GONZALES — Athletes from Gonzales High School’s football and cross country teams worked together last Friday to distribute food to those in need who showed up to the Gonzales Food Bank.
Multiple coaches and a handful of student athletes from each program arrived to help prepare, package and distribute packages of food. They haven’t been able to hit the field or trails with their teammates, not even for conditioning, but were able to come together for a common good.
“It’s an opportunity for the kids to get out of the house to do something positive and serve their community,” said Art Berlanga, the school’s football coach, adding that it was also an opportunity for coaches to interact with their athletes. “There’s not a lot going on with sports, period.”
The Nov. 27 distribution was cross country’s second outing and the football program’s fifth outing at the local food bank.
“This was our first time collaborating with another team,” Berlanga said. “It was a good effort for both programs.”
Berlanga said the football team began a commitment to one day per month to help the food program during the summer. Athletes volunteer their time to work from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m.
“Once the food’s all gone, we’re done for the day,” Berlanga said.
The large need for food causes long lines that show up as early as 7 a.m. to wait for the start time an hour and a half later. Berlanga said the food tends to run out before the scheduled 10:30 a.m. shutdown time.
As for when the athletes can return to sports camaraderie, Gonzales Unified School District recently approved an unspecified return to sports conditioning, but has not set a start time for that program, meaning athletes remain in limbo.
Berlanga explained the distribution numbers were a bit smaller because of the Thanksgiving holiday, with students and coaches out on vacations. Coaches put out a call to whoever could make it.
“It’s only two or three women who run the whole program and they can’t handle all that food,” Berlanga said about the logistics and why volunteers are important to the food distributions.
Athletes show up and usually start with unloading and preparing food. Boxes of fruit can weigh upwards of 30 pounds and need to be hauled out to the assembly lines set up along the curbside. There, volunteer youth and adults pass boxes along to turn into bags for families. Tables get set up and trucks offload boxes and trays of food, which the volunteers continue to divide up in bags.
“It takes about anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes to set up,” Berlanga said.
Then, cars come in one at a time and volunteers ask if the food is for one or two families. One bag full of food is handed out per family.
“We give them what they need and then they’re on their way,” Berlanga said. “It’s the least we can do to help out and also get the kids out of the house to do something positive.”
