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Food Bank plans temporary senior center
By Ainslee S. Wittig/Arizona Range News
The SouthEast Arizona Food Bank has plans to open a Senior Center, at least temporarily.
Angela Fuentes, an employee of the Food Bank, said they'd like to get something started so seniors have a place to meet and socialize, at least until they have a place of their own.
"We have spoken to the city and the hospital and the seniors need something before (the city is able to put the $95,000 grant to use in building a senior center)," she said.
"We hope to start Aug. 1," she added. "We are having several fundraisers in the next two months and we have meetings planned with the entities that also want to help get the senior services going. And we have lots of volunteers that want to come in and help with activities (such as exercise programs, board games, quilting and crafts, etc.)."
Fuentes said Northern Cochise Community Hospital is still hoping to help provide transportation.
And if the Food Bank can come up with $5,000 a month, they would be able to operate their kitchen daily and provide two hot meals and a sack meal that seniors could take home.
"We have no services left for seniors here, and we need to be able to keep seniors active and socializing," she said.
In other news, the Food Bank has just received a $2,000 donation from the Walter Wick Foundation to help pay for emergency food boxes. Currently, only people with no income are eligible to receive the boxes. With this donation, Fuentes said the Food Bank will be able to offer food boxes at a discounted price to others who have marginal income.
"We've been denying people food boxes, and we hate to do that. We can use the income to keep buying food," she said.
A $12,784 grant from First Things First (FTF), the Arizona Early Childhood Development and Health Board, will also allow the Food Bank to give out free food boxes to underprivileged children, ages 0-5.
First Things First has awarded emergency food grants of over $1.5 million to food banks and emergency food agencies to serve families with children under five in all 15 Arizona counties, including nearly $445,000 for Pima, Cochise and Santa Cruz counties in southern Arizona. In all, 51 organizations received funds, including the Community Food Bank of Tucson and its many agencies throughout southern Arizona.
"We were directed by the voters of Arizona to support families and our youngest children," said Nadine Mathis Basha, chair of the FTF board of directors. "Arizona families with children birth to five are facing an economic crisis. They need help now, and we are providing it."
"Members of the Association of Arizona Food Banks and other community partners worked diligently to secure these emergency grants to ensure struggling Arizona families with young children receive the nutritious food they need in these tough times," said Ginny Hildebrand, president and CEO of the Association of Arizona Food Banks. "We are very grateful to First Things First for moving quickly to award these much needed grants."
These one-time emergency food grants, as voted on by the FTF Board and their Regional Councils, are designed to immediately help combat hunger in working families and their children, as a result of the economic crisis and recent state budget cuts. First Things First is funded by Proposition 203, an Arizona voter-enacted tax on tobacco products in 2006.
Nicknamed "the Diaper Bag," Fuentes said these boxes will include diapers, and age-specific nutritional foods.
The Food Bank has also recently partnered with the Willcox High School Journalism Class to publish a newsletter, "The Outreach."
"The newsletter lets people know what the Food Bank is doing, and when board meetings and fundraisers are planned. Money received ($565) from advertisers was split with the Journalism Class and ours will go toward the senior center -- except for $50 from both the Journalism Class and the Food Bank, which will go to the Willcox Fire Department for the Fireworks Show," she said.
Some upcoming events include:
A meeting with the city on Wednesday, June 3 at 11:30 a.m. at City Hall to discuss the senior center;
A meeting with Willcox Parks and Recreation will be held June 8. Call 253-0722 for more information.
An Inventory Fundraiser for the Senior Center on June 11-12, asking community members to donate items the seniors could use at the center (such as board games, cards, DVD movies and player, crafting materials such as yarn and knitting tools, refrigerator and microwave, card tables, etc.) "We'd like to have designated booths as drop off points for donations. The Food Bank will be one, others will be announced," Fuentes said.
June 19 drawing for Father's Day raffles. Tickets are on sale at the Food Bank, State Farm Insurance, and Big Tex.
SEAFB Board Meeting -Friday, June 24 at 10 a.m. at the Food Bank. Open to the public.
Community Sale Fundraiser on Saturday, June 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Food Bank. Red River Rose band will play and people may pay $25 to rent a space for their sale - they can keep what they make. Money raised will go toward the senior center.
July 3 drawing for a quilt, made by Jacque Dias and Gloria Wood. Tickets are on sale at the Food Bank.
Angela Fuentes, an employee of the Food Bank, said they'd like to get something started so seniors have a place to meet and socialize, at least until they have a place of their own.
"We have spoken to the city and the hospital and the seniors need something before (the city is able to put the $95,000 grant to use in building a senior center)," she said.
"We hope to start Aug. 1," she added. "We are having several fundraisers in the next two months and we have meetings planned with the entities that also want to help get the senior services going. And we have lots of volunteers that want to come in and help with activities (such as exercise programs, board games, quilting and crafts, etc.)."
Fuentes said Northern Cochise Community Hospital is still hoping to help provide transportation.
And if the Food Bank can come up with $5,000 a month, they would be able to operate their kitchen daily and provide two hot meals and a sack meal that seniors could take home.
"We have no services left for seniors here, and we need to be able to keep seniors active and socializing," she said.
In other news, the Food Bank has just received a $2,000 donation from the Walter Wick Foundation to help pay for emergency food boxes. Currently, only people with no income are eligible to receive the boxes. With this donation, Fuentes said the Food Bank will be able to offer food boxes at a discounted price to others who have marginal income.
"We've been denying people food boxes, and we hate to do that. We can use the income to keep buying food," she said.
A $12,784 grant from First Things First (FTF), the Arizona Early Childhood Development and Health Board, will also allow the Food Bank to give out free food boxes to underprivileged children, ages 0-5.
First Things First has awarded emergency food grants of over $1.5 million to food banks and emergency food agencies to serve families with children under five in all 15 Arizona counties, including nearly $445,000 for Pima, Cochise and Santa Cruz counties in southern Arizona. In all, 51 organizations received funds, including the Community Food Bank of Tucson and its many agencies throughout southern Arizona.
"We were directed by the voters of Arizona to support families and our youngest children," said Nadine Mathis Basha, chair of the FTF board of directors. "Arizona families with children birth to five are facing an economic crisis. They need help now, and we are providing it."
"Members of the Association of Arizona Food Banks and other community partners worked diligently to secure these emergency grants to ensure struggling Arizona families with young children receive the nutritious food they need in these tough times," said Ginny Hildebrand, president and CEO of the Association of Arizona Food Banks. "We are very grateful to First Things First for moving quickly to award these much needed grants."
These one-time emergency food grants, as voted on by the FTF Board and their Regional Councils, are designed to immediately help combat hunger in working families and their children, as a result of the economic crisis and recent state budget cuts. First Things First is funded by Proposition 203, an Arizona voter-enacted tax on tobacco products in 2006.
Nicknamed "the Diaper Bag," Fuentes said these boxes will include diapers, and age-specific nutritional foods.
The Food Bank has also recently partnered with the Willcox High School Journalism Class to publish a newsletter, "The Outreach."
"The newsletter lets people know what the Food Bank is doing, and when board meetings and fundraisers are planned. Money received ($565) from advertisers was split with the Journalism Class and ours will go toward the senior center -- except for $50 from both the Journalism Class and the Food Bank, which will go to the Willcox Fire Department for the Fireworks Show," she said.
Some upcoming events include:
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