COMMUNITY

Food bank ops manager expands role

Amirah and Craydon Holt assisted with a recent opening at the Keizer Community Food Bank.

Despite their theological differences, five Keizer churches work together every week to make sure that the members of our community get the help they need.

The man bringing all of that chaos into order is Operations Manager Jim Johnson. Johnson oversees the details and coordinates with the different groups to make sure food gets to local families in need. Johnson officially started volunteering as the operations manager this past January and will add administrative tasks to his responsibilities in January 2020.

Johnson said he feels good about stepping in to his administrative role in full this January.

On Mondays, the church responsible for hosting the food bank picks up food from the Marion Polk Food Share and brings it to the church to store for later that evening. Around 6 p.m., the volunteers will start assisting people with finding the food they need.

The food bank is open to those in need from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Mondays and 9 to 11:30 a.m. on Thursdays. Food is delivered for Thursdays’ openings on Wednesdays and the food bank welcomes helping hands. 

Johnson oversees all of that.

“We have a real good crew,” Johnson said.

In 1998, Johnson was the treasurer of the John Knox Presbyterian Church in Keizer. He handled all the financial aspects of the church’s involvement in the food bank.