Every day at Midwest Food Bank Arizona, we bear witness to small miracles and huge acts of faith. Consider our rapidly growing Tucson satellite facility run by volunteer leaders Curt and Caroline Kaufman.
The Tucson site operates Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings and is staffed entirely by volunteers. For the Kaufmans, the idea for the Tucson site came in Sept. of 2017. While returning from a Disaster Relief run to victims of Hurricane Harvey, Curt prayed about how Midwest Food Bank could serve the Tucson area.
In March of 2018, the Tucson arm of MFB Arizona began operating through a partnership with Gap Ministries, serving 16 local non-profits and food pantries. About six months later a satellite facility was opened in a facility temporarily loaned by The Salvation Army at 829 S. 6th Ave. in Tucson. At this time, Curt and Caroline's efforts expanded to serving 28 non-profits.
Last year, the Tucson satellite distributed 465,276 pounds of food. The pace has picked up in 2020. In the first two months of this year, MFB Arizona's Tucson satellite has distributed about 280,000 pounds of food and grown its roster to 56 non-profits and food pantries. MFB hopes to secure the use of that facility for the long-term. In return, MFB in Tucson donates extra supplies - like non-food products, office supplies and reclamation products - to the Salvation Army.
This partnership and faithful volunteers like Curt and Caroline and their team allow MFB Arizona to fulfill our mission: "Share the love of Christ by alleviating hunger and malnutrition locally and throughout the world and providing disaster relief, all without discrimination."
To learn more or to volunteer at the Tucson satellite location - please complete a volunteer interest form, or call the Arizona location at 408-892-0134.