by Susan Summers
In the last two quarters of 2020, ReSources Vail Food Bank served approximately 1,200 individuals and over 350 households, along with delivering hundreds of meals to homebound residents and local students in need of supplemental nutrition. After the first month of 2021, it is on track for similar results. The point in highlighting these numbers is not to blow our own horn (well, maybe a little), but to attest that none of this could have happened without help from a community of neighbors who donated so generously during 2020. You kept the lights on and the doors of the food bank open, even when our Depot Thrift Store was shuttered.
There are so many individuals—too many to list—who gave in the tens, hundreds and thousands of dollars to ensure that the work of the food bank would not be stalled by the pandemic. These donations, essential in buying food for general distribution and the backpack program, also provided the kick start for the food bank’s new outdoor shade awning, now under construction.
Special thanks go to the many business and corporate neighbors who were critical partners in allowing ReSources to continue its mission of feeding greater Vail’s hungry during the tough months of 2020. Arby’s in Rita Ranch contributed nearly $27,000 of unrestricted funds, and the Albertson’s Companies Foundation (Safeway) donated over $12,000 as part of their “Nourishing Neighbors” campaign. Our local Safeway employees also nominated ReSources for a grant of $2,700. Other examples of philanthropy came from Rosemont Copper which donated $4,500 and the Arizona Community Foundation which donated $23,000.
Finally, an overdue shout out goes to the “Big 18” businesses that sponsored the ReSources 2020 Golf Challenge, held in mid-November at the Del Lago Golf Club:
Vulcan Materials Company
Jennifer Anderson / Long Realty
Rita Ranch Automotive
Albertson’s Companies Foundation
The Pilates Station
Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge #1
Jill Pilling / Long Realty
The Hacienda at Del Lago Golf Club
Going forward, Resources is optimistic about the future and especially excited to welcome clients once again to the newly reopened Vail Depot Thrift Store. More importantly, however, the board members, staff and volunteers at Resources are confident in the knowledge that this community cares deeply about helping those in need, as it has proven over the past year. We want you to know just how important your financial support has been in ensuring uninterrupted service through the food bank. Please accept our sincere thanks and those of our food bank clients. If you would like to join the ranks of “neighbors helping neighbors”, please visit the ReSources web site, and click on the “donate” button: www.resourcesvail.org.
Susan Summers is a ReSources board member and Vail resident who loves golf and the beauty of the Sonoran desert. Before her retirement, she served as dean of the College of Extended Learning at California State
University, San Bernardino.
