Dear Friends of the Food Bank,

Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Erik Arriola, and I am the new Executive Director for the Superstition Community Food Bank. I am beyond thrilled to be the new leader of this AMAZING organization.

I came on board in June and was completely blown away by the efficiency, hard work and outreach the Food Bank, its staff and volunteers provide the community. I spent my first month working alongside our volunteers learning every position. This included washing eggs, sorting meat, checking expiration dates on deli, entering clients into our database, cleaning, and more cleaning, and creating new relationships with the staff and team of volunteers. If you haven’t seen how our morning and afternoon crews work—let me tell you, THEY ARE UNBELEIVABLE and complement each other well.

I’m no stranger to the non-profit world, but food distribution is new to me. Learning the ins and outs (rules) of food distribution was my highest priority and I was able to attend training sessions from United Food Bank and get brought up to speed quickly. I learned that the Superstition Community Food Bank is well respected throughout the Arizona food bank scene and are a leader
in many areas.

In June, we served a record number of clients, averaging 150 clients daily. Due to inflation, the need for food assistance has continued to rise steadily and we continue to register new clients up daily. Imagine barely making ends meet prior to every cost imaginable going up. This is the reality for many clients that are facing food insecurities. With the increase in cost of living and
no increase to fixed income, we have seen a major increase in need from our senior community.

We were blessed to have an abundance of canned goods (from the Stamp Out Hunger Postal Food Drive) that we quickly went through. Thanks to financial donations, we were able to purchase large quantities of: Rice, Tuna, Peanut Butter, Spaghetti & Sauce, and Canned Fruit to help with the increased food needs. We continue to partner with local grocers and pick up 2K-4K pounds of “rescue food” daily. It’s amazing seeing the food come in, get inspected and sorted in the mornings then see it all get distributed that very same day!

We are excited to expand our reach and visibility in the community and will be participating in more community events including the Veteran’s Day Parade, Festival of the Superstitions, 25th Annual Holiday Light Parade, and Lost Dutchman Days Parade and Rodeo to name a few.

I would like to thank all that support the food bank. Those that volunteer their time to sort and pack food for distribution, volunteers allowing us to utilize their skills and strengths like sales & marketing and of course all our donors that financially supporting the food bank.

It wouldn’t be a letter from the Executive Director if I didn’t give you a call to action!

Ask your friends, family, and neighbors if they are doing okay. Are they getting enough to eat? We are here is they if they need food assistance. If they are okay, ask them if they would help by donating to the food bank to help those less fortunate. I will end with our mission statement.

Together with our volunteers and partners, Superstition Community Food Bank provides food services to qualified individuals and families in East Valley communities with kindness, respect, and dignity.

We are eternally grateful, and I thank you on behalf of the tens of thousands of clients you help feed.

Erik Arriola
Executive Director
Superstition Community Food Bank