A Family Affair
We’ve all heard the saying, “home is where the heart is.” For Phyllis Conley and her daughter Megan, Grand Junction is home but their heart lies at the Community Food Bank.
“Getting to know the staff and getting to know all of the employees, it's family,” Phyllis Conley says motioning towards the staff. Phyllis began utilizing the Community Food Bank of Grand Junction over a decade ago. At the time, her daughter Megan was just a little girl.
“I don't know life without it. I was little when I started coming, so it's just like it's life. It's family,” Megan says, echoing her mom’s sentiments.
“At the time, I was the mother of small children and then I had a husband who was in school. I've had critically ill children,, so to me, being a part of the food bank was just a way that I could stretch my dollars and my grocery budget,” Phyllis explains.
Phyllis and Megan have experienced the evolution of the Community Food Bank over the years, like transitioning from pre-packaged boxes of food to being able to choose what their family needed, like fresh produce and eggs.
“We've always been health conscious and so having lots of fresh produce, fresh vegetables, fresh fruit that I can incorporate into our meals has been huge,” Phyllis says.
“[And] specifically with us, we do have some health issues, like some food allergies. So there is the options to choose. It's not just like, ‘oh, here,’ and then half the food goes to waste,” Megan says as she motions with her hands.
After years of being clients of the Community Food Bank, Phyllis and Megan were presented with the opportunity to give back to the organization that has meant so much to them. They both joined the Community Advisory Board, a volunteer group of clients who help direct the Community Food Bank’s efforts and provide feedback.
“I was one of the initial invites. And we have done everything from helping with the open houses to the mobile market. So it's just another way to get data and to be able to share in that data to share in the plans,” Phyllis says.
Megan agrees. Growing up with the Community Food Bank as a consistent source of support and nourishment pushes her to volunteer whatever time she can with the organization. “I would like to put more hours in [volunteering] as I don't feel like I help enough,” she says after spending the morning volunteering for the Mobile Market.
The two have put their all into giving back to the Community Food Bank. The pair promote the resources provided by the organization to all who will listen and encourage those who can volunteer to do so.
“I think all of us could get involved more in helping with Mobile Markets to assist [individuals] that might not be able to come here, whether it's age, just the different demographics or, they might not know about it or they might not have transportation, or they might just be scared of the unknown. The mobile markets have been a real blessing,” Phyllis says.
They’ll happily repeat this again and again, but for Phyllis and Megan, the Community Food Bank of Grand Junction has become much more than a source of nutrition and volunteerism.
“We could be here all day describing every single thing and every single person and the things they have done for us,” Megan says. “I don't let my mom go [to the pantry] without me because it's like not getting to see family.”
“I'm going to cry,” Phyllis says when asked about the impact the Community Food Bank has had on her life. “It’s the friendships. Not only is it the food and that's nice and that's a blessing and that helps, but the friendships for me is the impact. That I know at any point, if I see anybody downtown, it's hey, it's a hug, you know? It's, you know, that friendship, that camaraderie.”
