Volunteers at the Sedona Community Food Bank are gearing up for the holidays. They need cash to buy turkeys for Thanksgiving and hams for Christmas. For these two dinners, a bag of all the trimmings will be included, so they are needed as well.
Eddie Passov, executive director of the food bank, says 120 families, or about 300 people, will be able to have a holiday dinners though the program there.
He says that many people are embarrassed coming in and many volunteer so that they can feel like they have earned the food.
Passov says that clients range from senior citizens to people who have lost their jobs
who have never had to resort to a food bank in the past.
“We treat them like family when they come here,” Passov said. “We really feel that they are our family and we do anything we can do to help them, especially around the holidays.”
He notes that one of the biggest hurdles he faces is that people don’t know that Sedona has a food bank.
“There are so many people who didn’t know we are here. We’ve been here 21 years. It’s mindboggling that people do not know,” he said. “I go out and speak to clubs and groups and people didn’t know that is a food bank here,” she said.
Another misconception is that there is no need.
“When you think about Sedona, you think of rich people,” Passov said. “We get an average of maybe 100 families a week who are coming in here. We are feeding between 300 to 500 people a week.”
“At this time of year we need money, but we need canned goods, basic stuff like tuna, peanut butter, mac and cheese, anything in the way of vegetables like green beans. We put them on the shelf.”
“Our clients are so grateful,” Passov said. “I get thank you letters saying, ‘We don’t know what we would have done.’”
Passov is originally from Cleveland and lived there for 39 years before his wife and four children picked up and moved to Arizona.
Because he had close relatives in Arizona and his kids were involved in sports, it seemed like a great idea. They came for a visit in 1978 and ended up buying a house for the family and a condo for his in-laws who had never been to Arizona.
“That was quite a leap of faith,” he said.
Passov is now a resident of Cottonwood. He has been involved in the community in Sedona since 1995. He is a member of the Rotary and Big Brothers.
“I have always loved working with people and kids,” he said.
Passov says he got his people skills from his mother.
“My mother was the sweetest woman. Even when I was younger, it didn’t matter if I was there or not, three of my friends would be there talking to my mother,” he said. “Our house was the gathering place. Passov got acquainted with Sedona when, while as a representative for a plumbing and mechanical business in Phoenix, he had a customer in Sedona. The owner asked Passov to come up and manage his business. He agreed, so he and his wife made the move.
“We moved up here and loved Sedona,” he said.
When his wife passed, Passov became more and more involved in community activities.
Eventually, he retired, giving him even more time for community activities, which have since become more like a full time job, he notes.
He says that two years ago, a friend pointed out to him that there was a job opening at the food bank and that they were looking for a director.
“I applied for the job. I didn’t get the job. They hired someone else,” he said.
That person left after six months and the job was given to Passov about two and a half years ago.
So far, it seems like a perfect match.
“I have 45 volunteers. Everybody knows their job and they are happy,” he said.
He points out that his right-hand woman, Jessie Russo, helps more than he can say.
“She takes care of things that would drive me crazy.”
People can come in once a week to get the basics. Once a month, they can pick up extras like milk, butter, eggs and pasta.
He notes that in addition to canned and non-perishable food, the food bank can always use more volunteers.
By Patty McCormac
Flagstaff Business News
To learn more or to volunteer at the Sedona Community Food Bank, call 928-204-2808 or call Passov on his cell 928-451-4006.