New van needed for vital Catholic Charities services
On a run to deliver much-needed food to residents of Catholic Charities affordable housing, the agency’s 2003 van ground to a grumpy halt.
Smoke rose from the engine compartment, and staff had to rent a vehicle to get the perishable supplies to their important destinations.
Workers use the temperamental transport five days a week and have kept it chugging for years, but it appears to be reaching the end of its lifespan.
When the Ford Econoline was created, you probably used a flip phone – if you were really hip. George W. Bush was in his first term. The musical “Chicago” won the Oscar.
“A newer 11-foot cargo van would be ideal and allow us to be more efficient and combine multiple pickups in one trip,” says Sally Erickson, community services director for Catholic Charities.
Staff use the van to pick up donations from the Church of Latter-day Saints warehouse, Dave’s Killer Bread and Pacific Coast Fruit. The supplies then get delivered to residents at 11 sites.
The vehicle also is used to carry furniture to refugee households and pick up donated diapers and baby items from parishes. It totes donated school supplies and Christmas gifts.
On all these trips, it often needs to slip into places with low clearance, spots where a higher truck won’t do.
Erickson explains it would be best to have a van designed for cargo, as the current vehicle has a set of inconvenient cleats on the bed meant to attach seats. The little bumps make it difficult to load and unload.
‘We cross our fingers when we get in her and hope that it makes it from point A to point B.’
Sally Erickson
The current van gets 15 miles per gallon of gas. Erickson says that both the agency and the planet would benefit from a more fuel-savvy model.
“It’s definitely showing its age,” she concludes. “It gets used so heavily. We are filling it up with boxes and crates of food. It gets pretty banged up. Well keep using this as long as she runs but we really need a more reliable vehicle, preferably one that’s a little more energy efficient.”
Erickson and other staffers won’t really miss the old van, though it is a thrill to drive.
“It’s like a big motorboat, kind of slushy,” Erickson says. “You turn to the right, and it sort of goes right.”