By Brenna Fox

 

          The rain begins to flood the steps to basement kitchen at the First Christian Church on Oak street as woman donning a salsa stained Burrito Brigade t-shirt props open the door with a 25lb bag of rice to make way for awaiting armfuls of donated produce.  Longtime local Jennifer Riehl is one of many volunteers that helps feed the homeless in Eugene weekly through mainly bicycle bound burrito distribution.  “ Its really important, we never skip a Sunday,” she chimes repeatedly, obviously proud of the long standing consistency of the organizations efforts.  She settles in a plastic fold out chair in the corner of the kitchen, fumbling with her keys she remarks, “ You know with all the snow storms we’ve had recently some of the homeless camps far out on River road can’t manage to access the food pantries, I’m scared of the ice, but my brother helped me deliver 500 burritos, and man did those folks look happy to see us!” Jennifer Riehl, although not one of the original founders of Burrito Brigade, joined back in May of 2014 when the prep work was done in a small residential home in the Whiteaker .  The gratification, she acknowledges, comes from the fact that although she cannot feed everyone, every meal, she has been able to hide as much nutrients  as possible when she’s been out on street. Especially when it comes to feeding not only the homeless, but kids at the Whiteaker skate park. “ You know you have no idea what those kids go through,” she points out,“ or if they’ve even had a nutritious meal  since they’ve rolled out of bed, and they get so excited….these kids that probably veer away from veggies in general, are chowing down on a delicious burrito that they have no idea is vegan powerhouse of goodness.”  It costs very little to feed so many people, and the longer Riehl has been around the more creative the balance of nutrition has come into play, stuffed with local leftover greens the burrito has evolved from its simple rice and Tapatío structure. “It is dire with the amount of people going hungry in our own neighborhoods that the food that is being wasted in Eugene comes closer to those who need it…we truly blend a bit of food rescue into the mix when we work with swooping up food from local distributors that would otherwise go to waste!”  Optimistic for the fruitful summer months in store Riehl is looking into organizing a second Pita Day, and with the help on a new onset of volunteers she’s hoping to cover more territory. “ Really I hope you know there is no requirement for a burrito, anyone should be able to satisfy their hunger”, she grabs a burrito and throws it at the recorder, “ even you should have one!”