A new person will take the reins at the United Food Bank in Mesa during a crucial time of year.
The team is preparing themselves with Thanksgiving just a week away.
For many, who work at the food bank, the day begins right at 6:00 a.m.
"We usually have a little pow-wow, at first, to see if it is going to be slow or busy,” said United Food Bank employee Randy Land.
And, after eight years, Land has become a ‘go-to’ member of the team.
He walked ABC15 all over the food bank Tuesday.
His boss, the new person overseeing things, has been on the job since October.
"I work with a very engaged team and they have a lot of passion for what we do here,” said United Food Bank Interim CEO Mike Suriano.
Suriano wants to put his 25 years of experience, in the food industry, to work as the Interim CEO of United Food Bank.
In addition to creating a smooth transition, Suriano wants the organization to move away from a transactional approach to helping families to a more relationship-focused approach.
"We'd like to get to know who those folks are, what their predicament is they are in, and what are their real issues,” added Suriano.
With the increased concern of inflation and smaller amounts of food on many shelves, workers at United Food Bank are planning to work a lot of earlier and longer days to get food into the hands of people in need. A big event, next week, is the Mesa Thanksgiving dinner distribution.
"When you are over there seeing the people get the food, you actually sometimes see people cry now that they know they are going to have that Thanksgiving meal,” added Land.
And, for Thanksgiving, the organization says they plan to feed about 2,000 people.
But, it's an all-year effort, the food bank estimates volunteers hand out nearly 36,000 meals each month.
