Bill Mertle has watched Fort Bragg”s hunger grow over the past decade but sees hope from a community that”s willing to be more generous in tougher times.
“Ever since I have been at the Food Bank, each year we have seemed to serve more and more clients,” said Mertle, 64, president of the board of directors for the Mendocino Food and Nutrition Program, which oversees the Fort Bragg Food Bank.
“A lot of it is attributed to the two sawmills that shut down,” said Mertle.
“And there also seems to be more homeless people.”
During Mertle”s tenure on the board, government funding has been cut steadily.
“But on the other hand, the generosity of the local people has gone up at the same time,” he said.
Mertle, and wife Rita, own Fort Bragg Electric, which has a staff of 30 and is a hubbub of activity every morning. The business at 489 S. Harrison St. includes a store for plumbing and electric supplies. The couple started the business on March 1, 1979.
How does he get it all done?
“You know the saying, if you want to get something done, ask a busy person to do it,” Bill said.
“We do a lot by email. I come down there a few times a week. Our position on the board of directors is not to get involved in the day-to-day activities of the Food Bank. What we do is set policy and make sure the organization is financially stable.”
The job of executive director has had some turnover in recent years. Mertle is pleased with the work of Nancy Severy, who just finished her first holiday season at the helm.
“Nancy is doing a really fine job. She is one of the best directors we have had in years,” he said.
On Jan. 18, the board voted to add a new member, Richard Masingale. Masingale is the key force behind the annual summer abalone feed for the Food Bank, one of the biggest non-holiday fund-raisers of the year. The board also includes Secretary and V.P. Beverly Witchner, Treasurer Howard Martin, and directors Betty Deutsch, Udo Nittner, Dan Fowler, Nino Pivirotto and Gloria Renteria. Mertle said adding a 10th board member is something the organization wants to do this year.
The USDA Commodities program has warned the Fort Bragg Food Bank that the quantity of food they will provide in 2007 may be up to 25 percent less than in 2006.
Mertle said what happens in Washington, D.C., isn”t what determines the Food Bank”s future.
“I don”t think that has much to do it with it. We get commodities from the federal government but the organization relies on local generosity and awareness,” Mertle said.
He said the Advocate-News” and The Mendocino Beacon”s commitment to helping the Food Bank during the holiday season has made a big difference. The Food Bank also gets many people through the front door who haven”t read the paper and have heard of the organization”s reputation.
He said the whole community has worked together to help the hungry.
“For the future, we hope the generosity and support of the community will continue,” Mertle said.
Severy said things were quiet, but busy on Monday, Jan. 22, and she is excited about the next holiday season.
“Now that I have been through it one year, I will be ready. Every minute I was learning. Next year, I will have a much better idea of what to expect and really be able to plan,” she said.
Jan. 22 was the first day for a nutritionist, Anna Rathburn, to work with clients in line at the Food Bank. She ran a booth on Monday, providing nutritional advice intended to benefit most those 0-5 years of age. She will be on site, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, one week out of every month, Severy said.
How to help financially
This is the final week of the newspapers” Season of Sharing fund-raising drive.
Beginning in 1995, the Advocate-News and The Mendocino Beacon began sponsoring “Season of Sharing,” an annual community fund-raiser for the Fort Bragg Food Bank. The drive runs from the week before Thanksgiving through January, to help not only with holiday food bags, but to build the Food Bank”s reserves for the rest of the year.
Once again the Community Foundation of Mendocino County is administering the fund-raiser free of charge, enabling every penny of each tax-deductible donation to directly benefit the Food Bank.
Checks should be addressed to the Community Foundation of Mendocino County (CFMC), and mailed to Advocate-News, P.O. Box 1188, Fort Bragg, 95437. Donations may be dropped by the newspaper office, located at 450 N. Franklin St.
This week”s update
As of Tuesday afternoon, one anonymous donation brought the Season of Sharing total to $9,234.
Next week, the names of everyone who contributed to the Season of Sharing this year will be reprinted, except those who asked to remain anonymous.
