Oceana Sailors Volunteer at Food Bank, Help Local Community

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (NNS) -- Sailors from Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana took a break from their regular military duties Feb. 28 to help others in the community by volunteering for a community relations (COMREL) event at the Food Bank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore.

Working in an assembly-line style, in just two and a half half hours, 13 Oceana Sailors packed 1,080 meals for 239 families that will be distributed by the food bank's mobile pantry, as well as 120 backpacks of food used to feed children from low-income families during weekends and school holidays.

The food bank, located in Norfolk, depends on about 5,000 volunteers each year to carry out its mission, according to Angel Carabello, the facility's quality assurance supervisor.

"The Navy is one of our biggest supporters in helping us accomplish our goals. The military volunteers are traditionally larger groups," and they help us keep our programs running, Carabello said.

Carabello estimates they would have to hire 20 - 22 fulltime staff to do the work that volunteers help with each year.

"Being nonprofit, that money could be better utilized to serve our community," Carabello said.

That community covers a 4,745-square-mile service area including the cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Franklin and Virginia Beach, as well as the counties of Southampton, Sussex, Isle of Wight, Northampton and Accomack. The organization partners with about 480 agencies, which are responsible for the distribution of thousands of meals from Virginia's Eastern Shore to the western edges of Hampton Roads.

Each Friday, the food bank is open from 9 - 11 a.m. for individuals in need of assistance and Carabello said they typically serve between 120 and 300 households in just those two hours.

Oceana volunteers worked in the agency's warehouse, filling plastic grocery bags with a variety of 12 staples, including canned fruit and vegetables and macaroni and cheese, to be distributed via mobile pantry to families in rural areas in Hampton Roads. Once done with those bags, Sailors moved on to helping with the Backpack Program, used to address childhood hunger.

Backpacks are given out at the end of the week or before school holidays to children from 46 different schools who qualify for free or reduced cost school lunches, and whose families often do not know where they will get their next meal. Instead of singling the children out by giving them a grocery bag of food to take home, children each receive a reusable backpack, and the sealed bags, packed carefully by volunteers such as the Oceana Sailors, fit neatly inside.

According to the food bank's website, during fiscal year 2012, more than 48,000 bags were given out to more than 2,700 students.

Chief Aviation Maintenance Administrationman (AW) Kimberly McKinney was among the Oceana volunteers. As she counted the number of mobile pantry bags completed and labeled the filled cartons, McKinney, who is nearing the end of her first pregnancy, said it's "important to lead by example and community service is important."

McKinney has volunteered 16 of the 17 years she has been in the Navy, including at an orphanage while stationed in Atsugi, Japan; as a domestic violence victims' advocate; and a children's soccer coach.

"It's very rewarding to help others," said McKinney.

Pallets with bags packed for the mobile pantry will be distributed by volunteers to prearranged locations in remote areas, which range from church parking lots to senior citizens' homes.

"The impact of the mobile pantry is that we are helping others further away," who ordinarily would not get assistance because there isn't a partner agency in their area, said Carabello.

Being able to help so many families was part of the reason Interior Communications Electrician 2nd Class (AW/SW) Joshua Avery, the event's coordinator, gave for organizing the volunteer effort.

Following a similar COMREL last year, Avery said, "I liked what we were doing and we were able to reach so many families who were less fortunate."

Because the Sailors come from so many different departments, Avery said it was difficult to find the best time for the community relations event. "But the more people that come out, the more families we are able to reach," he said.

Avery, who also enjoys volunteering individually in his off-duty time, has already scheduled another COMREL event on March 28 at the Vetshouse, a transitional program to help homeless veterans get back on their feet. Sailors will be helping with landscaping, moving furniture and visiting with the veterans who reside in the facility near NAS Oceana.

Machinist's Mate 2nd Class (SW) Jessi Monzingo was pleased to hear the final totals for their efforts.

"I like knowing what I'm doing is helping someone else and our efforts will have good results. I really enjoyed doing this," said Monzingo.

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