For 20 years now, David Ruiz’s infectious smile and laugh have brightened the day of thousands of San Diego Food Bank employees, volunteers, nonprofit partners, visitors, and our neighbors who come to us for assistance.
Every day, he goes about his work of receiving, storing, and readying food for distribution in our Miramar warehouse with a warm smile and pleasant word for everyone lucky enough to cross his path. In our bustling 90,000-square-foot warehouse, you can often hear his laugh echoing down the racks as he moves food from one place to another on his forklift.
David transporting Holiday Food Drive barrels in 2016.
This month, David celebrates his 20th anniversary of working at the San Diego Food Bank. It’s a job, as he shared in an interview a few years back, that gives him an opportunity to give back to an organization that helped his family years ago.
“When I was growing up, my mom and dad got help from the Food Bank,” David told us in 2023. “So, it feels good to finally do the same and help other people. The Food Bank helped feed me, and now I am helping feed people like they helped us when I was growing up. When they say, ‘We’re helping people who don’t know what they are going to have to eat in the next day or two,’ I feel that. I know that. I lived that.”
For years, David made his mark assisting volunteers as a Volunteer Project Coordinator. His bright personality and personal connection to the Food Bank’s mission helped create a welcoming environment for volunteers from all walks of life.
David with coworkers, Mike (Director of Grants Management), Casey (CEO), and Ian (Volunteer Manager).
Now, as Inventory Control Coordinator, David plays an important role in making sure the food obtained by the Food Bank is stored and distributed appropriately. Having received food from the Food Bank in his youth, David understands the value of his daily work.
“It means a lot to me because I know how important it is to the community that we get the food ready for them,” he shares.
Our entire team wishes David Ruiz an enthusiastic CONGRATULATIONS on 20 years of service at the San Diego Food Bank and the local community we assist. Thank you for your continued commitment to our mission and for bringing a smile to the face of every employee, volunteer, and supporter along the way.