Cynthia Morton
Once a week Cynthia Morton puts on her headset and for the next four hours stays busy taking calls in our Emergency Food Helpline call center.
Assisting neighbors locate a food pantry near them is just one of many roles Cynthia has had as a volunteer with Alameda County Community Food Bank. She has also helped pack produce in the warehouse, assisted at mobile pantries and, during the pandemic, gave out food boxes at our drive-through distributions.
“I give to the Food Bank but we’re the ones that benefit from it,” Cynthia says. A longtime physician, now retired, she and her husband both volunteer with ACCFB. Through volunteering the Oakland couple have formed lifelong friendships. “It’s a good group of people,” she says.
During the four years at the call center Cynthia has helped scores of neighbors throughout Alameda County find food resources. She listens patiently during calls and hears them share how difficult it is to make it in the expensive Bay Area where the high cost of housing makes it hard for even many working families to afford groceries.
This year the Helpline is receiving an average of 1,288 calls every month.
“It opens my eyes, Cynthia says. “I realize how lucky I have been and how much of a village it takes every day. It is something that brings tears to your eyes.”
Through her work on the Helpline Cynthia says she’s become more compassionate and patient. She believes more people need to understand the value of a well-resourced food bank.
“I hear over and over people blaming people for being poor and they don’t realize all it takes is a major health crisis and we’d be in the same boat,” she says. “I’m convinced we all know someone that is using a food bank.”
Cynthia is so passionate about the work she recruited a neighbor to volunteer on the Helpline.
If you or someone you know can do a weekly shift for at least three months, we’d love to hear from you. Email us: volunteer@accfb.org.
