“This has been tough. But this food is really a blessing.”

Gayle_Ruby

We met Gayle and her dog Ruby recently at one of our drive-thru produce distributions. Gayle said she has been coming for several months to pick up items for herself and her husband.

“We are both on social security,” Gayle said. “He has liver cancer and neither of us can work anymore. That’s why we need the help.”

Gayle told us that because of the pandemic, she and her husband have to stay home more now.

“We go to the doctor’s office, grocery store, pick up prescriptions,” she said. “That’s about it.”

Gayle said of her favorite items to receive is milk. She also added that she’s found several ways to use the apples she got recently.

“I’ve dried them. I’ve made cinnamon apples,” she said. “Tonight, I’m making applesauce with them.”

Gayle wanted to say thank you to everyone that makes the food distributions possible.

“From the bottom of two hearts, we thank you,” she said. “It’s been tough with his illness and not being able to work. This food is really a blessing. When this is all over, I want to volunteer to give back.”

Families like Gayle’s need our help in providing meals, especially during the holidays. Give now to the East Texas Food Bank and help provide more meals for our neighbors who are depending on us now.

Board of Directors Spotlight: Lisa Williams

Lisa Williams is the President of Black Nurses Rock in Tyler. She is new the East Texas Food Bank Board of Directors and joined this summer.

Lisa recently graduated from Leadership Tyler and did a tour of ETFB in her class. She told us she was amazed at the operations and learned so much about how ETFB works to make sure every East Texan has access to the nutritious food and services they need. Lisa said, “I’m just a proud member of the East Texas Food Bank Board and I love it!”

Outside of her community work, Lisa loves to travel and read leadership and motivational books. Her favorite movie is Rocky because “he never gave up and that’s important!”

Employee Spotlight: Lauren Barnes

Lauren Barnes joined the East Texas Food Bank in October 2019 as the Communications and Marketing Director. Lauren is responsible for all marketing, communications and advocacy activities across ETFB’s 26 county service area.

Lauren has a passion for using her skills to have a positive impact on the community and has dedicated her career to working with nonprofits. Her previous positions include working with adolescent mental health and substance abuse, early childhood development and education and academic after-school and summer programs.

When she’s not at work, Lauren is usually spending quality time with her fiancee, Cate, daughter, Madeline, and their three rescue pets. The pandemic has provided extra time for camping, board games and outdoor movies.

Board of Directors Spotlight: Jay Brooks

Jay Brooks is the Smith County Fire Marshal/Emergency Management Coordinator and joined the Board of Directors in July of 2020. Jay said he was inspired to join the board after working with ETFB during its COVID-19 emergency response.

“I was impressed with the operation and the number of people that are positively impacted by ETFB. Even during a pandemic, ETFB was able to pull together the necessary resources to aid a substantial increase in families who needed assistance due to the mandated shutdown. Food is a necessity of life and I wanted to do my part to help fulfill this mission,” Jay told us.

Outside of serving the community, Jay enjoys fishing, woodworking and computer programming. Fun fact: Jay is on his second career and worked in technology before.

Employee Spotlight: Bethany Bausell

Bethany

Bethany started as a VISTA intern this summer and made such an impression that she was offered a position to stay with the East Texas Food Bank as a Senior Hunger Associate.

Day-to-day, Bethany handles record entry of distributions, working in the database and helps with direct distribution preparations for the Senior Box Program. Bethany said her favorite thing about working here is seeing her coworkers each morning and greeting them.

Outside of work, Bethany enjoys writing poetry, reading fiction and listening to music in different languages. A few unique facts about Bethany: her favorite genre of music is K-pop due to the meanings behind the songs and the choreography and she was adopted.