Every month local community organizations, in partnership with the US Department of Agriculture, and the Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino County distribute surplus food to needy households throughout Morongo Basin. Normally, their all-volunteer-run events operate very smoothly, but that’s not what happened yesterday in Landers.
For years, volunteer Bonnie Trezona has managed the USDA Food Distribution at Landers’ Belfield Hall. When she unlocked the door about 8 a.m. yesterday Bonnie knew something was amiss. Normally when the door is unlocked, the building’s security system calls out for “the code”, but yesterday it was eerily silent.
The power was out.
By 9 a.m. it was already 97 degrees outside and not much better inside where almost 20 volunteers busied themselves doing the things they always do to make this event run smoothly.
Southern California Edison was notified. Around this time Wayne Harris showed up unexpectedly. Harris is a USDA quality control inspector working through Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino County. The pressure was on and the heat continued to rise. About this time volunteer Christine Douglas took matters into her own hands and summonsed her son to ‘bring the generator’ and he did. An SCE crew was on-scene by 10 a.m., it was already over 100 degrees.
That’s when Bonnie got word one of the food trucks would not be coming. The generator roared, the swamp coolers purred, and folks in need of groceries began showing up.
Inspector Harris, who had been taking it all in, commented that of the more than one hundred distribution sites he monitors, he rarely sees so many dedicated volunteers working so well together.
SCE quickly had the power restored and by 11 a.m. a calm had returned to Belfield Hall.
Belfield Hall is the headquarters of the Landers Community Association, as well as the new Landers Trading Post & Thrift.
