Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Wvuafm, tuscaloosa.
[00:00:09] Speaker B: Happy Sunday, y'.
[00:00:10] Speaker A: All.
[00:00:10] Speaker B: You are listening to Fit to be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7 the capstone. And let me just point out, if you are listening to this live, you know, on Air with 90.7 the capstone, you might be on a nice Sunday drive to wherever you're going for spring break, because it is spring break week.
[00:00:31] Speaker C: It is. I can feel it in the air. Can you feel it in the air?
[00:00:34] Speaker B: I can feel it in the air. Which, honestly. But can I feel it in the air? Maybe. I haven't looked at the forecast yet to know. What do you. Do you know what it's supposed to look like for us?
[00:00:44] Speaker C: No, I'm, I'm talking more about, like, I can feel the buzz of students being like, we're about to be out of here.
[00:00:49] Speaker B: Oh, yes, absolutely. So, you know, listeners, we've acknowledged this before. We typically record this the Monday before it airs on a Sunday. So we're always having to feel like we're fortune tellers about things. That's why you probably have noticed we never, especially during football season, we never really talk about game scores because we just don't know.
[00:01:11] Speaker C: Yeah, we don't know. I don't have. I left my crystal ball somewhere else.
[00:01:15] Speaker B: Yes, Well, I, and I, I will say confidently that I'm sure the locals of Tuscaloosa, you know, we always feel this time where the roads are a little less busy, you know, certain restaurants that you may not typically go to for lunch, you might decide to go to this time around just because, honestly, there's less humans. Not just with our college students, but even with all of our local schools and families going on spring break for those kind of trips, it gives a little breather for the local community. Right?
[00:01:46] Speaker C: Yeah, it's. It's. Introverts unite out into the world on spring break because, yeah, like you said, you can, you can move a little bit more freely around.
[00:01:57] Speaker B: Yes. Now, Nika, I did want to ask you, I feel like we had this conversation a little bit earlier on in the year.
I feel like you might have mentioned some plans with just kind of like doing some projects around the house, yard work type things. Is that your typical M.O. during spring break if you're not traveling?
[00:02:14] Speaker C: Yeah. Trying to catch up on grading, but also housework. So just all those spring cleaning chores that I need to tackle. How about you?
[00:02:26] Speaker B: So for our spring break, by the time this airs, we're actually, we're going to be at the beach for just a Little bit. We had a very kind friend that invited our family along.
But we're doing that at the very beginning, beginning of spring break, AKA coming back on Monday so that I can also clean house before we go up to North Alabama and see my mom for a few days. I don't know if I've mentioned this on air, but my mom had been on a trip to the Philippines for the past six weeks. She had a 50 year high school reunion and some other things that she did. And so she's now finally back in the US hopefully has gotten re acclimated to the time change because I'm. I'm pretty sure the Philippines is about 14 hours ahead head.
[00:03:11] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:03:12] Speaker B: So that always made it really interesting whenever I was trying to call or FaceTime her while she was there and especially the kids wanting to, to talk to her. So we're gonna spend some time doing that. So, you know, just a little bit of everything.
[00:03:26] Speaker C: I love it though.
[00:03:27] Speaker B: But do you feel like this?
And again, we could have had this conversation before. I feel like anytime there is a trip, it's like you gotta have one or two days of a buffer to get your life right before you go back into that normal routine and just hit the ground.
[00:03:43] Speaker C: Yeah, you do. I've always been in awe of people who travel for a living because it, it just wears me out. Like, you know, the whole thing of I need a vacation for my vacation has always rang true for me about you.
[00:03:56] Speaker B: The same. Yes. So I'm trying to be strategic about that. Like I'm even preemptively telling my mom, I'm like, look, now I can stay till this day, but not till Sunday.
[00:04:06] Speaker C: Don't kill trip.
[00:04:07] Speaker B: Like, I really want to, but you know, as much as I'm going to try to clean our house before we go up to see you, I just, I gotta ment have a little bit of a buffer.
[00:04:16] Speaker C: You got to get your mind right to get the work week started back.
[00:04:19] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:04:20] Speaker C: You just do.
[00:04:20] Speaker B: Yes. And I, you know, and I was talking to some of the students that, that work in our office and some of the places that these students go to for spring break. This is a different breed of spring break trips from like, listen, our stuff
[00:04:33] Speaker C: in the early 2000s, we didn't. I hate to be like, we walk to school both ways, uphill in the snow. But for real, when it comes to apples and orange is comparison with spring break from back in the 90s, 2000s to what they get to do today.
I'm jealous, man.
[00:04:52] Speaker B: I know. Like, I thought that I was real fancy getting to go to, you know, Panama City beach or Destin at spring break. But these people are throwing places like Barcelona, Turks and Caicos out. And I'm like, excuse me.
[00:05:06] Speaker C: Yeah, I couldn't afford that. Or, you know, like, as an adult on vacation, I am, I'm going to live vicariously. I'm going to have to ask my students to bring back, you know, some show and tell pictures I want to see.
[00:05:15] Speaker B: Yes, absolutely. But, you know, again, it is.
We acknowledged this earlier this month, but March is National Nutrition Month. You know, we had some fabulous guests earlier this month. We had Emma Proctor and Isabella Johnston, who are nutrition students here at the University of Alabama, and they were talking about their perspectives. And we're going to continue that theme with National Nutrition Month today. But you guys, we've got to take a quick break. You are listening to Fit to Be Tied with Sheena and Nika on 9.7, the capstone.
[00:05:53] Speaker A: Wvuafm Tuscaloosa.
[00:06:02] Speaker C: Happy Sunday, y'.
[00:06:03] Speaker A: All.
[00:06:03] Speaker C: You are listening to Fit to Be Tied with Sheena and Neeka on 90.7 the Capstone.
[00:06:08] Speaker B: That's right. And if you are just now joining us again, that's probably the best thing because earlier on we were lamenting that our spring break experiences just do not compare with the spring break experiences as of late from our current generation of students. But thankfully, that is not what we are talking about today. You guys, we mentioned earlier that March is National Nutrition Month. And so to go along with that theme, we wanted to bring our friends from the West Alabama Food Bank. So Today we have Ms. Jean Ricocheski, who is chief executive officer of the West Alabama Food Bank. Jean, thank you for joining us today.
[00:06:48] Speaker A: Thanks for having me. I'm so, so excited.
[00:06:50] Speaker B: Absolutely. Now, Jean, we always start our segments at the beginning with our guests sharing a little bit about themselves. This is your first time on our show. We, we don't believe it'll be the last time. We feel like we're going to be inviting you again. But we want you to tell our listeners about your journey, you know, your background and how you came to the role that you have now here in West Alabama.
[00:07:16] Speaker A: Yeah. So I'm originally from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and I kind of came down here.
My husband and I picked it off of map.
He was already located in Nashville and so we had to move farther for himself, for his company.
I grew up on a college campus because my dad was in athletics. And so after looking at the colleges in the South Tuscaloosa one, I mean, it just had everything I wanted.
[00:07:44] Speaker C: Roll Tide.
[00:07:45] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, exactly. I'm big sport fan, played field hockey in college. So, you know, I was used to lots of sport activities and that's what we did as a family.
So ended up here, thought I was going to teach, came down here, realized after about three years that probably teaching and I were not going to get along in the south.
They were starting programs that had already died up north.
And so I was like, why are you trying that? That doesn't work.
And so then I thought, well, I'll go to the university.
That wasn't where I needed to be either because the whole view of education, their view of education at the time in my view were very different.
And so I decided to be a stay at home mom.
My husband was in engineering and so when the kids got older I started helping him. Then I started taking classes at the university and I'm like, wow, this really makes sense to me that other stuff never did.
And so ended up working in the automotive industry in quality engineering. And from there I got tired of that, moved to another non profit. I was at the other non profit for three years doing their development and the food bank came calling and said, hey, our director died, will you take over? And that's how I ended up there.
[00:09:05] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:09:05] Speaker A: So I had no knowledge of anything about food banking. Didn't even know we had a food bank in town, which was very worrisome to me.
But I did know about inventory and truck scheduling and writing grants and a business model and, and how to, you know, how to run a business. And so that's why our food bank looks different than other food banks because ours is set up the way a manufacturing warehouse would look as opposed to a food bank.
[00:09:34] Speaker C: Very cool. I love all those transferable skills. We talk about that all the time with a lot of our guests. It's, you know, how you kind of end up in the role that you're in, in, you know, when we're talking to our students, especially our listeners who are like very kind of ambiguous about what they want to do when they grow up and we're like, hey, get some skill sets, get some tools to put in your tool belt because you never know when you're going to pull them out and they're going to be the perfect tools for the job you're in.
[00:10:03] Speaker A: The perfect one. Every job I've had previously put me and the with the experience for this job and I have the engineering students, I have the warehouse management students, the building students, all come through the food bank with some of the different professors and I share with them, like, hey, this wasn't, this is my second, third go round as a job. This wasn't my first or second.
But had I not had the first and second, I wouldn't have known enough to take the third.
[00:10:28] Speaker C: Ah.
[00:10:28] Speaker A: And so that's what, you know, I always tell them. I said, you know, nonprofit, you're not going to get rich, but it's always going to be needed and your scale skill sets are needed more than anything else that people who typically start a non profit never get.
[00:10:43] Speaker B: Right. Right. No, I think that's incredible. You know, I'm just going to echo what Nika mentioned in terms of those transferable skills. And we have had so many guests over years that have had these, what we're just calling non traditional paths to the roles that they, that they're currently holding when they're on our show. And that's so encouraging to our listeners and especially with our, our student listeners. And so, you know, Jean, you've acknowledged that you were kind of new to the, to the world of food banks. But you know, as you've, as you've been in this role for a while now, what continues to inspire you in the mission of, of food relief and being able to provide that kind of support for the community?
[00:11:27] Speaker A: You know, I think it first hit my radar when I was on that food insecurity when I started teaching because I taught in Fosters, which is south of Tuscaloosa, and it had some really poor families who were living in shacks and, you know, iffy water and things like that. And so I kind of started my own food pantry at my school.
And that was the first time I noticed like, huh, there's hungry kids. How are they learning? And then I was noticing that, hey, these are the same kids that are getting in trouble all the time because they're hungry. And it's not because they're mean kids. But the last meal they had was Friday at lunchtime. And now they're waiting to get here till, you know, they're acting out in the bus and they're acting out before lunch because we didn't have universal breakfast back then.
And so, you know, then after lunch they were fine.
[00:12:20] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:12:20] Speaker A: And so I'm like on the head. There's only one common denominator right there. And so that kind of like really started it. And then I started, the more I was in when I came to food banking, I started realizing it. It isn't always who we think it is, right?
[00:12:34] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:12:35] Speaker A: You Know, hunger is not a poor person's problem. I've had professors from the university. I've had couples who, you know, they. They're going through a divorce, and it's a very ugly divorce. And, you know, they're holding child support payments on hostage of which means whether the children can eat or not.
And it's the different games or they're moving.
Even some university students who are coming from across the seas who come over here and the dollar amount, you know, the dollar wealth changes and all of a sudden they run out of money and they don't know what to do. And it's not like, you know, mom and dad can just ship a box and send it here or even transfer money is easy. So I started noticing patterns like that. And I thought, you know, the one thing that the. The engineering and the quality part of this fixed is there. My job was to find a problem and fix it.
So that's why I look at food banking different because when there's a problem, we find a source to fix it. We find a program, we find something. And I can write a grant to fix a program and start it. It may not work, but I can try it. And so that's really how we have operated.
[00:13:44] Speaker B: I, you know, I'm sitting here quietly and, you know, Nika, you probably, yeah, you probably had the same thoughts of. I'm just like, wow, you know, what a blessing it is for our food bank to have your past experiences and the way that you are, the way that you're providing leadership to this community organization. And so, you know, as I've kind of tracked the time je from. I think I remember first getting learning of you becoming the. The CEO of the Food bank and then kind of just watching that significant growth of the organization. What continues to mo. What continues to motivate you as a leader with that? Just given that there's been so much significant growth, I feel like, you know, there was a physical facilities change, there's a growth of staff. Can you speak to that a little bit?
[00:14:36] Speaker A: Sure.
You know, I was there probably about three years and I was like, this building isn't. I'm running out of. I'm having to turn food down because I don't have a cooler or a freezer to put it in. I can't take this because we can't take. We can't pass this inspection.
And so I informed my board very on early on that like, hey, we're gonna have to move.
And, you know, they're looking at me like, you just got Here. No, we're, we're still in the hole. We don't have any positive money. And I'm like, I'll turn that around. You know, don't worry. We'll work at that. And, you know, there's a, in food banking, there's a lot of audits. Not only do you have food audits and government audits and financial audits, but you have building audits. You have, I mean, you feel like you're getting audited all the time.
And so the last kind of piece was the building audit.
So we were lucky to move. But what motivates me most is every time I think I have something figured out, something else pops up.
With an example, the food pharmacy we've started, you know, all of a sudden, you know, I started hearing stories from some of the neighbors that we were helping. Well, we were okay until my husband got put on this diet, or we were doing okay until I had a stroke or we were doing okay. And then I'm like going.
And I started researching that and then I figured out, you know, you can go through the grocery store, do it yourself.
That food that has stuff removed is more expensive than stuff that is added. So, you know, peaches in peach juice is more expensive than peaches and heavy syrup.
[00:16:12] Speaker C: Right.
[00:16:13] Speaker A: You know, green beans without salt is more expensive than green beans with salt. So I started adding it up and it became very expensive to eat healthy.
[00:16:22] Speaker B: No, I, you know, the, you're touching the tip of the iceberg with this, with this food pharmacy program. I know. It's one of the things we want to highlight. We're going to take a quick break, but we've got to continue these conversations.
[00:16:35] Speaker C: I know, I'm excited.
[00:16:36] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm like, we have so many questions, but you guys, run to the restroom, get yourself hydrated. Do what you got to do. You are listening to fit to be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7, the capstone.
[00:16:52] Speaker A: Wvua fm tuscaloosa
[00:16:57] Speaker C: foreign.
To be tied with Sheena and NA on 90.7 to Capstone. And we are joined today by Jean Ricocheski, who is the CEO of the West Alabama Food bank here in town.
[00:17:15] Speaker B: That's right. And before the break, Jean was talking to us about her non traditional path to, to the role that she has with the West Alabama Food bank and all of the expert and the experiences that have made her a unique and just wonderful individual to, to, to lead this organization. And you know, we've talked about the West Alabama Food bank, but I want to Kind of just go in direct and say, what is the mission of the West Alabama Food bank and how does that mission show up in your everyday operations?
[00:17:51] Speaker A: So our mission statement is to alleviate hunger in the nine counties that we're responsible for. So we have, we go from Marion county, which is up north, down the Mississippi line, down to Sumter county, and then over across Bibb. That's a triangle. And so we are responsible for providing to alleviate hunger in any way we can, whether it's daily conditional or a chronic issue, or it's an emergency need, and that emergency can be disastrous. Pastors and then our other subject is to educate the people that we serve on the effects of food and food insecurity, the nutritional values, what it does to you if you food insecure, the health conditions that can put you on a hamster wheel if you don't eat, or you eat too much or you eat the wrong things.
[00:18:49] Speaker C: So you mentioned earlier some of the stigma around food insecurity. What are some of the biggest ones that, that you see?
[00:18:57] Speaker A: The biggest stigma is people think that neighbors who come to get food are all poor.
They're poor. They're poor. They don't know how to manage their budgets.
[00:19:06] Speaker B: They.
[00:19:07] Speaker A: They're just sorry people. Well, that is not the case at all. I mean, like I said earlier, it can be a professor at the university whose husband has lost a job or the company shut down and moved. It can be somebody who has had the breadwinner of the house be put in the hospital. And so all of a sudden it can even be the mom, a single mom who is doing a great job. But then all of a sudden, things start piling up. She has a flat tire. It was really cold, so the heating bill was a little larger. There's a field trip coming up.
The electricity went out and we lost a bunch of food. And it just kind of piles up where normally she can take care of one or two things, but when it kind of snowballs on them, they can't. And then all of a sudden they need help. And I always tell my staff members, if you can't take a hug or listen to tears, don't take the position.
Because you will have a lot of people who will sit in that parking lot and debate whether they should come in or not. Because, you know, that was, and that was one of my things with the new building is I wanted to make it look very inviting. I didn't want it to look like that old place that you had to go to get food. I want it to make it looked very high tech, very inviting that you're not embarrassed to come and people don't know why you're coming. You know, you can come for a class, you can come for, to help out. You can come for a million different things.
It's not just because you need food.
[00:20:33] Speaker B: Right.
[00:20:34] Speaker C: I love that you removed a lot of those barriers for our community to be able to engage in and not have to sit in the car and debate on, you know, fulfilling a basic human need. We all have.
[00:20:45] Speaker B: And you know, and Gene, honestly, until you explicitly said that you serve nine different counties, I didn't realize that that was the number of counties that you serve. And I think it's easy for me to just generalize that as a Tuscaloosa resident, being like, oh, I'm sure they probably just serve Tuscaloosa and, you know, maybe a few neighboring counties, but to know that you serve nine.
I'm curious if you're aware of any specific statistics related to food insecurity that are relevant to those counties that you serve.
[00:21:15] Speaker A: So we have, out of the nine counties, we have four that are on the chronic food insecurity where their poverty level food insecurity rate is above 35%, which it always kills me when I talk to one of my cohorts who's in like New York or New Jersey or someplace that you would think would be like having any high need. They'll be like, oh yeah, we have a food insecurity 14%. I'm like, don't even talk to me. Because you can serve Everybody within a 10 mile range. And I have 8,200 square miles.
[00:21:50] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:21:51] Speaker A: You know, like, and I have farms and, and woods for miles and miles before I get to the next person.
So, you know, when you have, you know, Tuscaloosa sits about 16% poverty level. That's my best county.
[00:22:06] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:22:06] Speaker A: So my best county is higher than, you know, other counties that, you know, people think are, have food problems.
So it's, you know, and then because we have one of the highest non transportation, you know, people without cars or we don't have public transportation here. I mean, we have a bus in Tuscaloosa City, but when we were in Northport, the bus would literally drop people off on the Tuscaloosa side and they'd have to walk across the bridge. Bridge and walked our place and then walk back across the bridge and get picked up on Tuscaloosa side.
So it only goes in Tuscaloosa.
[00:22:41] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. No, Nika, I know you and I both know food deserts way too well.
You know, that public health work.
[00:22:48] Speaker C: Yes, this is, this is, this is public health, you know, to the hilt. It's, you know, people forget all those social determinants of health that serve to be, you know, barriers for a lot of folks, folks that just to get their basic needs met.
So let me ask you this, Gene. You, I know you have a lot of community partnerships that help extend your impact. Would you tell us a little bit more about those?
[00:23:14] Speaker A: Sure. We have over close to 90, 90 some because they change, you know, weekly for me. But there really are boots on the ground there. Other 501c nonprofit organizations, they are churches, they are community organizations who actually go out and serve the people. So we're just a giant warehouse now. Yes, we have five of our own programs that we run out of the warehouse, but the one, the one of them is the agency program. So any of the churches, any of the other 501c recognized institutions can, can be a partner of ours and they can be there where they serve weekly or they can do it it quarterly or once a month. And that's what we have, like a mobile food pantry where we'll just go out in those food deserts. You know, I learned really quickly that I can put food into a parking lot of church, but if people can't get to that parking lot, they're still going to be hungry.
[00:24:10] Speaker B: Right.
[00:24:11] Speaker A: So, you know, when I'm listening to these other food banks saying, oh yeah, we can serve 300 people or 500 people in one time, I I'm like, well, that doesn't work for us because I can't get 500 people to come.
[00:24:25] Speaker C: Right.
[00:24:25] Speaker A: You know, unless I'm in Tuscaloosa. So, you know, if I'm in Barry, Alabama, you know, I'm lucky if I can get 100. And if I'm in Hackleberg up in Marion county or beer Bear Creek, you might have 50 and 50, you know, so you. To be able to move it around is very important to us.
[00:24:45] Speaker C: Right. I'm from north Alabama, so when you say Hackleberg and Bear Creek, that's my area of the woods. And it's very rural and it's not neighborhoods, you know, I mean, it's. You drive a couple of miles through farmland, pasture, pastures, woods, like you said before, you get to the next neighbor's house.
So it is hard for a lot of people, especially elderly who don't drive anymore, to come to a central location in those towns.
[00:25:12] Speaker A: Pounds.
[00:25:12] Speaker C: Right?
[00:25:13] Speaker A: And that's what I mean. That's where, you know, I'm not door dash. I wish I could be right. But we try to make it as easy as it is to can be for you to get where you need to, you know, to get food. We have a senior program that you're 60 and older and you meet the income requirements.
We have 2,000 seniors we take care of every month across those nine counties. And I have a waiting list of over 150 people. And the reality is somebody has to die for somebody else to get on. And that's a horrible thing to me. But it's a federal program and I can't add any more money to it. So it is what it is until I have my own program and can do whatever I want to do. And so you know that sometimes the limitations I face, and that was one thing with the school, the Secret meal program, the Weekend wonders, the backpack program, whatever you want to call it.
I had businesses funded.
And so we never say no to a child.
[00:26:06] Speaker C: Sure. Right.
[00:26:07] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, you know, on that note, I know we have got to take a quick break, but on the other side of that, Gene, we want you to talk more about the specific programs within the West Alabama Food Bank. I know you've mentioned a few, but, you know, let's talk about those programs and then let's talk about how people can get involved. You know, I'm sure our listeners are probably curious about what kind of donations they can give. You know, is a monetary gift better? What does that look like? Because I know that you have likely inspired a lot of interest just from these initial things that you've shared. But you guys, go get hydrated, run to the restroom, do what you got to do. You are listening to Fit to Be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7 the capstone.
[00:26:54] Speaker A: Wvuafm, tuscaloosa.
[00:27:03] Speaker C: Welcome back, listeners. You are listening to Fit to be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7 the Capstone.
[00:27:09] Speaker B: That's right. And today we have had the pleasure of having Ms. Jean Ricocheski, who is chief executive officer of the West Alabama Food Bank. And prior to the break, we were talking about some of the different programs within the West Alabama Food Bank. You know, I know, Jean, you were mentioning earlier the Food Pharmacy initiative and then the backpack Meals. Can you share more specifics about that and the other programs you have?
[00:27:36] Speaker A: Sure. So we have the backpack program, Secret Meals, Weekend Wonders. They're all the same program, just different businesses or funders got to name them what they wanted to name and they provide a Weekend meal for a child.
So there is breakfast, lunch, dinner, fruit juice or 100 fruit juice. Because I'm very, very picky about what goes in my meals for children. But they will get a meal put in their backpack or given by a teacher. So other children don't know they're getting it. We do over 2200 every week.
[00:28:10] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:28:11] Speaker A: It doesn't back handling us.
So we talked about how other people can get involved volunteering to try come volunteer because to try to get 2200 meals, which is 4400 actual meals. But we put up two meals in each bag or two, two days in each bag.
We desperately always need help. Then I talked about our senior box which goes out once a month. It goes a third week out of the month. When seniors, their Social Security checks usually come at the beginning of the month. So this is about when they're running out of food. We do over 2,000 of those. It's a 42 pound box.
It has shelf stable milk, it has fruit juice, it has cereal, it has canned vegetables, usually salmon, tuna, some kind of chili, something like a protein, beans, peanut butter, pasta and rice. So it's a very, very satisfying box for the senior that usually most seniors can't eat. We know it's not going to take everything, but right now most seniors are getting about between 12 and $15 in food snaps and food benefits on their snap dollars. That's about a loaf of lunch meat or a loaf of bread and a pound of lunch meat is about all they're going to buy with that, maybe eggs and a gallon of milk.
It doesn't go very far these days.
And so this box just helps them make sure that they stay healthy, they're eating senior appropriate foods and that we don't start that hamster wheel I talked about where they stop eating because they've got to pay for a medication bill and then they get even sicker and then it just starts all. You know, they just start on a wheel that they can't get off of. So we have that program, we have our agencies which I said we have over 90 some agencies that partner with us who actually get food out to people. These can be agencies like the Boys and Girls Club who are making sure that their, their children who are coming after school have snacks and things so that they can learn and do their homework and things after school.
It can be caring days. Who is taking care of memory care patients who may or may not have the funds to be able to afford to eat there.
It can be Tuscaloosa One place. Or it can be Grace Presbyterian Church or the Daily Bread or, you know, and this is in all nine counties. We have programs like this, though. It's not just here. It's all nine counties that we have programs that support this. These, we have our, our mobile pantries which go out into food deserts, serve, you know, larger groups time. And we do it as a drive through. You stay in your car, we have volunteers, you open your door, your trunk, and we just load the food in and you keep driving down the line till you get all the food. Each family gets about 60 pounds of food. It'll have fresh produce, it'll have meat, it'll have sometimes eggs, sometimes, you know, we don't, whatever we get in is what we're going to pass out.
And then we have some, you know, some smaller programs that do just local things.
We have the food pharmacy and then we have Beat Auburn, Beat Hunger, which is like a large food drive. And then we have a food drive coming up. It's called Stamp out Hunger. And it's with the postal, where you just stick a bag of, of food on your mailbox and the post office collects them all. And then we're at the post office, all the locations collecting the food and taking it back. We, you talked about volunteering. We need somebody to go through all that food to make sure it's not out of date, to make sure that it's not on recall list, to make sure that it's not dented in a place where it can't be dented.
And what people have to realize is there's an expiration date and then there's a use by date. The great, the great grocery store myth has used by dates a lot of stuff. Do not, does not expire by the yeast by date. You know, there's a few items that we tell people, you know, please don't use Bisquick or something that has a yeast based pass. Use by date.
But a canned food, you got at least a year or two where it's still good before it starts breaking down.
Dairy foods have about two weeks. Any kind of cracker or cookie, you've got six months. So there's a lot of stuff that people don't recognize that, that they're still good. They're just, you know. And the one I always pull to my college student, I'm going, have you ever realized where the Oreos that had the orange icing and the pumpkin go after Halloween or the ones that were for the Olympics, that had the torch on, that had light Blue. Do you wonder where those go? They all come to us. And so the Oreos still have like over a year dating on them. They're just orange and they were Halloween.
And then we'll have leprechaun everything, you know, in a couple of weeks. So everything that's off holiday or off a label change, a box change, a box size change. We see a lot now. They used to be 14 ounce boxes, now they're 10.
All that comes to us and we, that's our last program is we recover at the grocery stores.
[00:33:10] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:33:11] Speaker A: So every grocery store we go to, we have drivers who go every day to the grocery store and recover food that is either close to being out of date because they're not going to put something on their shelf that has only three months left. They're going to pull it and restock it. Or if they drop it in a box gets a dent in the corner, they're going to get rid of it because nobody's going to buy that dented box. Or if they slice a box open or like I said, a label change or the label gets ripped a little bit or there's a little dent on the side, people aren't going to take those. So they all come to us and you know, we can't take, take vegetables that are moldy or things like that, but a bag of oranges that has one orange that's, that has a little spot on it. We'll open the bag out and get rid of that orange and re bag it with all the good oranges.
So, you know, those things are all still edible. They're just things that are going in the trash can that could be feeding someone else.
[00:34:02] Speaker C: I'm learning so much. I'm just like taking it all in.
[00:34:04] Speaker B: We're just sitting here and we're like, oh my goodness. So, you know, you talked about the need for volunteers to, to go through this food and we talked a little about donations, you know, in, you know, in a, in a dream scenario and you've got these listeners who may be eager to, to donate. Would you prefer that they donate actual food product or is it easier for your team if it's a monetary donation or just donations, whatever those look like are welcome?
[00:34:35] Speaker A: Well, donations, whatever they look like are welcome. Whether it's your time, your experience or money, you know, food, whatever. You know, money is easier for us because we can then purchase and fill in the miscellaneous that we don't get donated. And we buy it by the truck and we buy it on the same portals that the grocery Stores do. So instead of spending A$9 on a can of grocery, at the grocery store for a can of green beans, I can buy three cans through the, you know, like going through the big portal because I'm buying them a truckload at a time.
So monetary is always easiest, but we'll take whatever because if you have, you know, the buy one, get one free and you know you're not going to use that free one, bring it to us. You can just bring it to our front door, the office and drop it off. You know, we'll take everything.
You know, we don't want the expired or the bad or the half eaten peanut butter. You know, we don't, you know. But students, when you are clearing out of your dorms or your apartments and you have that big box of ramen noodles that your mom sent you and you've only two of them, them bring us the rest of them. We're working with some groups that'll have barrels out by the dorms and things. Put them in there, just don't let them be half eaten.
We also take cleaning and you know, shampoo and things like that. Because anything that somebody can save money on at a grocery store they can use to pay the rent. The light bill.
[00:35:56] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:35:57] Speaker A: A doctor's visit, a power bill, you know, or water bill, something like that that they can use in terms of, so band aids, unused toothbrushes, toothpaste that hasn't been open, anything like that that you're going to get rid of. Don't put it in the dumpster. Let somebody else, one of your neighbors in the nine counties use it.
[00:36:14] Speaker B: Sure. Well, and I was going to ask about that. So how about diapers?
[00:36:17] Speaker A: Is that diapers are so needed. And you know, we have one organization that deals with teen pregnant moms and we collect from all the WIC offices all the formula that doesn't get used. We go around to the nine counties and to get all the formula. So we have cases of formula for our families that need it. And so we supply the agencies that we know that work with expectant mothers or mothers of young children. We provide formula and diapers and wipes and things like that. Anything that is considered a daily health care need, a daily, you know, whether shampoo, body wash, we're going to have, have or have access to.
[00:36:58] Speaker C: I, I didn't know.
[00:36:59] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm like, yeah, na. I'm just like, we need to go volunteer right now.
[00:37:04] Speaker C: Spinning. My brain is spinning. So that's, that's. I'm so glad you said that. Sheena. So, you know, talking about the donations that you need. So if there's someone out there listening, they're like, hey, I work with a group, a school, a church, college, something we want to come and help like with the weekend food for kids or the senior nutrition boxes. And what is the first step they need to do to contact you guys to say, how can we help?
[00:37:30] Speaker A: So we make it real easy. Volunteer at West Alabama Food bank. And it's all spelled out.org and the.org is very important because we're an organization. But it's just volunteerestalabamafoodbank.org and you can send a message saying, we have a group. We'd like to volunteer. What are your dates? What are your times? We're open from 8 to, well, 3:30 because we start cleaning up five days a week and then weekends we have different groups come in. So that's by availability of staff.
[00:38:02] Speaker B: Man. Well, Gene, you know, we are, we know that you are a busy individual running a very busy and helpful organization. And we're just so grateful for the time that you've spent with us today sharing about the mission of the West Alabama Food bank and ways for our listeners to be involved. Thank you so much for being on the show today.
[00:38:22] Speaker C: Thank you.
[00:38:23] Speaker A: I, I love my. I think it was, you know, I always think it's a greatest gift that I was offered the job because I know that there's in, in our nine counties, there's over 65,000 people that need us.
And so just being a small part of helping any of them is just the greatest gift.
[00:38:41] Speaker B: Well, we're great.
[00:38:42] Speaker C: I'm grateful and you just brought a lot of knowledge and things that, you know, I know about you guys because of my work, but I didn't know so much.
So I know our listeners have just, they, you know, they've just come to get some schooling today. Yes.
[00:38:59] Speaker B: Well. And Gene, I can guarantee you this is not the first time you are going to be on our show. We definitely want to have you in the future.
We will stay in touch so that as you guys have new initiatives or big fundraisers coming up, we want you to be able to share that with the show. But Jean, we thank you again. And listeners, we are going to take a quick break and then we are going to wrap up the show. Today you are listening to fit to be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7 the capstone.
[00:39:30] Speaker A: Wvuafm Tuscaloosa.
[00:39:40] Speaker C: Thanks for listening, you guys. You've been listening to Fit to be tagged with Sheena and Neeka on 90.7 the Capstone.
[00:39:46] Speaker B: That's right. And if you are just now joining, you have got to go back and listen to you. The earlier parts of our show we had the pleasure and honor of having Ms. Jean Ricocheski who is the chief executive officer of the West Alabama Food Bank. And so we're grateful with her busy schedule she was able to come on for a few segments today. But now we're just kind of wrapping things up this afternoon. Now, Nika, I, you know, I know at the beginning of the show we were talking about spring break and trips and all of the things and I have to tell you on my way to the studio I was actually enlightening my husband a about the cost of express or lightning passes for theme parks. So, you know, I know that you've, your family has gone to some parks in the past, you know, Disney and all of that. We're going to be stepping into the world of Universal. I don't know if it's because I have boys, but you know, just this whole, it's, it's been a minute since I've been to a major theme park. So this whole concept of buying the theme park park tickets plus the express passes and it's like, is it worth it? But the cost, I was like, good lord, this is the same price it is to just even get in the park. I'm just, I don't know, I think I just was having this like mind blown moment of like. Excuse me. What?
[00:41:06] Speaker C: It's gotten a little out of control.
You know, I'm an OG Walt Disney World girl and I kind of like it the way it was.
[00:41:20] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:41:20] Speaker C: Back in the late 2000s, like 2009, 2010, 2011, they changed a lot of things. And I mean it, you don't have to go far on the interwebs to see people's disdain for the new higher priced model of how to do things.
[00:41:36] Speaker B: But
[00:41:38] Speaker C: my friends and family who have been there since Chance say it's they gotcha. Because I mean, if you want to ride those rides, you kind of got to do it.
[00:41:49] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, I know. I just, I was like, man, I gotta get re acclimated to this. But the worlds are changing. You know, it's not just grocery prices that are getting more expensive. It's just price of living, price of having fun.
[00:42:02] Speaker C: You know, it is. You can't afford to even, you know, take an extra breath here and there.
[00:42:07] Speaker B: I know.
[00:42:08] Speaker C: Well, they're gonna start charges for the oxygen.
[00:42:11] Speaker B: I mean, Really? I know. I'm like, well, like, it's gonna be a. It's gon a sad day when the water fountains are being charged.
[00:42:18] Speaker C: I know.
[00:42:18] Speaker B: I was about to say, don't tell me they're already charging for water fountains.
[00:42:22] Speaker C: No. But I will have to tell this fun little story. I had a student that did not know that you had to pay for air to put air in your tire. And I was like, oh, yeah, it's weird. The. The. Every now and then at a gas station, you can find, like, free air, but you have to put in, like, quarters. And she said. I thought it was a joke when she's like.
[00:42:40] Speaker A: I called.
[00:42:41] Speaker C: She's like, I couldn't get a hold of my dad, so I called my granddad, and he's like, well, drive to the nearest gas station and. But hey, do you have a dollar fifty in quarters? And she goes, for what? And he goes, for air. And she's like, stop. And I was like, it does sound made up, doesn't it? But it's true.
[00:43:00] Speaker B: Well, I think that's hilarious. On the other side of that, I've seen some videos on social media where.
Where girls are pranking their dads, and so they'll call their dad, and they're like, dad, I didn't have any air in my tires. But, you know, I went to the local t tire shop, and they gave me a really great deal on premium air for my tires. They only charge 75 a tire.
I just wanted to tell you, like, how proud I am, like, that I navigate. Like, I actually did independent daddy, you know? And then the dads are like, excuse me, What? You made 75 per tire? Are you kidding me, Mary Jean? Are you serious?
And so I just. I don't know. That kind of. Sometimes that kind of stuff cracks me up.
[00:43:45] Speaker C: It does. And it's. It's that part of adulting you just gotta learn, you know?
[00:43:49] Speaker B: I mean, really, truly. And I just, you know, I. Again, you know, we're acknowledging stuff gets expensive, all that kind of good stuff. But hey, we're just. We're living in this world.
[00:43:59] Speaker C: Here we are, you know what's free?
[00:44:01] Speaker B: What's that?
[00:44:01] Speaker C: Listening to us.
[00:44:03] Speaker B: Oh, snap.
[00:44:04] Speaker C: It's free 99.
[00:44:06] Speaker B: Oh, my.
On that note, listeners, we are gonna end the show because that was. That was the way that we had to end it. But, Nico, a pleasure, my friend, as always, as always. Well, listeners, until next time, y' all have the best spring break. You are listening to Fit to be Tied with Sheena and Nika on 9.7.
[00:44:23] Speaker C: The capstone.
[00:44:29] Speaker A: Wvuafm tuscaloosa.
