Help for the Hungry

The Agape Network and the Joshua Tree Feeding Program deal with growing needs and fewer resources. PLUS: A profile of Joshua Tree volunteer Joaquin Mota.

By Glenn Gullickson

Joshua Tree food pantry

With the start of the holiday season, Agape Network and Joshua Tree Feeding Program face the realities of greater needs and declining donations

As Thanksgiving approaches, the volunteers who run the Agape Network are preparing for the annual crush of clients requesting food boxes.

"They come out of the woodwork at Thanksgiving," said Dan Galloway, acting director of the agency. "People who we haven't seen in ages come in for a Thanksgiving box."

Galloway said that Agape typically distributes about 120 food boxes twice a month. But in the week before the holiday, Galloway said Agape will distribute up to 175 boxes filled with the food that makes up the traditional Thanksgiving dinner — cranberries, stuffing, sweet potatoes and green beans.

If there's enough money, the boxes will include a turkey. But weeks before the holiday, Galloway wasn't sure that there would be funds to provide Thanksgiving dinner's main course. "This Thanksgiving is uncertain," he said.

The local feeding programs that serve individuals living with HIV/AIDS are having a tough time as an economy struggling to recover from recession means that needs are increasing while donations are decreasing.

"We have to make due with less," Galloway said, noting that government funding is providing fewer dollars even as private donations are trending down. Over at the Joshua Tree Feeding Program, Robert Bartlett Sr., chair of the board and program director, said the economy has created a dire situation for those in need.

"It's gotten worse," said Bartlett, who has been involved with the program for 14 years. "Most of these people are living on no income or next to no income."

To demonstrate how the economy has caused a reversal of fortune for some, Bartlett said he knows of some people who had been donors to Joshua Tree in the past who have become clients of the program.

Joshua Tree will observe the holiday with a Thanksgiving dinner to be served as one of its last weekly congregate meals before the lunch program is suspended at the end of the month.

"We pull off a great Thanksgiving dinner," Bartlett said.

Joshua Tree also goes on the hunt for donations of turkeys for its food boxes. By the time Thanksgiving is over "it's so crazy that I hate turkey," Bartlett said.

Agape Volunteers

A diverse set of clients

The programs, both founded in 1988, serve those living with HIV/AIDS, but the clients have diverse backgrounds.

Galloway said when he started volunteering at Agape five years ago he had a stereotype in mind when he assumed that most of the agency's clients would be gay men.

"That is so much not the case," he said. "The men who come in, you can't assume they're gay." Galloway said Agape serves gays and straights, men and women, singles and couples ranging in age from adolescents to senior citizens.

At Agape, they can get food on the first and third Fridays of the month, each box with enough food for 12 meals, Galloway said.

"A lot of people don't have extra money for food," he said. "What they get from us is their main supply."

The federal Ryan White program helps fund the food boxes, and what's inside represents the government's MyPlate five food groups.

"We have to be careful of our clients' dietary needs," Galloway said. "We have to be aware of fat content, sodium content and protein levels."

So food boxes include things like oatmeal and whole grain bread. There's also produce, canned goods and dairy. The meat that's included is usually chicken, Galloway said.

At Joshua Tree, on Tuesdays clients can walk through a pantry that displays a selection of produce, canned goods and even pastries supplied by local Starbucks stores. Meat is kept in freezers.

A nutritionist from the Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS works with both programs to help counsel clients.

Depending on volunteers

To keep the operations running, each group depends on volunteers. Joshua Tree has more than 50 volunteers, many of them clients of the program, Bartlett said. The oldest volunteer is an 89-year-old man, he said.

Galloway said Agape has about 20 key people in volunteer posts. For special occasions there are another 50 volunteers who step up, ranging from college students to retired folks.

Volunteers do more than pack and distribute food boxes, Galloway noted. For example, Agape volunteers write nutrition tips that are included in the food boxes or posted on the organization's social media.

Galloway, a former high school principal, said he started volunteering after learning about Agape though his church. When the Rev. Bonnie Ott retired as Agape's director earlier this year, he stepped up to lead the organization.

Bartlett said after his HIV diagnosis, he became involved with Joshua Tree as a way to get out of his funk. "After the initial shock of that, I wanted to find a place to go to be around other people who are living with this disease," he said.

But since he's straight, at first Bartlett said he was uncertain about becoming involved with Joshua Tree. "Now that doesn't even phase me," he said. "It put my mind in a whole different way of thinking. It's changed my world."

Leaders of Agape and Joshua Tree said that in the past year their organizations have been working together more closely. They will jointly benefit from a holiday turkey drive and they plan to sponsor a fundraising event together in the spring.

"The bottom line is that we're all here to do the same thing," Bartlett said of the cooperative spirit.

Galloway agreed. "We realized we're in the same game," he said. "We're tending to the same community. We need to have shared goals and a shared philosophy."

Raising the funds

The feeding programs get discounts on food they acquire at St. Mary's Food Bank in Phoenix and United Food Bank in Mesa.

Support comes from a variety of sources. "Federal funding is just not enough," Bartlett said. "It's only going to get worse. Maybe the community will help a little more."

While churches and other groups do food drives, Galloway and Bartlett agreed that their organizations' greatest need is cash.

Galloway said most federal funds are restricted to paying for food and do not cover all the other operational costs, like rent, utilities and transportation. He noted that Agape reduced its space last year to lower the overhead.

Private donations also help pay for toiletries and food for pets, which Galloway said is in demand at Agape. "Pets are great for a lot of our clients," he said. "It's nice to have an animal around to take care of."

Help also comes from everything from drag shows to a collection drive organized by local Girl Scouts for Agape. Joshua Tree and Agape benefit from the Aunt Rita's Foundation's fundraising projects, including AIDS Walk Phoenix and the SavorLife dinners.

Bartlett said Charlie's does an annual benefit for Joshua Tree that started in 1988 as a birthday party for Artie Michaelis, who asked that the event benefit the organization he helped create. "Eleven years after his death, they still have ‘Artie parties,'" Bartlett said.

Bartlett and Galloway said that their clients are thankful for their programs.

Galloway said clients leave telephone messages or send him emails. "I get messages constantly," he said. "They're always very appreciative. We hear profuse thank yous."

Charisma Franco, a volunteer at Agape for three years, said clients communicate their appreciation. "You feel it everyday," she said. "They always let you know you've done something good." -E

Joshua Tree volunteers

Joshua Tree ending Ryan White food program, suspending weekly congregate lunches

Joshua Tree is ending its practice of providing food boxes to clients twice a month after the feeding program's board decided to stop participating in the Ryan White Food Services Program.

Joshua Tree's food pantry will continue to be open on Tuesdays, but the weekly congregate meal program will be suspended at the end of November, according to Robert Bartlett Sr., Joshua Tree's board chair.

Bartlett said his board is seeking new sources of funding to reinstate the lunch program, which has recently attracted up to 125 people a week. The lunches are held at Asbury United Methodist Church, also known as the "cupcake" church, in central Phoenix.

After informing Maricopa County program administrators of the decision to leave the Ryan White program, Bartlett said he told Joshua Tree's clients and volunteers during an emotional lunch on Oct. 25.

The Ryan White program was named for the Indiana teenager who made news when he was expelled from school after it became known that he had been infected with HIV from contaminated blood. He died in 1990 and a federal program that provides funds for the care of people living with HIV/AIDS was named in his honor.

Joshua Tree has had Ryan White funding for about 16 years, but Bartlett said that it had become increasingly difficult to work with the federal program.

Bartlett said keeping up with the Ryan White program's regulations is a full time job. He called the paperwork required by the program "mind-blowing."

The program also comes along with requirements for administrative funds at a time that a bad economy has seen a decrease in donations from other sources.

"We can't afford to administer the program anymore," Bartlett said. "We're going back to our grassroots."

The last lunch will be served on Nov. 29. Starting Dec. 6, Joshua Tree's focus will be its Tuesday food box program, which provides food for documented HIV-positive individuals living in Maricopa and Pinal counties who meet income eligibility requirements.

Bartlett said food for Joshua Tree's pantry is supplied by a federal program that provides commodities without a lot of red tape and other sources.

Bartlett said Joshua Tree is working on a plan to transition its Ryan White clients to the Agape Network in Phoenix and Compassion In Action in Tempe. -E

For more information about the feeding programs, visit:
Joshua Tree: www.joshuatreefeedingprograminc.org
Agape Network: www.agapenetwork1.org

Rueben Felix, Joaquin Mota and Keith Sondrall

Feeding program volunteer says he gets more than he gives

For Joaquin Mota, weekly volunteer work at the Joshua Tree Feeding Program has been a labor of love.

"I get more back than I put in," said Mota, one of up to 30 volunteers who help with Joshua Tree's weekly Tuesday lunch served in the fellowship hall at Asbury United Methodist Church.

"I go there every week and I see smiling faces smiling back at me," Mota said. "I get hugs. It's just a bunch of love and good energy."

Mota has been volunteering at Joshua Tree for about a year. "It's a good thing to do for the community," he said. "It's a great thing to do for others."

Besides interacting with the clients, Mota said that the other volunteers at Joshua Tree are an inspiration. In a kitchen that's dedicated to Joshua Tree co-founder Evan Francis, Mota said volunteers talk about "personal stuff" as they prepare lunch.

Mota said that his five-hour shift typically begins with a big hug with other volunteers. Rueben Felix, who is in charge of the kitchen and starts preparing the lunch the day before, assigns jobs for the prep crew. Before lunch is served to clients, the volunteers take a break to eat salad.

By noon, there are announcements, birthdays are acknowledged and it's time to serve, as clients line up for lunch that they have a choice of eating in the hall or taking out.

When lunch is served, Mota's tasks vary from dishing out the entree to passing out dessert. Mota said he likes working the serving line. "I get to see every single person who comes through," he said. "That might be the only hot meal they get all week."

A recent lunch menu featured a pulled pork sandwich, green beans and cole slaw, the choice of milk, lemonade or ice tea, and cake, cookies and ice cream. Mota said ice cream is a favorite dessert and he's noticed that clients favor beef entrees.

By 1 p.m., the volunteer crew is ready to finish eating their own lunches, and then it's time to do cleanup.

Through it all, Mota is known for his high spirits. "He's full of energy," said Robert Bartlett Sr., Joshua Tree's program director. "I don't know how he can smile all the time."

Mota, 25, was born in Mexico and his family moved to Arizona when he was 2. He graduated from Apollo High School.

While the family of eight children wasn't well off, Mota said his parents taught the importance of giving back.

Since his parents are Johovah's Witnesses, Mota said that the family didn't celebrate Thanksgiving when he was growing up. But now, Mota said the holiday is "doubly important."

"Celebrating Thanksgiving is awesome,'" Mota said. "I celebrate with my ‘other family.'"

Mota's holiday will include a Thanksgiving meal at the Y.E.P. House, where he works as a cook and leads sexual health discussions as part of his duties as a program and outreach assistant for the 1n10 youth services agency.

Mota said eventually he would like to go into social work, and plans to continue to work in the LGBT community.

As Joshua Tree announced that the congregate meals will be suspended at the end of November, Mota said the socialization that the lunch events provided will be lost.

But he said he plans to continue volunteering with the Joshua Tree food box program and perhaps do fundraising for the group. -E