Super Staff Spotlight: Jody Martinez, Truck Driver
Jody Martinez has been with United Food Bank for over a year now. Even though she hasn’t been with us for a long time, she has definitely left her mark on the United Food Bank community. Jody is one of our Truck Drivers, delivering food to partner agencies across the state every day. She loves her coworkers and is always willing to help wherever needed. When I came into the warehouse to interview her, she was repacking a pallet in her spare time because she didn’t think it was packed well enough and wanted to make sure the items didn’t fall out on anyone when they were unloading it.
Jody repacking a pallet
Originally from Ohio, Jody was a dental hygienist for most of her life. At 58, she embarked on a new career as a truck driver. It let her see new places and care for aging parents. When I asked her what it was like to transition from her career as a dental hygienist to a truck driver, she said “Fun! Most of the people we work with on the other end, delivering the food to partner agencies, are great to work with. Coming from dentistry, a lot of times you have patients who don’t want to be there and would say ‘nothing personal but I hate dentists.’ When I pull up in my truck, everybody is so excited to see me. I feel like a celebrity; everybody is smiling and waving. It is such a warm reception when I pull up and that is such a nice change of pace.”
“Usually the people at food pantries I deliver to are volunteers. They are the ones helping me unload the truck to distribute out to the community. They are just giving back to the community, donating their time and those kinds of people are just enjoyable people to be around.”
And that is what she also loves about working with United Food Bank, the fun atmosphere and great coworkers she gets to spend a part of her day with. “Everybody is such a team back here [in the warehouse]. Everybody works so well together, everybody helps everybody out. We laugh, we joke, we have a good time. It is a fun place to work,” Jody shared.
United Food Bank’s mission is “Uniting communities to alleviate hunger.” Increasing food access directly reduces food insecurity and hunger. When I asked Jody what United Food Bank’s mission means to her, she said, “I love that we are reaching people in need. We are getting food to places that don’t get food. We are going to areas that even other food banks don’t go to. We go to these remote areas and are able to reach rural communities who don’t have that access.”
Jody is a wonderful example of a Hunger Hero. United Food Bank and our Partner Agencies are lucky to have someone committed to feeding Arizona and delivering food to those in need, no matter how remote they may be. The daily food on our tables is the result of many hard-working hands. Hats off to Jody and a special ‘thank you’ to our transportation and warehouse teammates who work tirelessly to make sure our neighbors receive the nutritious foods they need to thrive.
Written by Sarah Bathe
