It is a labor of love for the people who put it together every month. Their mission is food for all. Have you heard of “The Traveling Table Mobile Food Pantry?” It serves people in Nampa who may not be able to get to a food bank. The food comes to them.
We need to help people. You can’t help everyone, so that’s the sad part, but we do what we can,” said “The Traveling Table” board member Ana Moroshan.
In Nampa, Moroshan organizes another food distribution every last Wednesday. She’s on the board of “The Traveling Table.” It’s been in operation for over five years.
It’s a bit like organized chaos, but in the end, we get it done and feed a lot of families. It is about three blocks deep today. We set up here at Via Nueva Church in the morning, and then we head over to the Nampa Housing Authority in the afternoon.
There is a huge need, a huge need of food
The organization uses various sources of food and monetary donations. In addition to the food we received from the Idaho Foodbank, the Salvation Army donated some food as well.
Food boxes are packed for recipients. The goal is to get those boxes into the hands of neighbors in need. Local businesses, schools, and companies often work together to provide volunteers.
“It’s always a blessing when people help out,” she said.
She said it’s personal for her to be able to give back to other families.
I do this for lots of different reasons,” she said. “I was raised as the youngest of fourteen kids, and my parents were extremely hard-working.” But, you didn’t always have the cool lunches the other kids had.
People from all walks of life attend pantry distributions. Some live in their cars.
“We’ve seen tears when people receive food,” she said, “especially our senior citizens, who are a huge market.”
When things are tight, Moroshan and her team will keep working hard to ensure their clients have food to get by.
Just to make someone’s day, that could be the highlight of their day, just knowing now I don’t have to worry about where my next meal will come from,” Moroshan said.
Click here to donate to The Traveling Table, a mobile food pantry that always needs cash donations to buy food.
You can find more information on the nonprofit’s Facebook page of The Traveling Table mobile food pantry.
The next food distribution will take place on the last Wednesday of July.