The mission of the La Paz County Food Banks is to relieve hunger, increase self- reliance, and improve the quality of life for children and families throughout La Paz County. Now, they are able to deliver on this goal better than ever thanks to a $7,000 donation by APS, which funded the purchase of coolers to store perishable food items.
Thanks to the APS donation, a new reach-in cooler and walk-in cooler are being used in therecently constructed food bank serving the Salome/Wenden area. The food bank, which is located next to the community building and library, serves low and moderate income individuals and families, including seasonal farm workers. Since the addition of the coolers, the food bank has doubled the number of individuals it serves.
“In the past, we operated out of a bookmobile and distributed mainly canned or packaged goods,” said Jeanne Fuller, McMullen Valley Food Bank Coordinator. “We are able to receive, store and distribute significantly more perishable food like fresh produce, dairy and meat. Without the caring support of APS, we wouldn’t have been able to serve 500 families in the first quarter of this year, which is double the families served during the same period last year.”
La Paz County Food Banks provides food boxes in Quartzsite, Parker Cibola, Ehrenberg, Bouse, Salome and Wenden. La Paz County manages these food banks with part-time manager at each location and dedicated volunteers.
