light up as a bright yellow classic 1954 Chevy pickup pulls into the parking lot. Around here, the truck is just as well-known as the long-time volunteer who drives it: Anita Gonzales.

For two decades, Anita, 64, worked for the city in billing services, but when her husband fell ill, she retired to take care of him. Ever since then, for the past six years, she has volunteered with the Capital Area Food Bank, helping to distribute food at local pantries.

“It’s good,” she says about spending her time at the food pantry. “It keeps me busy, especially at my age.”

Before her first volunteer experience at the Montopolis Recreation Center, she was unfamiliar with the Food Bank. However, over the years, she’s gained a greater appreciation of the value of volunteering. “The more you [volunteer], the more you learn that they need you.”

Her favorite part of volunteering is seeing people in the community: “You get to meet a lot of people and help,” she says. “I like to help people.”

Anita comes from a family of 16 siblings, and while her family was always well-fed, she can sympathize with those who may not have the means to provide their family with food. “I know a lot of people [who are struggling with hunger], and if I have my food and they ask … I give it to them because I know there’s a lot of people out there that don’t have anything.”

In her famous yellow truck, Anita goes to several pantries around town, wherever there is need. “I like to keep going,” she explains, “it keeps me going.”

Left to right: Marlene Nichols, Johnee Wolter, Kristina Wolter

For about a year, grandmother Marlene Nichols, mother Kristina Wolter, and daughter Johnee Wolter have been volunteering together, once a month, on Youth and Family Night at the Capital Area Food Bank. This three-generational team comes each month to sort and process food donations in our warehouse before the food is dispersed to our Partner Agencies. Although these three never fail to come together each month, sometimes Kristina’s husband joins them, “truly making it a family night.” Sometimes Johnee will bring friends from school to join her family. Kristina, who is a food enthusiast herself and has a blog called Girl Gone Grits where she expresses her true love for food, says that she was actually introduced to the Capital Area Food Bank through blogging.

CAFB and the Austin Food Bloggers Group (now the Austin Food Bloggers Alliance) collaborated on a food challenge where families were given a typical box of food from a local food pantry and asked to live off of it for a week. Kristina and her family participated in this challenge and throughout this long week, Kristina and her family shared their experiences on her blog: “That project planted a passionate seed in me and I’ve been volunteering [with the Food Bank] with my daughter and mother ever since.” After participating in this challenge Kristina says, “I was taken back on the stereotypes of who is a client of the Food Bank…I was blown away with the support that CAFB provides for our community. It was then that I felt driven to be more involved.”

Kristina is particularly concerned with the idea of a healthy diet, and how difficult it is to eat a healthy diet when you do not have enough money to buy what ever food products you desire. Kristina says that for the food challenge her family participated in, they were encouraged to create healthy recipes with the products they received. Throughout this journey, Kristina’s mother, Marlene, says she began opening up to Kristina about her childhood. Kristina said that she “began to realize that it was out of her ‘creativity’ of feeding our family on such a tight shoe string that the inner foodie in me evolved.” After participating in this challenge and learning more about the face of hunger, Kristina, “was concerned that our children are suffering from a lack of healthy choices.” Kristina says that, “My family and I help out because it’s important to us that families are able to put a decent and healthy meal on the table.”

“Our family dinner (at which my Mom joins us 5 days a week) is the cornerstone of our daily communication. This was how I was brought up and this is what I continue to instill in my family. The ability to simply have a regular meal without having to worry about where the next one will come from provides a family with the opportunity to have conversations about education and daily events – important cornerstones of raising a family. The thought of other families suffering from hunger reaches me deep. We keep coming back [to volunteer at the Food Bank] because we know it could be us someday. Knowing that these resources are available brings me hope that there’s a cure for hunger in our community.”

Kristina believes that volunteering with her family allows them to bond even more and “it’s kind of like sitting at the dinner table and in a sense ‘reconnecting.’” One of the reasons Kristina feels the Food Bank is such a great place for her family to volunteer is that, “it’s a job where three different ages and three different speeds can all work together.” Volunteering at the Food Bank is open to all ages and is accommodating to older adults or children, which allows Kristina and her family to easily volunteer together. Kristina’s daughter, Johnee, “is always telling her friends how much fun she has [at the Food Bank] and that most of the time it does not even feel like work. She loves the different “jobs” the staff at CAFB gives her. Kristina’s mother, Marlene, “is a very outgoing lady, so she truly loves working side by side and getting to know the other families that volunteer.” Kristina and her family highly recommend that others, especially families volunteer at the Food Bank, and that she, “can’t think of a more soul nourishing project than to volunteer as a family.”

When confronted with the question of why hunger is unacceptable to her, Kristina said, “It baffles me that in this rich country, we fight hunger on an hourly basis. It bothers me that kids are going to school hungry and working parents are trying to choose whether to put gas in the car for work or give the family a decent dinner that night. My heart is sad that our precious seniors have to decide everyday whether to take their prescription medicines or eat one less meal that day. So many stories, and I hear new ones all the time. It’s more than unacceptable. It’s a hole that needs to be filled. I believe it starts with awareness.” She and her family give for a few hours, just once a month. Volunteering “has a profound effect on [her family] and it has given us a perspective that the majority of us are all just one paycheck away from that last meal.”

Kristina believes that no matter how small you give, it makes a difference. “If you don’t have cash, give time. If you don’t have time, give your voice. Every bit makes a difference,” says Kristina.

By Suzanne Erickson

I am new to Austin with no income or friends (here).  I have volunteered in other states with the sick, the dying and feeding the poor.  I feel I am in Austin to be of service to humanity.

Now, all over the country ways are being found to feed those in need (it is not just the poor).  These numbers will increase as more people lose their homes and jobs.

I have been privileged to help in other states where much more is done and given to those in need.  While Austin is striving to feed as many as possible there is much more that can and could be done to see that fresh fruit, vegetables and dairy products are given instead of being discarded by the food outlets.  Hopefully that will come to pass.

At the St. John Community Food Center I have used my varied talents as an organizer, a problem solver, data input, a communicator, and I am a multi-tasker.   I like the activity and the challenge of keeping the flow, looking for improvements and trying to keep a calmness when these people have to wait so long to be processed.

I help sign up people in line, call them in as seats are available, get them to the computer input tables as efficiently as possible, answer questions, help them out the door, help restock shelves, and give directions to new volunteers when asked by the staff.

Each week there is at least one person who tells me they are embarrassed to be there.  I get chills as I tell them we are not feeding the poor, we are here to help those who are in need for as long as there is a need.  That is our purpose.  Shame, embarrassment and guilt are not a part of the process for any of us.  Many times these are the people who say they would like to volunteer when they are able.

My Spanish if very limited (which has created laughter from my attempts to pronounce correctly).  This week one person in line offered to help me translate.  This person was very helpful to me and we bonded for the hours she waited her turn. On several occasions she helped explain and ease tension for those who didn’t speak English.

Learn more about volunteer opportunities on our website.

Beyond providing the community with the opportunity for the physical act of “community service”,  our greatest role is that of inspirer.  If after an afternoon volunteering in Product Recovery sorting cans, or volunteering at one of our signature events, you find yourself talking or thinking about the causes and possible solution to the hunger crisis, then we’re on the right track.

Ryan Jackson, photojournalism major at the University of Texas at Austin, recently produced this documentary on CAFB’s volunteer program.

Did your volunteer experience spark a larger hunger discussion? Tell us about it.

Last Thursday CAFB Volunteers came together for the annual Volunteer Potluck, and feasting included turkey and dressing, macaroni and cheese, cranberry salad and pumpkin cheesecake with pecan/bourbon sauce – yum!

Ervin Butler spoke to the group of about 50 volunteers regarding his 15 years of service at the Food Bank –

“I know that on Tuesdays I have to show up. It’s not right if I’m not here. I keep coming back because it’s a wonderful, wonderful thing.”

Paige, CAFB Volunteer Services Director, and Ervin

He thanked all the volunteers for their time and service and said he is so proud to be part of our volunteer community. ”I’ve made good friends and I continue to enjoy meeting new volunteers and helping with administrative tasks each Tuesday,” he said.

Our volunteers contribute more than 5,000 hours each month and we’re so thankful for their hard work, dedication and commitment. We couldn’t do it without you!

For more information on volunteering, click here.