Thanks to the efforts of Project Share, Inc. hundreds of people that would otherwise go hungry can eat every week.
Paul Eichhorn, food box coordinator, said Project Share serves 40,000 hot meals every year, in addition to providing food boxes, clothing and other needed items such as diapers.
“We work with 50 or 60 different organizations to provide these meals,” he said. “We have a garden that grows vegetables for the food boxes.”
Eichhorn said on a typical day Project Share feeds about 150 people at its Yale Boulevard building, and its services are available in Spanish as well.
Project Share is filled with people Sunday night, many walking there even through the rain. Eichhorn predicted that a lot of people wouldn’t come to eat Sunday, since they can’t catch a bus in the rain. Nevertheless, Project Share ended up feeding 102 people that night.
On Sunday, the free meals provided at Project Share consisted of tacos, fruit, beans, rice and cookies. There was also milk and cups of candy-colored juice. Each plate contained food to constitute a good dinner, and people were welcome to seconds after everyone had eaten.
Eichhorn said he got involved with Project Share after sitting in on a UNM class taught by David Hilliard, a former leader of the Black Panther Party. Eichhorn said Hilliard’s class built Hope’s Half Acre, the garden that grows vegetables for the food boxes.
He said Hilliard only taught the class for a year, and then was dismissed from UNM. Eichhorn speculates that Hilliard was fired because of “right-wing people” who were unhappy with having a former Black Panther at the University.
“David Hilliard refreshed my faith in the UNM school system, in that they were doing something positive,” he said. “On the other hand, they let him go after his contract ran out.”
Eichhorn said students who are interested in helping can donate items or volunteer at the organization.
A diverse selection of people are served by Project Share, Eichhorn said. About 25 percent of the people who eat there are homeless, he said.
“There’s quite a cross-section of people here. There are some folks just getting out of jail, some folks that are homeless, some folks that can’t afford medication,” he said. “You have a lot of your working-class families that just can’t make it this month.”
Eichhorn said part of his responsibilities at Project Share include working security for the organization.
“If you cause trouble, I’ll throw you out. You can’t show up here drunk,” he said.
Project Share has seven paid staff, as well as dozens of volunteers that occasionally help out, Eichhorn said. He said they also use people who have to do court-ordered community service.
“That’s part of our mission, is to give people a place to do community service,” he said. “For a lot of folks, it’s an eye-opener.”
Eichhorn said the paid staff’s salary comes from grants written to charitable organizations. He said some of the money comes from the city and the state. Project Share isn’t eligible to receive money from some organizations, because they don’t keep track of every person who comes to eat there.
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“Some of these organizations, the reporting requirements are ridiculous,” he said. “Like United Way, they wanted us to check everybody’s picture ID when they came here. Uh, no, not gonna do that.”
Students from Albuquerque Academy volunteer at Project Share on the third Sunday of every month, said Heidi Meyers, Academy volunteer coordinator and student.
“I think Project Share is one of the most important organizations in New Mexico, because you can see the immediate effects on the people you’re helping,” she said. “In that way I think it’s a lot more personal than volunteering somewhere else.”
Meyers said 12 or 13 Academy students come to Project Share every month. She said she got involved with Project Share because she’s interested in helping people.
“I’m really interested in cooking, so my pet issue is hunger,” she said. “It’s also good for the Academy kids to get out there and see different communities.”
Rick Marckstadt said he volunteers regularly and eats most of his meals at Project Share. He said he’s been volunteering with the program since 2005, and he thinks Project Share provides a valuable service.
“Since the recession and stuff, we got more families here — the homeless. It really helps out the community,” he said.
Marckstadt said he’s exploring other, less conventional, fundraising options for Project Share.
“We’re trying to get a hold of the Hooters girls to do a carwash, and the money would go to Project Share,” he said. “It’s not bad with the Hooters girls. You see more skin at the beach.”
Eichhorn said the program gives out food boxes with a variety of food to people who come with a note from a school counselor, a nurse or doctor or a charity detailing their need.
He said Project Share also distributes cat and dog food for people who may not be able to afford it.
“If you’re having a hard time feeding yourself, sometimes your best friend can’t eat too well either,” he said.
