Rosemary Douglas
Bashas’ grocery store in Catalina has been a good friend to the Tri-Community Food Bank (TCFB) for more than 10 years. Most mornings that the food bank is open, volunteers drive our van to Bashas’ to pick up food donations. The TCFB receives bakery items such as bread, rolls, bagels, pies, cakes, and cookies. Some days there is also milk and yogurt. In addition, Bashas’ maintains a donation box in their store for the TCFB where shoppers can put food donations at any time.
The TCFB is also a customer of Bashas’, ordering most of its grocery purchases from the Catalina store at a discount. TCFB Executive Board Member Karen Nybeck, who handles inventory for the food bank, says, “Bashas’ [store as a whole] is always the nicest place to deal with. When you walk in wearing a TCFB T-shirt, everyone speaks and smiles, because they know we are helping the community up north.”
One of the challenges of the Tri-Community Food Bank is how to handle the large volume of cardboard that comes with unpacking many boxes and cartons of supplies. Once again, Bashas’ helps out by letting us use their compactor and recycle the cardboard.
Bashas’ store director Shawn Dorsey and bookkeeper Cindy Davis both expressed support for the food bank and are happy to be a part of our mission to feed our neighbors in Southeast Pinal County. Well done, Bashas’, for your “service with a smile” to the entire community and, in particular, to our hungry neighbors!
The Tri-Community Food Bank has always been an all-volunteer organization, spending 0% on administration costs. We need ongoing and substitute volunteers, especially during the summer months. To volunteer, please call the food bank at 520-487-2010 during business hours. The TCFB is located at 108 Redwood Road in Mammoth, and it is open five days a week (Monday through Thursday and Saturdays) from 9 a.m. to noon. We serve the communities of Oracle, San Manuel, Mammoth, and Dudleyville. We are an IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation and an Arizona Qualifying Charitable Organization.