SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – Every Tuesday, you can find Nord Yamauchi here at Feeding San Diego in Mira Mesa. It’s where he volunteers at the non-profit’s distribution center.
“I felt that this is my calling in terms of helping the community,” Yamauchi said.
The inner voice to volunteer calls him down from Fallbrook.
“It's over 80, 80 miles, maybe closer to 100,” Yamauchi said on how far he travels to and from volunteering.
With rising gas prices amid the War with Iran, it’s a bit of a concern driving all those miles from North County.
“I have to weigh the pros and cons for the cost of gas versus coming here to meet my commitment to the organization,” Yamauchi said.
Jessica Schultz is the Director of Supply Chain for Feeding San Diego.
She told ABC 10News the non-profit’s not feeling the rise in gas prices yet, but there could be impacts.
“So, if fuel costs are to increase, it will affect our operations in that we source food from all over San Diego but also all over California and even all over the country sometimes,” Schultz said. “While 90% of the food that Feeding San Diego distributes is rescued, that means it's donated from our food donors, we're still responsible for transportation costs. So, we still have to get that food into our facility or, you know, at least get it into our region so we can distribute it out to San Diegans.”
Schultz said there’s been a general increase in freight costs over the last several months for a variety of reasons. So, it’s something they’re always watching as we're all seeing those gas prices go up.
“Even if things need to be adjusted on the back end, we need to change our approach to anything. We're going to continue to get the food, but it is a challenge when the costs and other hurdles associated with that continue to change and grow in some cases,” Schultz said.
As for Yamauchi, he's not going to miss this Tuesday's call.
“I feel that my commitment to feeding San Diego far outweighs the cost of gas right now anyway,” Yamauchi said.
