与Willy Elliott-McCrea会面：食品银行家和反饥饿倡导者

Willy Elliott-McCrea began his food banking career in 1978, as a warehouse manager and driver. From assisting community members and managing intense program acceleration in the aftermath of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and later the 2008 recession, Willy has ushered the food bank to its present-day iteration as a mighty alliance between food insecure neighbors, community volunteers, food donors, staff, and board members. In addition, Willy was founding president of CA Food Banks from 1996-1998. We are proud to have Willy as the new(ish) chair of our board of directors. Now, meet Willy!

您在食品银行的领导层上度过了令人印象深刻的32年。您是如何在反饥饿领域工作的？

有点意外。在大学学习了政治学，并在工厂之前和之后担任过几份工厂工作之后，我有机会加入了食品与营养服务公司（Food＆Nutrition Services，Inc.），该公司经营着食品银行，车轮餐，WIC等。 1978年，我被聘为仓库经理/驱动程序，几个月后又开始采购。我于1988年晋升为食品银行董事，并于1993年成为首席执行官。

您能否谈谈职业生涯中食品银行业务的发展？

Since I started working at the Food Bank, it has changed locations 4 times! Finally, in 1986, we moved to our current location in Watsonville and were able to put in docks, pallet racks, and around 10 years ago, a larger cooler and freezer.

在90年代，我是您典型的“米奇食品银行家”。 （Mikey拿走任何东西，Mikey拿走任何东西！）

Before 1995, advocacy was mostly seen as “mission creep.” And then the food bank network had a major Aha! moment, recognizing if our purpose is to be a safety net for those falling in between the cracks of the federal food programs, then advocating a strong frontline of defense was “core business.” Without a strong frontline, a safety net is ineffective.

营养银行诞生于10年后，即2005年左右。我们许多人意识到，消除饥饿和贫困的最大机会是通过增加新鲜水果和蔬菜的获取和消费来打破粮食不安全和慢性疾病的周期。通过增加参与者饮食中的纤维含量，我们为他们提供了更大的健康和自给自足的机会。鉴于过去20年来，美国的医疗保健费用增加了两倍，从每年的$1增至$3万亿。我们最大的增值机会是通过良好的营养改善我们社区的健康。

质量而不是数量。 1988年，我负责一个五县区，今天，我们的食品银行可以将所有精力集中在为圣克鲁斯县服务上。我们县有25万人。我们的食品银行已经能够通过重点提供更深层次的编程。

您最自豪的成就是什么？

真正脱颖而出的有四个：

• In 1989, during the terrible Loma Prieta Earthquake, we were ground zero for disaster relief (epicenter was five miles from our warehouse) – scaling services six-fold for the first month and doubled ever after.
• 多年来，我们在社区的各个领域都建立了非常强大的声誉和合作伙伴网络。
• Of the food we distribute, 87% is nutritious and more than 60% is fruits and vegetables!
• As Founding President of California Association of Food Banks from 1995-98, I played a small role in helping the CA Food Banks has become what it is today.

描述您在角色中面临的一些挑战以及如何适应这些挑战。

大量的财务挑战！这就是为什么我们只有如此有限的人员才能成为良好的筹款人。

您对自己的工作最满意的地方是什么，或者最令您兴奋的是什么？

对我来说，最可喜的事情之一就是我们的营养教育计划。我们如何与社区中的志愿者合作，及其对他们健康的积极影响，包括营养支持小组和烹饪俱乐部等活动。

让我兴奋的另一件事是，我们必须有机会帮助下一代了解营养食品，并健康成长并取得成功！

在您的职业生涯中，有什么令您感到惊讶的？

这些年来，关于这项工作以及我们所生活的世界的一切都发生了巨大变化，这迫使我保持灵活和开放。

我们如何使粮食系统更加公平？

Average shelter costs have increased 64% over the last five years. For so many people it’s hard to have enough financial resources to take care of housing and at the same time invest in good nutrition.

We provide an average of 300 pounds each year of fresh fruits and vegetables (much of it organic) to 17,000 households. It’s our ability to provide fresh produce and basic staples to whoever needs it, no questions asked, that is so critically important. We are working hard to fight stigma by creating different ways of reaching out to everybody, through free farmers markets, cooking clubs, and nutrition support groups.

工作以外您有什么激情？

• 阅读幻想或历史小说。
• 园艺;在我的后院，您可以找到苹果树，鳄梨，浆果等。
• 孙子们！

你最完美的一餐是什么？

和我的家人一起吃芝士蛋奶酥，西兰花和一条新鲜的法式面包。