Packing Rainbow Food Boxes - 3/12/16

by John Aldrich

A sure sign of spring - and food runs just around the corner - are the two Saturday mornings we spend at the warehouse packing Rainbow Food Boxes. Yesterday was the first of these 2 days. It was a beautiful day and we had an outstanding turnout of volunteers to help with the work. It was gratifying to see many new faces along with those of seasoned veterans. Altogether there were about 70 people eager to help our Elders by packing the boxes that will be delivered during the spring food runs to the reservation.

The custom is to start the day with a brief circle outside for general orientation and a Navajo prayer.

Then we got right to work, with new volunteers pairing up with experienced people to load the boxes. As the teams move in a circle around the warehouse the sets of boxes for each Elder are filled with the prescribed food items. When we have an abundance of volunteers, as we did yesterday, some are assigned to handing out items to the "shoppers" to assure that the correct count ends up in each box.

After the boxes are filled, each set receives a pair of labels so that it will ultimately be delivered to a specific Elder. The labels are color-coded for each of our eleven food runs.

The boxes then go to the taping tables where they are taped shut and the labels affixed. The boxes for each food run are stacked together for efficient loading when the time comes for trucks and vehicles to be loaded for the food runs.

New volunteers are typically quite impressed with the level of organization involved in this whole process. The mastermind behind this logistical feat is our congenial ANE program assistant director, C.J. Robb.

On a side note, the award for volunteers in attendance who were furthest from home goes to two amiable and hard working young men from Nepal. They are attending Cottonwood High School here in Salt Lake, and it was a pleasure to have them join us.

 Here are some additional shots from yesterday's activity.

Next Saturday, March 19th at 8:00 a.m., we will converge on the warehouse once more to complete the process of packing the Rainbow Boxes. We would love to have you join us. The work is not strenuous and everyone has lots of fun.

See you then!

Packing Rainbow Food Boxes - 8/1/15

by John Aldrich

Saturday it was time to once more pack Rainbow Food Boxes. There's no better sign that food runs are approaching than this semiannual event. We couldn't have asked for a nicer day and in response we had an excellent turnout of volunteers. At 8:00 everyone gathered in the parking lot for an opening circle including a Navajo prayer by Rodger Williams.

Then we moved inside to begin packing the first half of the boxes for the fall runs. This photo shows how things were laid out in the warehouse. The picture was actually taken toward the end of the morning when there were far fewer empty boxes to obstruct the view.

As we move around the room in a clockwise fashion two boxes in each cart are filled with the designated items and then delivered to the taping tables. Some volunteers man the carts and pack the boxes while others hand out food items as the carts go by.

The last stop is the taping area where a stalwart crew lifted the boxes from the carts, taped them closed, and stacked them along the wall arranged by food run area.

We were also graced with royalty. Our Shi Yazhi princess, Delaina Becenti, made the trip from Green River with her mother. They have been very busy this summer representing ANE at a variety of pow wows and events throughout the West.

One of the more specialized jobs at food packing is compacting the cardboard in the dumpster as it builds up. Marci and Cody tackled this task with the enthusiasm of youngsters on a trampoline.

Here are just a few of the other volunteers who came to help.

And as always, our gratitude goes to CJ, our ever-amiable organizer, for making the whole thing fall into place. There is a myriad of details that must be tended to for everything to come off without a hitch. And that's just how it happened.

We will complete the remaining food boxes this coming Saturday, August 8th. If you missed out on the fun last Saturday please join us at 8:00 at the warehouse.

Packing Rainbow Food Boxes 3/7/15

by John Aldrich

When it's time to begin packing the Rainbow Food Boxes, we know that the spring food runs can't be far off. Saturday was the first of two Saturdays where this task will be completed. After delivery of the food several weeks ago there was still much work to be done to prepare the warehouse for food packing. There were giveaway projects to complete as well as rearranging things in the warehouse. On top of that, when volunteers arrived on Saturday they found that C.J. had engineered a new box loading procedure. The routine we have been used to for many years had changed. Would we be up to the challenge of learning a new way of doing things?

With an outstanding turnout of volunteers, both old and new, we found that old volunteers can indeed learn new tricks - quickly and easily.

The morning began with a Navajo prayer and a few instructions:

The above time-lapse video shows how it all worked as 10 minutes of warehouse activity is compressed into 12 seconds.

Our hero who made all this happen is C.J. Robb, assistant director of ANE. He spent countless hours preparing the warehouse for the day as well as designing the logistics. And it all worked beautifully. Near the end of the morning he paused next to the boxes that had been packed for the Many Farms and Tsaile food runs.

Given that "many hands make light work", we finished about an hour earlier than projected. This photo shows most of the group that provided all those hands.

Here is a collection of pictures taken throughout the morning:

If it looks like people are having fun, it's because they were. Come and be part of the fun as we complete the project of packing all the Rainbow Food Boxes next Saturday morning starting at 8:00 a.m. at the warehouse.

For more details visit the Volunteers Activities Page of our web site.