Despite a rainstorm in 2025, food delivered to the MountainView clubhouse parking lot for the annual Food Drive was received by an army of volunteers who checked the expiration date and then sorted, boxed, and loaded it on trucks for delivery to Tri-Community Food Bank in Mammoth.
Nancy McCluskey-Moore
The 28th Annual SaddleBrooke Community Outreach (SBCO) Food Drive on March 14 will gather donations of food and money to support Tri-Community Food Bank (TCFB) based in Mammoth. TCFB serves needy families living in Mammoth, San Manuel, Oracle, and the Dudleyville/Aravaipa area. Last year, despite a major rainstorm, SaddleBrooke and SaddleBrooke Ranch residents donated 9,500 pounds of food and $142,080 to the Food Drive. TCFB meets a real need in the Tri-Community area, where 20% of households live below the poverty level and 10% are below 50% of the poverty level. Every increase in the cost of gasoline, food, and utilities has a significant impact on families already struggling to make ends meet.
SBCO will be collecting monetary contributions online or with checks from March 2 through March 14. Online donations can be made at the SBCO website community-outreach.org.
Checks should be made payable to SaddleBrooke Community Outreach with your unit number and either “SaddleBrooke” or “SaddleBrooke Ranch” on the memo line. Checks can be delivered to Food Drive unit captains or mailed/hand-delivered to the SBCO office at 63675 E. SaddleBrooke Blvd., Suite L, Tucson, AZ 85739 (in the SaddleBrooke business complex). Office hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
All monetary donations go directly to grocery purchases and related expenses. SBCO and TCFB are both all-volunteer organizations and are IRS 501(c)(3) and Arizona non-profit charitable organizations, so donations made to these organizations are tax deductible.
On Saturday, March 14, food donations need to be placed at the curb for pick-up by 8 a.m. Each unit will be given a list of suggested food items to donate based on TCFB’s needs. Food donations will be taken to the MountainView clubhouse parking lot for sorting, boxing, and delivery to TCFB.
If you live in SaddleBrooke and would like to volunteer for the Food Drive, please contact Andrea Stephens at andrea.stephens@community-outreach.org. SaddleBrooke Ranch residents should contact Marian Bianchini at marian@community-outreach.org.