One of six big Vons trucks with holiday food heads for needy citrus worker families in Fresno County

Christmas will be a little brighter for needy citrus worker families in the Parlier area on Wednesday when one of six 18-wheel Vons trucks delivers food donated by the supermarket company. Working in partnership with Vons, the United Farm Workers will help distribute food boxes beginning at 11:45 a.m.

In all, Vons is trucking more than 120,000 pounds of food–6,000 boxes–to thousands of families in need across California and Nevada. The "Vons Holiday Food Convoy" is carrying a total of $250,000 worth of food donated by the grocery company. With help from Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante and UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta, the convoy of trucks departs Los Angeles at 10 a.m. on Tuesday in route to food banks and charitable organizations in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Fresno and San Diego Counties as well as Clark County, Nev.

Vons is working with the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, California Emergency Foodlink, the Salvation Army, the United Farm Workers and the Second Harvest Food Banks of San Diego, Orange and Ventura to deliver the food.

The six Vons 18-wheelers will arrive at each location with Santa and his helpers–including Vons employees–who in Parlier will work with the UFW to pass out the food. Each Vons truck will contain more than 1,000 boxes of mixed food items.

The UFW worked with Vons in feeding out-of-work citrus workers earlier in the year following last winter’s devastating freeze.

Who: Santa, Vons employees, UFW representatives including UFW Secretary-Treasurer Dolores Huerta and UFW Vice-President Tanis Ybarra.

What: Distributing more than 1,000 food boxes to needy citrus worker families.

When: 11:45 a.m., Wednesday, December 22, 1999.

Where:  Earl Ruth Park (1st & Fresno Sts.), Parlier.

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