Treasure Box Supplies Food
By ALEXA VAUGHN Valley Press Staff Writer
Antelope Valley Press, Tuesday, March 31, 2009

One Saturday a month, Lancaster First Assembly of God member Mary Schroeder gets up at the crack of dawn to unload hundreds of pounds of food as a volunteer for The Treasure Box, a for-profit business. But, according to her, The Treasure Box isn't an ordinary business.

Using the bulk discounts its parent company, Good Source Solutions, gets from more than 400 vendors to distribute food to budget-constrained organizations like prisons, schools and non-profit organizations, The Treasure Box sells boxes of food that retail at $75 to 100 for $30, said Steve Guy, The Treasure Box's executive director.

And at a time when food prices have spiked and non-profit donations have taken a hit, Guy said The Treasure Box program has found a sustainable money-saving opportunity for anyone that needs or wants to make the most of a tight budget.

"A lot of people, when they think of taking charity, have a bit of a self-dignity issue. They want to be able to earn what they're getting," Guy said. "When you give them a good value, you help them feel good about finding it."

Each month there is a different menu of items that typically lasts a week for a family of four or a senior for an entire month.

April's menu includes five pounds of chicken teriyaki bowls, a three-pound whole chicken, a 12-ounce package of hot dogs, one pound of chicken bologna, two pounds of hamburger patties, two-and-a-half-pounds of cheese enchilada bake, a 28-ounce sausage and cheese meatballs package, 32 ounces of cut corn, 16 ounces of broccoli cuts, a pound and a half of green apple applesauce cups, a package of French toast sticks, 12-ounce box of toasted rice cereal, one pound of spaghetti and a three-pound tub of cookie dough.

Since the program started in October, five semi-trucks departing once a month from a Lancaster Harvest Farms facility distribute boxes of the discounted food to 36 sites in Southern California and the demand is growing, Guy said.

Teresa Novy, a community outreach coordinator for The Treasure Box, has set up seven places in the Antelope Valley where residents can pick up their boxes: Lancaster First Assembly of God, Almondale Middle School in Littlerock, Twin Lakes Community Church in Lake Los Angeles, Grace Resource Center in Lancaster, Sacred Heart Church in Lancaster, New Beginnings Christian Center in Lancaster, Cornerstone church in Littlerock and Pearblossom Foursquare Church in Pearblossom.

Combined, Novy said the sites sell approximately 200 boxes a month to both bargain-hunters and good Samaritans who buy food for others they know are in need. But with as many cash-strapped families as there are in the AV, she said she takes her mission of expanding awareness of the program very seriously.

"I really believe this program helps people. If I don't believe in something, I really don't have any motivation to promote it," Novy said.

Novy said she also knows from her childhood in Lake Los Angeles that something as simple as getting dinner on the table without a struggle can change family life dramatically.

"I'm a product of outreach myself," Novy said. "When I was little, my family was bad off. And one day a guy who saw my brother and I collecting cans my dad was disabled followed us home with a bag of food to give us. People like that really helped build my passion for doing stuff like this."

At first Novy, who was a Christian missionary for 18 years, coordinated with local churches to help spread the word about the packages. But because she also works as a speech therapist part-time at Almondale Middle School in Littlerock, she realized school officials like Melanie Pumphrey, vice principal for Almondale, would be also be interested in easing families' financial burdens.

Now that Almondale Middle School is on The Treasure Box route, both parties have negotiated a deal in which $1 of every food box sale goes to the school.

To become a site for The Treasure Box, a location has to select a site leader, like Pumphrey is at her school, and recruit a few volunteers to load the boxes in and out of cars, record pick-ups and receipts.
Schroeder said though volunteering for The Treasure Box requires getting up early, the warm, fuzzy feeling she gets in her heart and the fun she has later makes it all worth it.

"I've been there before. I'm a mother of five and there were times when we only had refried beans and tortillas," Schroeder said. "So, I really enjoy helping people and talking with them. When people come to pick up their boxes, we just kind of talk, hang out and have fun."

Though she's seen businesses like it before, Schroeder said The Treasure Box is the best she's seen.

"I'd been looking for a program like this ever since I left Nebraska, where there was one," Schroeder said. "But I don't know where they got their stuff it was bad. But this (Treasure Box) stuff is full of products that are actually good you've got protein, vegetables, everything. It's all in there."

The deadline for ordering April's menu is April 8. Customers can pre-order boxes through one of the host sites, which process the purchase or call (800) 207-5521. Boxes are then available for pick-up on April 25.

More information on how the program works and menus is available at www.thetreasurebox.org. Novy has also set up a blog about The Treasure Box operations in the AV at www.ttbav.blogspot.com.