Food Run Report - Dilkon 4/27/11

by John Aldrich

Last week saw the completion of the second of the four sets of food runs this spring. After leaving the snow and cold of northern Utah we were greeted by beautiful weather in Arizona, at least for the first few days.  This year we have moved our lodging base to the Super 8 motel located next door to the "Winslow Hilton" that many remember so fondly.

One advantage of the new location is a large gravel-covered space adjacent to the motel which made it very convenient for staging our lineup without inconveniencing other motel guests.

Once lined up and smudged, we proceeded on to Dilkon, a forty mile drive from Winslow. In recent years the food run there has been hosted by an LDS ward. This is a comfortable space aside from its small size. Once all the volunteers, Elders, and their families are inside it's a bit of a challenge to move around.

The first order of business after we arrive is to get the group photo out of the way.

Then  the "heavy lifters" go to work unloading the Penske truck.  Here Charles Keen and Don  Bagley are at work setting up the Rainbow Circle.

While inside, this group of lighter lifters helped Wendy organize the giveaways.

This photo provides a partial overview of how things looked inside once we were set up.

Through a generous gift by Wendy's parents, each food run coordinator is receiving one of the new ANE Pendelton blankets this spring. Here is Eunice Spencer with hers.

ANE is privileged to count five Navajo Code Talkers among its Elders. Samuel Tsosie attends the Dilkon run along with his wife Bessie. Tom and Tracey Hogan, new volunteers from Park City, felt honored to meet Sam, especially since Tom also served in the military.

John del Campo from Alfred, NY, has been volunteering and attending food runs for many years. He collects afghans from knitters in his area and brings them to present to the Elders. Here Florence Ekada receives hers.

At the conclusion of the run a big job awaits - making sure that the food boxes, produce, and other giveaways get loaded properly for each Elder.

And here's the brain trust that saw to it that it happened without a glitch.

Within the next few days I hope to provide a glimpse of what happened next at Leupp.