Traveling volunteer stops at FIND on mission to help 200 food banks
Volunteers give their time to FIND Food Bank daily, sorting produce and packing boxes that will eventually be distributed to the community.
Jess Kurti visited FIND for the first time last week, but it is one of of 200 stops she has been making since 2014 with the goal of volunteering at all of the food banks in the Feeding America network while also running in 100 marathons across the country. She calls it the Beast of Burden Challenge.
“When I first started volunteering at my local food bank, I had no idea what hunger looked like, not only in my own area but nationwide,” said Kurti, “I thought if there’s people like me just living their lives having that didn’t realize that hunger is right in their backyard, there’s probably many many Americans that don’t realize their neighbors are hungry and also how little it takes to make a difference in their lives.”
Kurti says she saw the results of a downturn economy in her Florida community when she came up with the idea. She wanted to pair her volunteering with marathon running to teach people about nourishing your whole body, something FIND Food Bank volunteer coordinator Yessy Teran shared she did not know about when she was a child.
“Top Ramen soups for two weeks straight, we had beans and tortillas for a few months straight, and that’s all we had,” said Teran, “I never really knew I was hungry [or] food insecure, I just didn’t have access to any of that when I grew up.”
It’s stories like Teran’s that make Kurti feel it is critical she gives her time and does her part to fight hunger nationally. In the fiscal year from 2016 to 2017, FIND Food Bank saw almost 4,800 volunteers donate more than 15,500 hours of service. That’s the equivalent to the work of 7 and a half full time staff members.
If you are interested in volunteering during the upcoming telethon, email volunteer@FINDFoodBank.org. Join us or tune in on April 6 from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. for our annual telethon on CBS Local 2 where you can pledge your donation to provide food for those in need around the valley.
