Steve Kage will never forget the sound of a 6-year-old’s unbridled joy.
He was taking a box of food to a family in need as part of the Regional Food Bank’s Home Delivery Program. It was his last stop in a long day. He knocked on the door and …
“I could hear a little girl’s voice inside,” he recalls. “She said, ‘Mommy, Mommy, the food is here!’ The door opens up and there’s a 6-year-old girl, and she was so excited!”
The girl’s mother and older sister were right behind. Steve handed them a 25-pound box of food, “and they were just really, really thankful.”
Moments like that never get old. A volunteer with the Regional Food Bank since retiring in 2016, Steve is humbled by the opportunity to serve neighbors living with hunger.
“Hunger exists,” he says. “And it’s lurking in the shadows. In some neighborhoods, you look around and think, ‘Wow, these are nice houses!’ But many of them need food.
“Food insecurity exists everywhere, and you never really know where.”
Steve grew up in a home where his parents were active volunteers, so that’s long been part of his DNA. During his working career at Devon Energy, long one of the Regional Food Bank’s faithful supporters, Steve frequently volunteered with the Regional Food Bank. When he retired, he knew he wanted to keep volunteering with us.
“All volunteers want to make the world a better place,” he says. “And the Regional Food Bank provides those opportunities.”
In addition to working with our Home Delivery Program, Steve also packs ready-to-cook meals in Hope’s Kitchen, our facility which prepares as many as 2,500 meals per day.
Steve also enjoys the friendships he’s made with other volunteers, and the good conversations that come with it. When he’s not serving with us, he’s often volunteering at City Rescue Mission — a homeless ministry — or he’s home working in his garden.
But he spends most of his volunteer hours with the Regional Food Bank. And he thanks you for your support.
“We wouldn’t be able to function without your donations,” Steve says. “Donations are a cornerstone for the success of the Regional Food Bank.
“Volunteers are critical for getting the work done and getting food to the client. But we need both donors and volunteers. That’s the formula. Donations plus volunteering equals successful food delivery.”
Has Steve’s story inspired you to consider volunteering? Learn more at rfbo.org/volunteer.
