What does your role as Receiving Manager involve?
It's a very fluid role that has a lot of overlap with other departments. Most basically, it’s receiving and acquiring food and distributing it to our clients via our Drive-thru Pantry Service.

That’s a simplified view, and it leaves out the many other meaningful ways we share food, like our Walk-up Pantry Service for our unhoused clients and those without a vehicle, and our Senior Grocery Delivery program.

All that being said, I oversee the majority of the incoming food we get, including the food we collect from our grocery store partners 5 days a week and the weekly pick-ups and drop-offs from the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, with which we partner.

I also manage all of the volunteer drivers who help with the grocery store pick-ups and the team of volunteers who run the distribution area.

What is a typical day like for you at the Pantry?
It's honestly a lot of running around and putting out “fires,” so to speak. We are blessed with a large and dedicated regular group of volunteers. They are the lifeblood of this place, and without them, none of this is possible. Having a huge pool of wonderful volunteers who work hard means I can focus on solving the issues that arise on a daily basis, along with Larry Leong, who is my second-in-command. Issues vary greatly. Sometimes, we are doing inventory management when a refrigerator dies; sometimes it's juggling pantry vehicles; other times it's finding last-minute volunteer replacements or working with the other staff members to try new things and improve our process... and sometimes it's just taking out trash or cleaning a meat freezer. It's rarely dull :)

What do you enjoy most about your work?
Knowing that, at the end of each day, I got to work with a group of people dedicated to making the community better and helping those in need. Every day, I get to see the tangible results of my work helping people, and that's a rare gift.

How do volunteers support your role?
Volunteers support my role in every way possible. Without them, there is no Drive-thru Pantry Service, no grocery pick-ups, no one greeting our clients and letting them know people care about them. The volunteers are the real heroes here—people who come in each day driven by the meaningful reward of supporting and uplifting their community. We provide thousands of people with food assistance every month thanks to our volunteers.

What is one challenge of your role?
I would say it's making sure we give with equity. It's always a balancing act of trying to feed people based on need with what we have, especially high-demand items like eggs and meat. We do our best, and I think we do a pretty good job at that. It’s a very fluid challenge that changes with the day.

What advice would you give to new volunteers?
This place and all the processes here were built one piece at a time. There are a million moving parts, and it's easy to feel overwhelmed, so ask questions of the staff and your fellow volunteers. There are no stupid questions, no test at the end of your first day, and everyone around you is here to help.

If you could have a theme song that played every time you walked in, what would it be and why?
Whatever song Larry hates most at the time.

If you could have one fictional character volunteer with you for the day, who would it be and why?
Kirby. He can inhale bad things and turn them into food.'

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