When Rescued Food Saves Lives
At the Phoenix Rescue Mission, it’s true that hope begins with a meal.
But to really understand what that means you have to turn back the clock. You have to rewind back past the cafeteria line, past the cooks, past the delivery and sorting of the food, all the way back to the genesis of the meal itself - to one man standing by his truck in the early hours of the morning.
It’s 5 a.m. While most of the city sleeps, Patrick Bill is already at the Mission completing the final safety checks on his delivery truck. It’s still dark, but the running lights are just enough to show him everything he needs to see. Satisfied, he climbs into the rig and pulls onto the streets to tackle what is arguably the most important task to our ministry. This week over 6,084 hungry souls will pour into the Mission from all across Phoenix looking for a meal. It’s up to Patrick to find enough food to feed every one of them.
It’s not a challenge he takes lightly; he knows that if for some reason he fails and the food doesn’t get delivered, everything at the Mission will grind to a halt. Fortunately for Patrick, stores like Safeway, AJ’s Fine Foods, and Sprouts Farmers Markets are all eager to help us. Using donated food allows our kitchen to keep costs down, which is why it only costs us $1.92 per meal to feed Phoenix.
“It feels good to be able to give back and help out people who are hungry,” said Nikki, an employee at Sprouts Farmers Markets. “When you’re not in their position, it’s easy to forget how much need there is out there.”
Every Monday through Friday, Patrick is on the hunt visiting grocery store after grocery store in search of the food destined to help transform lives. Thanks to the Food Rescue Program, good food is made in to meals rather than thrown out.
Patrick states, “Every stop is something different. Sometimes it’s a few cases of frozen meats or a shopping cart full of bread, maybe it’s a bushel of artichokes and other random veggies… I bring back different stuff every day.”
But getting the food to the Mission is only half the challenge. Once Patrick finishes his rounds and unloads, it’s up to the kitchen supervisor, Marina White, to figure out what to do with all this food.
“We never know what we are getting so we have to be creative with the meals that we make,” Marina says. “We can’t just get some sandwiches and say, ‘here you go.’We have to make a full hot meal three times a day using whatever Patrick gives us… depending on what’s available- some days are harder than others!”
Marina and the kitchen staff start their day as early as Patrick. While he’s out gathering food, the kitchen is preparing and serving breakfast at 6:30 a.m. and lunch at 11:30 a.m. using whatever ingredients are on hand. By the time Patrick unloads at noon, they only have a small window
to inventory the day’s haul and plan a meal before dinner is served at 4:30 p.m.
“It’s meal after meal,” says Marina. “Each one takes two hours to prepare, then it’s served and we cleanup right beforethe next meal needs to get started. It’s crazy sometimes, but Ilove it!”
As you can see, hope begins with a meal and the meal itself begins with a lot of hard work. But the truth is,none of it is possible without the grace of God and the faithful prayers and support of friends like you.