Meet the Volunteers: Sharon and Randall Gaberel

Sharon and Randall Gaberel have always enjoyed volunteering. They did so during their free time when she was working as a supervisor for child support services in San Francisco County and he was in automotive manufacturing. Once they retired, they knew they had to find something to occupy their time “so that we just don’t sit in our chairs and rock until we die, you know?”

After retiring, they moved to Humboldt County to be closer with one of their daughters, enjoying a home overlooking the ocean. But when that daughter got offered a job in San Luis Obispo County, they moved to Orangevale to be close to another daughter in Folsom. They thought about volunteering at a food bank but there was just one thing. They didn’t know what a food bank was. When they came to the Orangevale-Fair Oaks Food Bank in 2018, Sharon says they immediately knew they found a good fit.

“What really struck us was in this office that Andrea (Scollay, the director) has, it had the same scripture on the wall that we face in our den every morning. It was Micah 6:8 on the wall. ‘What does the Lord require of you?’ We walked in and we saw that. I said, ‘I think this is where God wants us,’” said Sharon.

Sitting inside the food bank early one recent morning, Sharon and Randall, both 72, held hands as they talked about what they do at the food bank.

They both currently work three days a week, arriving at 6:30 a.m. Randall helps get the food ready for distribution while Sharon works the computer. They help coordinate the approximately 35 volunteers that come in each shift to help make the service work so smoothly. The volunteers come from the Orangevale and Fair Oaks rotary clubs and churches, youth groups, and people who just want to help out.  “We accept everyone that comes through that door,” Sharon says.

Once the food bank opens for the day, Randall can be found out in the street, checking IDs and moving the clients along in their cars.  “We accept everyone that comes through that door,” Sharon says.

Randall says he also fields a lot of questions from clients, such as when is the food bank open, what kind of food do they distribute. (Everything: from fresh produce to meats and dairy and canned and boxed items.)

Sharon and Randall have become an invaluable fixture at the food bank in the eight years they’ve been volunteering there. They befriend the homeless, and have made deep connections with them. Randall told the story of a homeless man living in his car who reached out to them just after he got a cancer diagnosis. He wanted them to pray for him. They also deliver food boxes to senior citizens and help a teacher who requests fresh produce for her students so she can teach them about healthy eating.

So what does the food bank mean to them?

“I get a sense of connection to the community,” says Randall. “We kind of feel like we're part of something bigger than us. And that's kind of a reward for me, mostly, and getting to know people.” His wife agrees. “I volunteer for the food bank because I serve God when I'm here. That is my reason for being here. I love to give back to the community.”

“We see the tears, we see the hurt, we see how they're affected by the community around them and the circumstances that they’re in, and they know that we care,” says Sharon. “We’re not here just to feed you. We actually care about every single person that comes through that driveway.”

The Orangevale-Fair Oaks Food Bank is open Monday 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Wednesday 4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m., Thursday 10 a.m.-12:30 a.m. and Friday 10 a.m.-12:30 a.m. Go to our website www.ovfofb.org to see how you can volunteer.

• By Judy Farah