A day in the life of a FIND Food Bank Truck
Driving around the Coachella Valley, there’s a good chance you’ve seen a FIND Food Bank truck. They collect and distribute food for more than 85,000 local residents each month.
Mario Montesinos spent 20 years of his life as a cross-country truck driver. Now, he’s behind the wheel of one of Coachella Valley’s FIND Food Bank collection trucks.
One of his daily stops includes Whole Foods in Rancho Mirage, one of more than a hundred different partnering agencies that have helped in the distribution of 10 million pounds of food in the last year.
“We have to go to the receiving place first, talk to the receiving guy,” Montesinos said, “Food bank is here. What do we have for today?”
“We’re looking at a lot of items like breads, canned foods, cereal boxes where maybe the packaging is damaged, but the product is still intact and safe to eat,” store team leader Nathan Bulicek said.
But the collections don’t stop there. Nutritious fresh produce is a key part of the daily collections.
The food that Mario weighs, logs, and loads away in the truck from local grocers is taken back to the food bank and examined to ensure it meets strict food-safety guidelines.
Next stop, distribution.
The FIND Food Bank delivers to valley locations like schools, local shelters- and elderly communities. The La Quinta Recreation Center is one of those spots where food is distributed.
“The reason I’m here today is, you know, limited income,” local resident Sandra Skorupski said, “I came out here for the first time, and I’m thrilled to see the wonderful produce and other donated foods that I can take home with me today.”
You have a chance to Step Up to the Plate for the FIND Food Bank. Watch CBS Local 2 on April 7 from 5:00 to 11:00 PM for our annual telethon, where you can pledge your donation to help provide food for those in need around the valley. Call (760) 775-FOOD (3663) or go to FINDFoodBank.org to donate.
If you are interested in attending a food distribution, you can find those locations-here.
