Four years ago, Abraham Walker was making $10 an hour in seasonal construction work. Now he’s making $20 an hour hauling fuel and he hasn’t been unemployed for a single day for more than two years.
The difference? California Emergency Foodlink’s Truck Driving School, where Walker got the training he needed for a new career he enjoys.
“I was employed even before I graduated,” says the 27-year-old Walker who lives in Sacramento. “I finished the program and the next day I went to work.” His new career in trucking has improved hi standard of living and that of his three children, ages 5, 11, and 12. “I’ve got a new truck, and my freezers are full,” he says. “My kids have everything they want.”
Walker’s success story is a far from unique among graduates of the Truck Driving School, says training center manager Chico Chavez. “Going into trucking let people earn a livable wage,” Chavez says. Walker credits the strong program at Foodlink with helping him to succeed and says Foodlink’s job training can help any enrollee, just as it helped him: “If you stick with it, you’re guaranteed to have a better future.”
“We give the food we get from Foodlink to the neighborhood around our church. The number of people we serve food to is growing by leaps and bounds. We feed families, people off the streets, and senior citizens. We prepare boxes for elderly people and take it to them. It means a lot to us to get this food from Foodlink. Foodlink helps us meet the needs of our community and to fellowship with the homeless in our community. There's a lot of people out there who are hungry, and we just try to provide for people that need us.”
Gladys Young, Volunteer Food Server, Greater Grace Worship Center
“Foodlink is a lifeline for CDFB. Without its support, CDFB’s programs would not flourish. The food we get is top quality and never has the support for our organization been greater.”
Tim Baumbach, COO, Central Downtown Food Basket.