Rodney Murphy Keeps Food and Drivers Safe
In 1955, Mim Hunt stopped her station wagon and stepped out. Reaching into the back, she removed a can of food and handed it to a community member in need of groceries. The first items that Mim distributed from her car were stored in her home, and until the first pantry was opened on Oldham Avenue in Lexington in 1959, Mim used her garage to house the inventory. Mim could never have anticipated that 65 years later God’s Pantry Food Bank would operate five distribution centers and a fleet of 14 trucks – a fleet that includes ten box trucks and four tractor-trailers.
Transportation & Logistics Manager Rodney Murphy joined the God’s Pantry Food Bank team in 2008 as a driver with a Class B commercial license that allowed him to drive box trucks. Eventually, Rodney obtained a Class A commercial license, which qualified him to drive the Food Bank’s expanding fleet of tractor-trailers as well.
Having cross-trained to do nearly every job available in the warehouse, Rodney’s abilities and knowledge of the Food Bank’s operations resulted in his promotion to managing both the Food Bank’s fleet of vehicles and team of nine drivers. He supervises the drivers and oversees the truck schedule and the morning loading process, ensuring that each truck contains the items that are needed by the agencies to which they will deliver their product. Additionally, his responsibilities include maintenance of the trucks, making sure they are safe and in good working order, fueled up, and ready to go when needed.
When asked about his favorite part of working at the Food Bank, Rodney explains, “For me, it’s our mission. When I was a driver, I liked meeting the people who work with us to help those in need of food. I enjoyed their stories, and I saw how important what I did was to others.”
“This growth since I’ve been here is exciting. I don’t like that there’s so much need, but I do like that we have been able to grow in order to try and meet it,” Rodney says.
As for the future of the Food Bank, Rodney’s wish is that, “…more people in the community will get involved with us and what we do.”
Facilities and vehicles are a central part of the Food Bank’s operations, and are essential to making sure that we can get the food we provide to agencies in the 50 counties we serve in Central and Eastern Kentucky. Food-safe storage and transportation is vital to our mission of assisting Kentuckians struggling with food insecurity. Your support lets us maintain these necessities and is one of the reasons we are celebrating 65 years of fighting hunger.
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