After volunteering for three years, in 2005 Vicky had the opportunity to step in as pantry coordinator when the person who held that job retired.

Photo courtesy Vicky Martin Vicky Martin helps make sure South Valley families and individuals have access to food, including fresh vegetables, during the pandemic.

By Kelly Barbazette

Kelly Barbazette

Nineteen years ago, Vicky Martin’s eye-opening volunteer experience at St. Joseph’s Family Center led her to devote her career to serving the Gilroy nonprofit group that helps feed South Valley’s neediest families and individuals.

I recently had the privilege of chatting virtually with Vicky about her work as the pantry coordinator and community outreach coordinator for SJFC, which distributes groceries to hundreds of families daily.

Vicky, 56, recalls her first volunteer job at the food pantry located in the St. Mary Parish complex. She spent hours working at the site preparing food items for families, packing groceries, and sorting donated items with a few local women, who encouraged her to come back and work with them.

“I saw the incredible need and how families struggled just to provide for the basic needs … It hurts your heart,” she said. “You won’t change lives, but you will change the quality of their lives, hopefully. And that was my goal — to make a bit of a difference every day.”

Vicky, who settled in Gilroy 30 years ago, said it was her parents who encouraged her to serve at an early age. To this day, her mom, who Vicky describes as a “dynamo,” still volunteers with her two days a week, albeit socially distanced.

“It just kind of proves that age doesn’t define you. When you’re there, it doesn’t matter how old you are. That’s the kind of example I’ve grown up with,” she said.

After volunteering at SJFC for three years, in 2005 Vicky had the opportunity to step in as pantry coordinator when the person who held that job retired. About that time, St. Joseph’s was distributing groceries to 40 families and about 50 lunches for the homeless community daily.

Families’ needs started to increase, Vicky said, as the divide between Silicon Valley and the area’s agricultural community grew. As the community’s needs increased, Vicky said donations grew. A truck goes out daily and picks up food items from nine stores. St. Joseph’s also accepts donations from community farmers, agricultural businesses, and community members.

Vicky became SJFC’s director of community engagement several years ago, allowing her to interact with the community and schools while handling the group’s social media. But when the pandemic hit, Vicky’s position was again revamped to pantry coordinator to better suit the needs of the community.

Prior to COVID-19, St. Joseph’s distributed groceries to between 80 and 100 families per day. After the pandemic, grocery distribution peaked at 900 families, and is now averaging between 400 to 600 families daily.

“Because we’re so nimble, we won’t say no. We’ll say, let’s give it a try,” Vicky said.

The crew of dedicated volunteers do their best to make sure the community is fed. Within a week after the pandemic began, SJFC had revamped its model to drive-thru, allowing families to come weekly.

“It’s created such a huge need, so we allow families to come once a week,” she said.

An increase in food distribution translates to a greater physical demand on the volunteers, Vicky said. About 1,400 boxes containing pantry items, dairy, meat, fresh produce, baked goods, cleaning supplies, and personal hygiene items, are delivered daily. Volunteers package items and load them into cars for about 600 families per day.

“We’re incredibly well prepared under the circumstances,” Vicky said. “If someone said we would be doing this a year ago, we would have said we wouldn’t know how, but somehow we’re doing it. When you have a desire, it happens.”

Vicky said she loves the team that she works with, adding that everyone who volunteers at St. Joseph’s has a heart of compassion. “We’re there because we want to be,” she said.

Because of social distancing protocols, the number of volunteers has been reduced. While the work has become more demanding physically, Vicky has been fortunate to stay healthy.

She’s motivated to continue to serve when she hears what families are going through, including illness, job loss, and cut work hours.

“This is one area they don’t have to worry about,” she said. “It’s rewarding how much we’ve helped them, but heart wrenching that they need that kind of help.”

Something as simple as a grin from a client keeps propelling her forward.

“There’s a higher purpose in every job. And finding that higher purpose is what motivates you to keep pushing forward to your goals,” Vicky said.

In her free time, Vicky exercises daily and reads fantasy and science fiction. She’d love to spend more time with her grandchildren, ages 7, 5, and 1 ½.

Her advice to other women is to know one’s purpose in life.

“What is it that motivates you? What drives you? Find your purpose and stay true to it.”

She said that loving what you do can be a career goal.

“It’s never too late to reinvent yourself. If you find that you’re not happy with where you are in life, change,” she said. “It’s never too late to choose a new career path … Life is a series of experiments. Find what you love.”

Kelly Barbazette, a former journalist for Bay Area newspapers, is a freelance writer. She lives in Gilroy with her husband and two daughters. She can be reached at [email protected].