Meals, Mercy, and Mission: Bob Bradley's Journey with The Salvation Army
In this special episode of 'The Wireless Way,' host Chris Whitaker speaks with Bob Bradley, Chair of the Emergency Disaster Services Committee at the Salvation Army's Modesto Citadel. Bob shares his remarkable journey from construction and cable manufacturing to his life of service with the Salvation Army. Listeners learn about the organization's extensive food security initiatives, daily meal programs, and emergency disaster response efforts. Bob recounts personal experiences that underline the impact of their work and the essential role the Salvation Army plays in supporting vulnerable communities. Chris and Bob also discuss the importance of community collaboration and volunteerism. The episode culminates with staggering statistics on the Salvation Army's outreach in Modesto, California in 2024, showcasing the breadth and depth of their mission to uplift those in need.
00:00 Introduction and Episode Overview
00:41 Guest Introduction: Bob Bradley
02:29 Bob Bradley's Background and Career Journey
08:53 Daily Operations at the Salvation Army
13:02 Mobile Canteen Service and Disaster Response
17:50 Challenges and Community Support
20:24 Community Contributions and Fundraising
21:04 Programs for Kids at the Red Shield
21:40 Public Relations and Awareness
22:20 Collaboration to Combat Food Insecurity
23:40 Emergency Disaster Services (EDS) Operations
25:23 Memorable Volunteering Experiences
28:47 Personal Stories and Reflections
30:50 Final Thoughts and Gratitude
33:42 Salvation Army's Impact in 2024
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Chris (00:00):
Hey, welcome to another episode of The Wireless Way.
I'm your host, Chris Whitaker.
And today is a special episode.
And and I feel like I say thatevery other episode and maybe
I'm just lucky that I have greatguest, great topics that we talk
about.
And today is a little bitdifferent.
'cause, I often bring on eitherwireless technology or
(00:21):
communications solutions andauthors and thought leaders.
A little history before I evenintroduced my guest.
A good friend of mine, DennisCallo.
He said, Chris, I could use yourhelp, when it comes to
technology and he is with theSalvation Army.
So Dennis is not my guest todaybut my guest knows Dennis and
we're close with him.
But through that relationship,not only did I get educated on a
(00:45):
fantastic organization that goesback a long ways and has massive
reach, but I got to meet BobBradley.
Bob Bradley is my guest today.
A little bit about him before Ibring him on.
He serve as the chair of theEDS, and that's the Emergency
Disaster Services Committee atthe Salvation Army's, Modesto
(01:05):
Citadel in Northern California.
With keen compassion andunwavering dedication, Bob
oversees critical food securityinitiatives and including daily
meal programs.
USDA commodity distribution andcongregate feeding events, and a
little more facts behind that.
In 2017 alone, the ModestoCitadel delivered nearly 3
(01:27):
million pounds of food throughover 60 monthly commodity
distribution sites.
Daily pantry services andcongregate Meals feeding as many
as 250 people every weekday.
As a part of that advisoryboard, Bob contributes strategic
guidance to ensure thesustainability and growth of
food kitchen operations acrossthe region.
(01:49):
His efforts carry forward theorganization's broader mission
of uplifting vulnerablecommunities by ensuring regular
nutritious meals, especially tothose facing crisis.
Food insecurity arehomelessness, and Bob's
leadership combines operationaloversight with compassion driven
service.
He collaborates with his fellowboard members and volunteers to
(02:10):
plan fun and execute foodprograms that nourish body and
spirit across NorthernCalifornia.
So Bob, welcome to the show.
I'm so glad we finally gottogether and we can have this
conversation.
Thank you very much.
Bob 3 (02:25):
This is my first time doing this, so I'm excited.
So I'll just kind.
Give you a little bit of mybackground of what I've done.
So I've, I always said before, Iused to say I only had two, two
lives.
I had 18 years after I graduatedfrom high school, I did
construction, drywall, andthat's a young man's trade.
And I realized, ah, as I getolder it's, I'm not probably
(02:47):
gonna be able to do that.
Went through a change of lifeand figured, okay, I got a do
over.
And so my brother and I wentinto a cable manufacturer and we
started putting connectors onthe end of coax cable.
And I did that for about 15years and built up a business,
started out of a garage andbuilt it up to almost having
every major cable company acrossthe United States.
(03:11):
And had to partner up with othercompanies to be able to finance.
But, through that I was able toretire at 51.
So now I always say instead ofhave two lives, I actually had
three lives.
'cause I've been actually doingemergency service with the
Salvation Army for 18 years now.
So it's a whole nother thirdlife that I've been involved in
(03:32):
with the Salvation Army.
I had nine years with theAmerican Red Cross that got me
started when I first retiredwith excellent training.
And through the nine years I wasable to receive the Clara Barton
Award.
With them realized that, Ineeded more in my life than just
going out and deploying ondisasters.
I needed more, be morefulfilled.
(03:54):
So I found the salvation Armyand I've been with the salvation
Army now for nine years andthrough the, through the
Salvation Army.
In my nine years with them, I'veactually, it's been incredible.
Not only that, with through EDSpart of it, I've actually let,
they, let me build my owncanteen and design it and
(04:15):
operational it.
I also through that I won thehighest award, which is the
Salvation Army, which is theother award.
And then also when we went fromthe Citadel to the admin that
transition, we built a calledACEs.
It's a, it's another part of ashelter.
And myself and Mr.
(04:36):
Cruzi and Mr.
Fisher.
We see the first awards everhanded out called The Way Out
Award.
And so now every year after KKOs they continue with the Way
Out Award, which is exciting onthat part of it.
So that's my bio.
Chris (04:53):
A quick question on that bio.
You said you kind, your firstcareer was really more in, in
coax cable and like I get a lowvoltage wiring or whatnot.
What, was there some trigger orsomething that inspired you to
get into you mentioned Red Crossof course, but the Salvation
Army and Emergency DisasterServices.
What how did that happen?
Did you just.
(05:14):
So I ask you to join or,
Bob 3 (05:16):
yeah.
So when, I thank God every daythat when I was so 51 I was able
to retire and be able to moveon.
'cause I, they the company wewere with at that time, they had
a place in San Diego and, theywanted to close up Livermore and
for us to move to San Diego.
At 50 and I had kids in school,I says, ah, I.
(05:36):
I need to get out.
And so at that early of an age,I said, man, I gotta find
something.
It's something that reallyinspires me.
And it's the red Cross is righthere in Modesto also.
And so I went down there,checked it out, and started
getting involved in that andstarted doing more and more for
them.
And getting deployed out todifferent places across the
(05:59):
country and all that.
And so as I, nine years of thatand being able to do different
things logistically and allthat.
'cause that was my backgroundwith the manufacturing part of
it to get, to be able to joinother, at the time when I
started, they were calledchapters and now they're a
region outta Sacramento.
And so I was able to take thedifferent chapters and create
(06:22):
and bring everybody together andthat was what I.
What got me along for the theClara Bartner board doing that.
But but it was only a one trickpony with that one for
deployments and emergency withthe Salvation Army.
I, there's so much more involvedin that.
There's so many more things andit's funny'cause most people,
when you, if you go nine outta10 people and ask what is, what
(06:46):
is it?
What about the Salvation Army?
Or do you know what they do?
And they say, yeah, they're onthe corners during the holidays,
ringing the bell at the kettletime, kettle kickoff.
And they don't realize thatwe're so much more, not only
we're in sheltering, we're atred Shield, which is with kids
and senior citizens that we do.
I also work with a RC inStockton, which is a adult
(07:08):
rehabilitation.
And that's very rewardingbecause we get these guys that
are coming, they says, we can'tdo it no more.
I have some type of addiction orwhatever the addiction may be,
and they're just, they're ontheir last leg and they say, I
need help.
And so we're able to take'em upto Stockton and get'em into a
program and and it just changedtheir whole life.
(07:28):
They have their families back,they get their kids back in
their life.
It is a Christian organization,the, it's, the turnaround is
about an 80, 80% success ratethat happens with these
gentlemen that go into thisprogram.
And we go up there once a monthand, we have guys that come up
and say, God, thank you forhelping us and thank you for
(07:49):
getting us in this supremeprogram.
You, you changed our life.
And it's, no we just got youhere.
God changed your life.
So it's just, they're the kindof things that are rewarding
that.
That that we do that is justincredible.
Chris (08:02):
It's funny, as in our pre-show discussion, we talked,
kicked around some differentquestions and, I was gonna ask
you, a question here in aminute, but even before I ask
you, it made me think about thevalue of having a meal.
First of all, you got to eat.
That's definitely right.
Food, shelter, clothing.
Like the three, the big, thethree big ones.
But even in my daily life, abusiness man, we, a lot of
(08:23):
businesses conducted over ameal.
Me, you and Dennis gosh, who waswith us for dinner?
Who else was when we had dinnerin California, a few a month or
so back.
That the did in Walnut Creek?
Yeah.
Oh, captain J was Captain Jeff.
That's right.
Captain Jeff.
Thank you.
Yes, sorry, captain Jeff.
I knew it was captain something.
I just couldn't, I had one ofthose senior moments, so yeah.
(08:45):
Captain Jeff and Dennis, and youand I, again, having a meal is
such a part of our, our culture,our society of course is
necessary.
Having said that, tell us about,or describe, the daily
operations of the food kitchenand how you and your team,
manage to prepare and serve,large number of meals each day.
What does that look like?
And, walk us through a standardday.
(09:07):
Sure.
Bob 3 (09:07):
Even during a disaster if anything that brings people
together is food, that's the onething that groups us all
together, is a good hot meal.
At the Salvation Army, we havewe serve over 1200 meals in our
kitchen daily.
And the food is not just, foodis, it is actually excellent.
And we go from chicken tolasagna to hamburgers and hot
(09:30):
dogs.
And tamales, and you name it,they cook it and they get an
excellent three meals a day.
They get to breakfast, they getto lunch and dinner, also snacks
throughout the day.
So they're constantly with waterand everything and Gatorade or
whatever coffee that they needdaily.
So they're well fed and it's,that's one of the cool things
(09:51):
about it is.
That, that helps us get thatfood to our folks is that we
have our food warehouse, whichis probably about two miles down
the road, and we just built a2,500 square foot freezer and,
which that's big.
It's huge.
And it probably, and I wanna sayI don't I don't have the facts,
but I wanna say we're probablyone of the largest food
(10:13):
distribution here in NorthernCalifornia.
So we're able to store.
So much more food, bring so muchmore food in, get it out to so
many different other people outin our in our community.
But that, and so what they'll dois they'll see what's what we
have.
They'll put their order inthrough the week, and then we'll
have the food brought over, andthen that's what they'll prepare
(10:35):
throughout the week.
Chris (10:36):
Is this a 24 7 operation?
What time does it begin in themorning?
So it's a 24 7,
Bob 3 (10:42):
365 days out of the year.
They, we usually I believe theystart serving breakfast around
seven.
And there's three differenttypes to, so we have our folks
in the shelter, and then we haveour, the we have the sheriff
program that's in there.
And then we have the post-opfolks that are in there.
(11:03):
And then we also have a daycenter program where folks that
don't have any place to goduring the day and it gives'em a
place to come in, sit, have ameal, charge their phone, watch
TV or something, and gets'em ahot day or cold day.
They're, they get'em off thestreet and they able to stay
inside the day center and and,help'em with when anything they
(11:26):
need during the day.
And and then we also have thecounty program, which is right
behind us, which also they comeover and we get food to them and
all that.
So it, it's quite a.
It's for the kitchen staff to beable to pop out the food and the
quality of the food that they dois amazing.
We will, I'll eat there a coupletimes a month and just ha and
(11:48):
it's just, it's, the food isexcellent, it's quality food.
And the one nice thing about ourcounty is no one should ever go
hungry in our county.
There's plenty of food foreveryone to get a nice hot meal
or meal provided
Chris (12:03):
to
Bob 3 (12:03):
em.
Chris (12:04):
And we talked about, so I know you focus on your county
but obviously Salvation Army,you're right, everyone in the
States knows'em, but everyone inthe world knows'em too.
Are there similar programsacross the country and the
globe?
Bob 3 (12:18):
I'm s for Salvation Army or other organizations?
So
Chris (12:22):
Salvation Army.
Bob 3 (12:23):
Oh yeah.
Salvation Army.
Salvation Army.
Army.
Yeah.
Started, William Booth inEngland and brought him, came
over here.
So in Modesto, in my area, he'sbeen here since 1891.
When Modesto when they came toModesto and started to Citadel
here in Modesto.
And so we've been, they've beenaround for a long time and it's
nationwide.
(12:44):
Worldwide.
You'll, when you're ever, anytype of disaster or anything
that's needed, you always see aSalvation Army.
They are out feeding orspirituality or, when they
somebody needs something, we'llmake sure we try to make it
happen and get it to'em.
And so you got,
Chris (13:02):
yeah.
You got the regular day-to-dayoperations, what you just
described, but I know you sharedsome pictures with me and you
were telling me about the thismobile canteen service.
Oh, yes.
Yeah.
I how do you, how does that getcalled into action and what does
that do?
A lot of times what
Bob 3 (13:17):
it matter of fact, we just two weeks ago we were up in
training in Bishop and we tookthe canteen up.
So we go to different places thefolks in different areas that
are a high potential fire.
Fire seasons during the summer,and some folks, we get up there,
we train'em, we try to get acrew for'em, and we'll take the
canteen up and we'll teach'emhow to use the canteen, how to
(13:37):
cook out of the canteen.
It's basically the canteen.
It's what they call around here,a food truck, a taco truck.
It's a full-sized kitchen.
I have in my canteen I haverefrigerator, a warmer a 48 inch
grill, six burners with an oven.
A freezer.
And so I could, we could easilyput out 1200 meals out of that
(13:57):
canteen if needed.
So if we get a call matter offact two years, three years ago,
we had a fire in Palata.
Now I'm not pronouncing that butI.
But it was a flooding that wasup there.
One of the levees broke.
They called us up and said, we,we have people there that are
flooded out of their homes andthey're had no way to have food
or get food to'em or be able toeat.
(14:20):
So they called us up and myselfand Captain Jeff and a couple of
my other volunteers went upthere to meed.
And in 10 days we served over8,000 meals in 10 days.
That was 800 meals a day that wewere providing for the folks up
there.
Wow.
That didn't have anything.
(14:40):
And we'd go out, we cook andthey'd line'em up and and that
we just, as they drove, it was adrive by.
And as they drove up to thewindow, we handed her food and
just went to the next one.
So it was like over 800 meals aday for 10 days that we did
that.
It was quite an accomplishment.
Usually, most times we rate.
(15:00):
Different kitchens on, a smallkitchen could do about 300, a
medium kitchen can do about 600.
In a large kitchen, you could doover 1200 or so.
So we were actually between thecanteen and the Merced core, it
was considered the mediumkitchen.
We were still be able to pumpout 800 meals out of there and
(15:21):
it's something that.
We wouldn't normally do.
Yeah, I would say at least 600outta that kitchen.
But, we went far and beyond towhat we were capable, just to
make sure everyone got a hotmeal and for their families.
So it was a pretty cool to go.
Chris (15:37):
So for the disaster services, I mean that, that's
who whoever's in need.
You don't have to be homeless ordown your luck in a sense.
That, so it's two different,it's two different groups.
'cause you're the regularkitchen we talked about, those
are people having foodinsecurities are different
challenges in life.
And then the other group arepeople that are dealing with a
(15:57):
natural disaster of some sortfrom flooding to fires.
Bob 3 (16:00):
Is that a fair statement?
Yeah.
We'll, yeah.
So we'll, I'll get a, we'll geta call and say, we have our
flooding or fires.
We've had many different firesin, throughout the Central
Valley or Northern Ello.
It's just the last fire we haddown in LA I.
Yeah.
I wasn't able to go to that one,but the salvation was Army was
down there feeding and helpingall them families that were
(16:22):
burnt out at their home, and itwas down there for weeks over
oh.
The time just making sureeveryone had a hot meal.
And and so that's exactly whatwe do.
We'll go, we'll set up the redCross will usually come in, set
up a shelter, and then we'llcome in and do the feeding and,
Chris (16:39):
So you guys work real close to the Red Cross?
Yes.
It's just like you guys knoweach other and Yes.
And yeah.
Yeah.
That's fantastic.
Bob 3 (16:48):
It's a,
Chris (16:48):
It's a,
Bob 3 (16:48):
it's a perfect combination with the sheltering.
They take care of that, and thenwe take care of the feeding and
we work excellent together andwe have great partnerships
throughout our community withOES.
And red Cross and all that.
So if there is a disaster inSanta Cla County and all that,
(17:09):
our OES will call up and havesay, even if it's not for
sheltering, even if it's justfor the fire, there'll be out on
the sea for vegetation fire formaybe over four hours, and they
bring other groups in to helpfight the fire.
They'll call us up and say, ourcrew's been out there for four
or five hours and they needwater and they're hungry in
(17:30):
their food.
So we'll get a team, get thewater and snacks and we'll head
out there and get'em, pizzas andall that.
And so they continue to fightthe fire and we'll keep'em
keeping hydrated and keep'emsomething in their belly so they
can continue to fight on.
So
Chris (17:46):
that's so important.
So important.
So another question for you.
What are some of the biggestchallenges you face in ensuring
that Meals reach those in need?
And how do you and your teamaddress those challenges?
Bob 3 (18:00):
With the food warehouse we have and everything that
we're able to do, we have reefertrucks, we have box trucks, we
have all kinds of things to beable to get food to people.
So we have like over 28 sites,commodity sites that we deliver
to churches and otherorganizations that we bring them
food and they're able to servetheir people through their
(18:22):
churches or whatever communitythat they, they deal with, their
folks that they have in theirarea.
And we'll take our trucks outand we'll drop their loads of
food off to them so they canfeed their churches and all
that.
We'll also there's areas thatsome folks aren't, they can't
make it to the, either the foodwarehouse or that to be food
(18:42):
handed up.
So we'll have a truck that'll goto their area.
And they'll come, just come tothe truck and we'll have it in
the boxes through, up throughthe back end of the truck.
So they have, they are able toget food.
We.
If we get a call and saysomebody needs food and we make
sure we get it to'em.
We wanna make sure that nobodyour daily at our food warehouse,
(19:04):
we have probably about 50 to 60people that go into our food
warehouse and load up theircars.
Probably, I would say at leastover 150, if not more.
Dollars worth of food that wehand out from boxes, from cans
to pasta to depending on what wehave in stock.
It could be Hamburg, it could beturkeys, it could be chicken, it
(19:26):
could be, whatever we have atthe time that we're able to
receive in, we'll give to thesefolks and then they can come
back.
Either once a month or every twoweeks, they can come back if
needed,
Chris (19:37):
would never turn anybody down for food.
That's great.
I, it's funny, I have four kids,so a family of six and the kids
would always have a few friendsover, and I'm sitting there
thinking about, man, I.
How stressful it is for me tomake hot dogs and hamburgers
for, a dozen people.
Oh.
And you guys got it down tohundreds and on a very grand
scale.
It makes me think too, to do afamily barbecue sometimes, man,
(19:58):
if you have to.
The cost.
How are, again, you thinkSalvation Army, the Bell and the
Red Kettles, I know that's a bigfundraiser in a sense, but are
there other ways that people itmake donations to, to help fund
the, this operation?
Bob 3 (20:11):
So they have, there's all, they could, they a lot of
our are some our.
Our community, folks in ourcommunity, sending checks.
We have different events that wedo.
We have a golf tournament thathelp contribute.
We have the KKO that helpscontribute.
It's just any just.
Or just people normally justdonate out of their pockets, or
(20:34):
they have that, what are that?
The barcodes.
And we have barcodes out therethat you can scan and, help
contribute that way.
During it the think about duringit the e dfs part of it, a lot
of people don't think about, themoney during, for emergency,
during a non-emergency.
So we don't think about, keepingthe ed s emergency side up and
running'cause there's noemergency going on.
(20:56):
So you don't think about, theyneed funds or help or any of
that until the disaster happens.
And then we're able to get morefunds during that time.
But yeah, there's just we had akids day that helps kids.
We have a paper.
For kids that we do once a year,and it helps the kids at the Red
Shield.
For summer, they have a pool togo to.
They have programs that theyhave a basketball and they have
(21:19):
softball boxing that gives thesechance for these kids to get off
the street and go to a place andhave a time to spend during the
summertime.
So it's just, they're alldifferent types of things that
we do, and like I said, mostpeople.
If you ask, they say, really?
Oh, you do that?
Oh, I didn't know that.
And it's just amazing.
(21:40):
And it's one of the bad things Ialways say about the Salvation
Army is we don't do very good inthe PR part of it.
You don't, we just don't.
Except at Christmas.
Yeah.
Except for Christmas.
And they rigging the bell.
Yeah.
That, that
Chris (21:54):
one everyone knows.
I even I was that guy.
Until Dennis called me up andshared me what what his mission
was and what he was doing.
It was very enlightening for me.
I.
And gave me faith and hope that,humanity's gonna be okay as long
as there's organizations likethe Salvation Army around.
'cause it's we need more ofthis.
There's a lot of folks, aroundthe country, of course, around
(22:16):
your county, but, globally it'ssuch a need.
Another question for you.
The food kitchens, how do youguys collaborate with other
local organizations or programsto combat food insecurity in the
Modesto community?
And I imagine what you're doingin Modesto is probably mirrored
across the country and evenfurther.
Right?
Bob 3 (22:34):
So we all do the same thing.
We all like I say, we havedifferent places that churches
that we reach out to, we justthey either come to us, we go to
them we have a, like I say, 28different commodities that we
deliver to, to get the food towhoever needs it.
And like I say, with the foodwarehouse and all that, we have
(22:54):
plenty of the plenty of food forfor us to be able to get the
food to the other folks out inour community.
So that's, wow.
We're very fortunate in CentralValley here in Modesto.
If there was a major disaster oranything like that.
Our location here is we could gotwo hours to Sacramento, two
hours to San Francisco, or twohours down to Fresno, and then
(23:18):
meet up with anybody in betweento be able to, if there was an
earthquake or whatever that mayhappen, able to get the food
down to them to where they cantake it from there and get it to
the folks that need it furtheron.
And, wow.
Chris (23:32):
So we're so that so the food kitchen Yeah.
That's really the daily foodkitchen, that's, yeah.
Pretty much for the Modestocommunity.
You oversee.
But the EDS portion that, isthat all of Northern California?
It's a big Oh it's up and down
Bob 3 (23:46):
all, like I say, across the United States.
And our areas, our region isfrom San Francisco, and then we
go all the way to.
Bakersfield to, down to Reddingin that area.
So that's our territory that wecover here.
And then then you have the DelOro, which covers the Sacramento
(24:06):
area, the San Joaquin Valleysand different areas in that
area.
So we're covered all across theCalifornia.
The one thing that we take pridein, what we do here for EDS.
Is the captain and I developed azone chart to where we're able
to.
And within two hours to any ofour responses up and down the
(24:30):
San Joaquin Valley respondwithin two hours.
Once we get the call now, that'sonce we get the call that's
getting water and snacks to thepeople that need it.
And then as long as we get thatto them, then we have our crews
that'll come in with the mealsand all that.
But we wanna get on site, get'emwater, get'em snacks.
Get'em hydrated and then as ourteams roll in we're able to
(24:54):
provide more and more, but it'sleast we are able to get on site
within two hours of receivingthat call, which is pretty
amazing.
That's getting a call, gettingyour teams set up, loading up,
heading down there in the twohour zone, throughout the area,
throughout the Central Valley.
Chris (25:13):
Yeah.
That's that's still, it's prettyfascinating you think about the
logistics needed, the volunteersthe funding and how it's been
making a difference for so long.
So another pivot here.
Could you share a memorableexperience or story from your
time volunteering and andoverseeing this organization
that highlights the impact ofthe food kitchen on individuals
(25:36):
and families?
Bob 3 (25:37):
So one of the things that, during a memorable story
was during COVID and we weredoing probably at the, and this
is at the food warehouse.
We were probably serving over120 some cards coming in,
handing'em out boxes of food andgiving to whatever they needed
that at the time.
And as we ran outta stuff, wehad a.
We some folks may have gottenturkeys and then once we ran
(26:00):
outta turkeys, we moved tosomething else.
It might have been hammered usor something.
And as we're giving this foodout, we'd have some people that
were very appreciative and thenyou had some that were not very
appreciative.
And so we have one time where Iwas handing out foods and they
says that person got a Turkey.
I want a Turkey.
I said we just ran out ofturkeys, but you're also getting
(26:22):
the same amount of food.
Just, unfortunately we don'thave the turkeys to get you.
And then they'd get high, right?
And I thought.
Wow.
Come on, you're still getting,you're still getting a good,
yeah.
Going hungry.
Good amount of food, so I, atthe end of the day, I started
doubting myself and I thought,man, I'm driving home and I'm
thinking, God, am I reallymaking a difference here?
Am I doing, it's just my.
(26:43):
Purpose in life.
Am I changing anybody's life andthinking, maybe it's time for me
to start looking somewhere else.
And this happened the same day.
And so I'm driving and I get acall and,
Speaker 4 (26:56):
and
Bob 3 (26:56):
the lady calls me and she says, Bob, would you mind help
me?
I says, sure.
What do you need?
She says, I have a gentleman.
He's he's stuck in his home.
He can't get out.
He's disabled.
He has no food.
Nothing.
And he doesn't know what to do,and I said, no problem.
I'll load up and I'll head tohis house and I'll deliver, I'll
get some food to him.
And so I got everything.
(27:17):
I went, knocked on his door, andI came in with a, it was about a
50 pound box of hands and pastasand all that, that I handed to
him.
And he said, oh, thank you.
And I said no, I got more foryou.
Did she do?
I said, yeah, and I brought awhole thing of frozen foods of,
it could be bacon, it could behamburger meat, depending on
what we had at the time.
And then I had a whole notherbag of snacks form chips or
(27:41):
crackers or whatever.
And so I went in there and I did'em, and it's just, oh, this is
all for me.
And I says, yes, sir.
And I says if you need any more,you call me up and I'll be more
than happy to, I still get, I'd
Speaker 4 (27:55):
still get choked up on this one.
And so I walked out that doorGod just told me then yeah you
are doing the right thing.
This is what you're supposed todo.
So after that moment, I never Inever questioned, I never
Bob 3 (28:09):
questioned that again.
So that's why I continue to dowhat I do and I know, as things
go, and even now with you ifsomebody was to say, you're
gonna do a podcast, 10 years agoI would've said, you're crazy.
There's no way I'd be doingthat.
'cause I wasn't a, I was never apublic speaker.
I always was the behind thescene guy.
I did all the logistics and allthat and I let the other people
(28:29):
be in the front.
And do their job.
And I was more than happy.
I was kinda like the people likein the movie stars are out front
And all that.
Yeah.
And I was the guy behind thecurtains making sure they look
good, and that was always mykind of role.
So for me to step out in front,it's been a little hard'cause
I'm not used to it.
But
Speaker 2 (28:47):
yeah.
Bob 3 (28:47):
But that was, and I got one other story that was always
that, tell me when I grew up Igrew up back East and South
Amboy, New Jersey.
Anybody out there from SouthAmboy?
It's a shout out.
We had our house, we had a coalfurnace back then in the day,
and that's how we got our heat.
And my mom would go down andshovel coal into the furnace.
She overstuffed the coal and thehouse started smothering in the
(29:09):
cellar.
A coal in the black soot it justcovered the whole house of
black, so you couldn't see yourhand in front of your face.
And the fire department came outand they says I don't wanna, we
can't, we don't know.
We don't know how to, what we'regonna do here.
So I think they ended up cuttinga hole out the upstairs in the
bathroom window.
'cause they said we can't go inthere.
(29:30):
We can't see.
And so they cut a hole out ofthe bath upstairs where the
bathroom was and they brought usdownstairs.
And each one of our, my othertwo brothers each family took
one of my brothers.
And the one family that took mewas the Salvation Army.
Guy and he lived two doors downand he actually, my mom told me
this story that they used tohelp my mom when we lived in
(29:53):
south Amboy, very poor duringthe time as growing up as kids.
They would bring food and theywould do things for us.
And I didn't know that story.
And this is funny how it just,here it is, 360 degrees and
back.
Chris (30:05):
Full circle.
Full circle.
Absolutely.
Wow.
And that's the, yeah, both ofthose are amazing stories.
And now you're right, Bob.
It that's just impactful.
And I do believe God he'sworking through you and your
team.
That is an amazing story and I'mso thankful you shared that with
us, and especially yourupbringing, how that ties in.
(30:25):
It's just, it's funny that Godworks sometimes, I tell people
all the time, he does miraclesevery day.
You just gotta open your, youjust gotta look around.
Yeah.
Just be alert.
We take so many things forgranted and don't, sometimes you
call it coincidence or I gotlucky.
It's no.
Our father in heaven will,they'll look out for you.
They'll take care of you.
You know what?
Sometimes we make bad decisionsand, you get ourselves in a
(30:45):
bind.
It's always, his time is a lotdifferent than our time and as
they say, absolutely.
Church.
Let's wrap it up here.
Man.
This has been a greatconversation.
I'm so grateful you shared withus.
I'm grateful we get to tell thestory.
The Salvation Army is more thanthe red kettles and the bells at
Christmas is that's a big partof it, but it's just so much
more.
And the Emergency disasterservices serving people in a
(31:09):
time of great need.
No one expects.
A tornado, our flood our fireearthquake.
There's so many things, it'sjust natural disaster, you can't
plan for those things.
So I'm grateful that there'sorganizations like like the
Salvation Army and your teamBob, and of course Dennis and
Captain Jeff.
That's I know.
It's a big team effort.
(31:29):
Is there anything we didn'tcover?
Any last words, anything elseyou wanna share with us?
I know it
Bob 3 (31:34):
one thing, last words of my, my, my saying is always be
humble.
Be kind and work hard.
And that's how I went throughlife and
Chris (31:46):
that's So be humble.
Be kind and work hard.
And work hard.
That's a winning combination.
Those are some great words toend on.
Be humble.
Be kind and work hard.
That's something we can all takea lesson from.
Bob, thanks so much for joiningme today.
I really am grateful you sharedyour story and the work, the
(32:07):
great work that the SalvationArmy's doing especially in that
Northern California area.
I really appreciate it.
Bob 3 (32:13):
Thank you.
It has been a pleasure.
And I, yeah, thank you.
I hope I hope people realize outthere that, we do make a
difference in life,
Chris (32:21):
you
Bob 3 (32:21):
know?
Chris (32:21):
Oh yeah.
I think, yeah.
There's no way anyone listeningwould I think everyone listening
is probably one, probably I wasjust surprised and shocked.
'cause you're right.
Unless you've gone through thosemoments.
It's easy to not realize thatthere's a need.
For those of us that arefortunate enough to have food in
our refrigerator, in our,cupboards and not have gone
through a disaster, it's easy totake that stuff for granted.
(32:45):
That was really my hope withthis conversation.
We can just bring some awarenessto it and again, all the work
that you and the team are doing.
Bob, thanks so much for makingtime today.
I've enjoyed it.
I appreciate it.
Oh, thank you.
Me, myself also.
Thank you.
There we go, man.
Hey, that's another episode ofThe Wireless Way.
Thanks for listening.
Definitely check the show notesout.
I'll have some links in there.
(33:06):
You can learn more about theSalvation Army, and especially
the Emergency disaster servicesthat they do.
It's a very well organized andhonorable organization.
Obviously these men and womenare serving families and people
in all stages of life, and it'sjust so important.
So please check the show notesand if this, if this episode hit
home for you, if you werethinking of someone as you were
(33:27):
listening, that needs to hearit, please share it with'em.
I think sharing this kind ofinformation is a rising tide
Rises all boats as we say.
So please share this thisepisode to those you think will
find it beneficial.
And thanks for listening today,and we'll see you next time on
the Wireless Way.
Just a little additionalinformation that Bob shared with
me later that I wanted toinclude in this episode in 2024.
(33:51):
The Salvation Army in Modesto,California made an extraordinary
difference in the lives ofthousands of people.
They provided over 383,000 Mealsto homeless and low income
community distributed nearly232,000 food boxes.
And served over 87,000 snacksfor people for seniors, 1044
(34:15):
home delivered meals.
Ensure Care reached those mostin need.
Their working, housing andhomelessness was equally
impactful.
Offering 132,000 nights ofshelter.
Seven 18 clothing sets.
284 hygiene kits and rent orutility support to over 1100
(34:37):
families.
And again, well over 3,500people receive social services
throughout the year.
When it came to youth andfamily, they delivered 2,500
backpacks, well over 800 days ofcare and 59 kids enjoyed camp
programs.
They also provided well over1200 transportation vouchers,
(34:57):
distributed nearly 5,000 toysand engaged more than 22,000
individuals in sports andeducational programs.
1,736 people took part incommunity center activities and
81 seniors were supportedthroughout a dedicated day
program.
In total, the Salvation Army inModesto, California.
(35:18):
Again, one region and one state.
They do this around the globe inpractically every country.
The Salvation Army, Modestoserved well over 9,300
individuals and recorded anincredible 19,866 volunteer
hours just in 2024.
And they've been doing it for amighty long time.
(35:39):
So it's definitely my honor toget to know Bob, get to know of
course I've known Dennis Callofor some time and Captain Jeff
doing great work for for people.
All you know and there's reallysetting the stage for so many
other regions of the SalvationArmy to follow.
It's been a real honor to workwith them and learn more about
them.
So next time that kettlebellringing around Christmas and the
(36:01):
holidays, dig deep, give themmore than your pocket change.
They're doing great work in theshadows, in the background.
Long after the media has left,after disasters they're helping
people year round, every day.
So thanks for checking this out.
Have a fantastic remainder ofyour day, week, and look forward
to seeing you on the nextepisode of The Wireless Way.
Hey, welcome to another episode of The Wireless Way.
I'm your host, Chris Whitaker.
And today is a special episode.
And and I feel like I say thatevery other episode and maybe
I'm just lucky that I have greatguest, great topics that we talk
about.
And today is a little bitdifferent.
'cause, I often bring on eitherwireless technology or
(00:21):
communications solutions andauthors and thought leaders.
A little history before I evenintroduced my guest.
A good friend of mine, DennisCallo.
He said, Chris, I could use yourhelp, when it comes to
technology and he is with theSalvation Army.
So Dennis is not my guest todaybut my guest knows Dennis and
we're close with him.
But through that relationship,not only did I get educated on a
(00:45):
fantastic organization that goesback a long ways and has massive
reach, but I got to meet BobBradley.
Bob Bradley is my guest today.
A little bit about him before Ibring him on.
He serve as the chair of theEDS, and that's the Emergency
Disaster Services Committee atthe Salvation Army's, Modesto
(01:05):
Citadel in Northern California.
With keen compassion andunwavering dedication, Bob
oversees critical food securityinitiatives and including daily
meal programs.
USDA commodity distribution andcongregate feeding events, and a
little more facts behind that.
In 2017 alone, the ModestoCitadel delivered nearly 3
(01:27):
million pounds of food throughover 60 monthly commodity
distribution sites.
Daily pantry services andcongregate Meals feeding as many
as 250 people every weekday.
As a part of that advisoryboard, Bob contributes strategic
guidance to ensure thesustainability and growth of
food kitchen operations acrossthe region.
(01:49):
His efforts carry forward theorganization's broader mission
of uplifting vulnerablecommunities by ensuring regular
nutritious meals, especially tothose facing crisis.
Food insecurity arehomelessness, and Bob's
leadership combines operationaloversight with compassion driven
service.
He collaborates with his fellowboard members and volunteers to
(02:10):
plan fun and execute foodprograms that nourish body and
spirit across NorthernCalifornia.
So Bob, welcome to the show.
I'm so glad we finally gottogether and we can have this
conversation.
Thank you very much.
Bob 3 (02:25):
This is my first time doing this, so I'm excited.
So I'll just kind.
Give you a little bit of mybackground of what I've done.
So I've, I always said before, Iused to say I only had two, two
lives.
I had 18 years after I graduatedfrom high school, I did
construction, drywall, andthat's a young man's trade.
And I realized, ah, as I getolder it's, I'm not probably
(02:47):
gonna be able to do that.
Went through a change of lifeand figured, okay, I got a do
over.
And so my brother and I wentinto a cable manufacturer and we
started putting connectors onthe end of coax cable.
And I did that for about 15years and built up a business,
started out of a garage andbuilt it up to almost having
every major cable company acrossthe United States.
(03:11):
And had to partner up with othercompanies to be able to finance.
But, through that I was able toretire at 51.
So now I always say instead ofhave two lives, I actually had
three lives.
'cause I've been actually doingemergency service with the
Salvation Army for 18 years now.
So it's a whole nother thirdlife that I've been involved in
(03:32):
with the Salvation Army.
I had nine years with theAmerican Red Cross that got me
started when I first retiredwith excellent training.
And through the nine years I wasable to receive the Clara Barton
Award.
With them realized that, Ineeded more in my life than just
going out and deploying ondisasters.
I needed more, be morefulfilled.
(03:54):
So I found the salvation Armyand I've been with the salvation
Army now for nine years andthrough the, through the
Salvation Army.
In my nine years with them, I'veactually, it's been incredible.
Not only that, with through EDSpart of it, I've actually let,
they, let me build my owncanteen and design it and
(04:15):
operational it.
I also through that I won thehighest award, which is the
Salvation Army, which is theother award.
And then also when we went fromthe Citadel to the admin that
transition, we built a calledACEs.
It's a, it's another part of ashelter.
And myself and Mr.
(04:36):
Cruzi and Mr.
Fisher.
We see the first awards everhanded out called The Way Out
Award.
And so now every year after KKOs they continue with the Way
Out Award, which is exciting onthat part of it.
So that's my bio.
Chris (04:53):
A quick question on that bio.
You said you kind, your firstcareer was really more in, in
coax cable and like I get a lowvoltage wiring or whatnot.
What, was there some trigger orsomething that inspired you to
get into you mentioned Red Crossof course, but the Salvation
Army and Emergency DisasterServices.
What how did that happen?
Did you just.
(05:14):
So I ask you to join or,
Bob 3 (05:16):
yeah.
So when, I thank God every daythat when I was so 51 I was able
to retire and be able to moveon.
'cause I, they the company wewere with at that time, they had
a place in San Diego and, theywanted to close up Livermore and
for us to move to San Diego.
At 50 and I had kids in school,I says, ah, I.
(05:36):
I need to get out.
And so at that early of an age,I said, man, I gotta find
something.
It's something that reallyinspires me.
And it's the red Cross is righthere in Modesto also.
And so I went down there,checked it out, and started
getting involved in that andstarted doing more and more for
them.
And getting deployed out todifferent places across the
(05:59):
country and all that.
And so as I, nine years of thatand being able to do different
things logistically and allthat.
'cause that was my backgroundwith the manufacturing part of
it to get, to be able to joinother, at the time when I
started, they were calledchapters and now they're a
region outta Sacramento.
And so I was able to take thedifferent chapters and create
(06:22):
and bring everybody together andthat was what I.
What got me along for the theClara Bartner board doing that.
But but it was only a one trickpony with that one for
deployments and emergency withthe Salvation Army.
I, there's so much more involvedin that.
There's so many more things andit's funny'cause most people,
when you, if you go nine outta10 people and ask what is, what
(06:46):
is it?
What about the Salvation Army?
Or do you know what they do?
And they say, yeah, they're onthe corners during the holidays,
ringing the bell at the kettletime, kettle kickoff.
And they don't realize thatwe're so much more, not only
we're in sheltering, we're atred Shield, which is with kids
and senior citizens that we do.
I also work with a RC inStockton, which is a adult
(07:08):
rehabilitation.
And that's very rewardingbecause we get these guys that
are coming, they says, we can'tdo it no more.
I have some type of addiction orwhatever the addiction may be,
and they're just, they're ontheir last leg and they say, I
need help.
And so we're able to take'em upto Stockton and get'em into a
program and and it just changedtheir whole life.
(07:28):
They have their families back,they get their kids back in
their life.
It is a Christian organization,the, it's, the turnaround is
about an 80, 80% success ratethat happens with these
gentlemen that go into thisprogram.
And we go up there once a monthand, we have guys that come up
and say, God, thank you forhelping us and thank you for
(07:49):
getting us in this supremeprogram.
You, you changed our life.
And it's, no we just got youhere.
God changed your life.
So it's just, they're the kindof things that are rewarding
that.
That that we do that is justincredible.
Chris (08:02):
It's funny, as in our pre-show discussion, we talked,
kicked around some differentquestions and, I was gonna ask
you, a question here in aminute, but even before I ask
you, it made me think about thevalue of having a meal.
First of all, you got to eat.
That's definitely right.
Food, shelter, clothing.
Like the three, the big, thethree big ones.
But even in my daily life, abusiness man, we, a lot of
(08:23):
businesses conducted over ameal.
Me, you and Dennis gosh, who waswith us for dinner?
Who else was when we had dinnerin California, a few a month or
so back.
That the did in Walnut Creek?
Yeah.
Oh, captain J was Captain Jeff.
That's right.
Captain Jeff.
Thank you.
Yes, sorry, captain Jeff.
I knew it was captain something.
I just couldn't, I had one ofthose senior moments, so yeah.
(08:45):
Captain Jeff and Dennis, and youand I, again, having a meal is
such a part of our, our culture,our society of course is
necessary.
Having said that, tell us about,or describe, the daily
operations of the food kitchenand how you and your team,
manage to prepare and serve,large number of meals each day.
What does that look like?
And, walk us through a standardday.
(09:07):
Sure.
Bob 3 (09:07):
Even during a disaster if anything that brings people
together is food, that's the onething that groups us all
together, is a good hot meal.
At the Salvation Army, we havewe serve over 1200 meals in our
kitchen daily.
And the food is not just, foodis, it is actually excellent.
And we go from chicken tolasagna to hamburgers and hot
(09:30):
dogs.
And tamales, and you name it,they cook it and they get an
excellent three meals a day.
They get to breakfast, they getto lunch and dinner, also snacks
throughout the day.
So they're constantly with waterand everything and Gatorade or
whatever coffee that they needdaily.
So they're well fed and it's,that's one of the cool things
(09:51):
about it is.
That, that helps us get thatfood to our folks is that we
have our food warehouse, whichis probably about two miles down
the road, and we just built a2,500 square foot freezer and,
which that's big.
It's huge.
And it probably, and I wanna sayI don't I don't have the facts,
but I wanna say we're probablyone of the largest food
(10:13):
distribution here in NorthernCalifornia.
So we're able to store.
So much more food, bring so muchmore food in, get it out to so
many different other people outin our in our community.
But that, and so what they'll dois they'll see what's what we
have.
They'll put their order inthrough the week, and then we'll
have the food brought over, andthen that's what they'll prepare
(10:35):
throughout the week.
Chris (10:36):
Is this a 24 7 operation?
What time does it begin in themorning?
So it's a 24 7,
Bob 3 (10:42):
365 days out of the year.
They, we usually I believe theystart serving breakfast around
seven.
And there's three differenttypes to, so we have our folks
in the shelter, and then we haveour, the we have the sheriff
program that's in there.
And then we have the post-opfolks that are in there.
(11:03):
And then we also have a daycenter program where folks that
don't have any place to goduring the day and it gives'em a
place to come in, sit, have ameal, charge their phone, watch
TV or something, and gets'em ahot day or cold day.
They're, they get'em off thestreet and they able to stay
inside the day center and and,help'em with when anything they
(11:26):
need during the day.
And and then we also have thecounty program, which is right
behind us, which also they comeover and we get food to them and
all that.
So it, it's quite a.
It's for the kitchen staff to beable to pop out the food and the
quality of the food that they dois amazing.
We will, I'll eat there a coupletimes a month and just ha and
(11:48):
it's just, it's, the food isexcellent, it's quality food.
And the one nice thing about ourcounty is no one should ever go
hungry in our county.
There's plenty of food foreveryone to get a nice hot meal
or meal provided
Chris (12:03):
to
Bob 3 (12:03):
em.
Chris (12:04):
And we talked about, so I know you focus on your county
but obviously Salvation Army,you're right, everyone in the
States knows'em, but everyone inthe world knows'em too.
Are there similar programsacross the country and the
globe?
Bob 3 (12:18):
I'm s for Salvation Army or other organizations?
So
Chris (12:22):
Salvation Army.
Bob 3 (12:23):
Oh yeah.
Salvation Army.
Salvation Army.
Army.
Yeah.
Started, William Booth inEngland and brought him, came
over here.
So in Modesto, in my area, he'sbeen here since 1891.
When Modesto when they came toModesto and started to Citadel
here in Modesto.
And so we've been, they've beenaround for a long time and it's
nationwide.
(12:44):
Worldwide.
You'll, when you're ever, anytype of disaster or anything
that's needed, you always see aSalvation Army.
They are out feeding orspirituality or, when they
somebody needs something, we'llmake sure we try to make it
happen and get it to'em.
And so you got,
Chris (13:02):
yeah.
You got the regular day-to-dayoperations, what you just
described, but I know you sharedsome pictures with me and you
were telling me about the thismobile canteen service.
Oh, yes.
Yeah.
I how do you, how does that getcalled into action and what does
that do?
A lot of times what
Bob 3 (13:17):
it matter of fact, we just two weeks ago we were up in
training in Bishop and we tookthe canteen up.
So we go to different places thefolks in different areas that
are a high potential fire.
Fire seasons during the summer,and some folks, we get up there,
we train'em, we try to get acrew for'em, and we'll take the
canteen up and we'll teach'emhow to use the canteen, how to
(13:37):
cook out of the canteen.
It's basically the canteen.
It's what they call around here,a food truck, a taco truck.
It's a full-sized kitchen.
I have in my canteen I haverefrigerator, a warmer a 48 inch
grill, six burners with an oven.
A freezer.
And so I could, we could easilyput out 1200 meals out of that
(13:57):
canteen if needed.
So if we get a call matter offact two years, three years ago,
we had a fire in Palata.
Now I'm not pronouncing that butI.
But it was a flooding that wasup there.
One of the levees broke.
They called us up and said, we,we have people there that are
flooded out of their homes andthey're had no way to have food
or get food to'em or be able toeat.
(14:20):
So they called us up and myselfand Captain Jeff and a couple of
my other volunteers went upthere to meed.
And in 10 days we served over8,000 meals in 10 days.
That was 800 meals a day that wewere providing for the folks up
there.
Wow.
That didn't have anything.
(14:40):
And we'd go out, we cook andthey'd line'em up and and that
we just, as they drove, it was adrive by.
And as they drove up to thewindow, we handed her food and
just went to the next one.
So it was like over 800 meals aday for 10 days that we did
that.
It was quite an accomplishment.
Usually, most times we rate.
(15:00):
Different kitchens on, a smallkitchen could do about 300, a
medium kitchen can do about 600.
In a large kitchen, you could doover 1200 or so.
So we were actually between thecanteen and the Merced core, it
was considered the mediumkitchen.
We were still be able to pumpout 800 meals out of there and
(15:21):
it's something that.
We wouldn't normally do.
Yeah, I would say at least 600outta that kitchen.
But, we went far and beyond towhat we were capable, just to
make sure everyone got a hotmeal and for their families.
So it was a pretty cool to go.
Chris (15:37):
So for the disaster services, I mean that, that's
who whoever's in need.
You don't have to be homeless ordown your luck in a sense.
That, so it's two different,it's two different groups.
'cause you're the regularkitchen we talked about, those
are people having foodinsecurities are different
challenges in life.
And then the other group arepeople that are dealing with a
(15:57):
natural disaster of some sortfrom flooding to fires.
Bob 3 (16:00):
Is that a fair statement?
Yeah.
We'll, yeah.
So we'll, I'll get a, we'll geta call and say, we have our
flooding or fires.
We've had many different firesin, throughout the Central
Valley or Northern Ello.
It's just the last fire we haddown in LA I.
Yeah.
I wasn't able to go to that one,but the salvation was Army was
down there feeding and helpingall them families that were
(16:22):
burnt out at their home, and itwas down there for weeks over
oh.
The time just making sureeveryone had a hot meal.
And and so that's exactly whatwe do.
We'll go, we'll set up the redCross will usually come in, set
up a shelter, and then we'llcome in and do the feeding and,
Chris (16:39):
So you guys work real close to the Red Cross?
Yes.
It's just like you guys knoweach other and Yes.
And yeah.
Yeah.
That's fantastic.
Bob 3 (16:48):
It's a,
Chris (16:48):
It's a,
Bob 3 (16:48):
it's a perfect combination with the sheltering.
They take care of that, and thenwe take care of the feeding and
we work excellent together andwe have great partnerships
throughout our community withOES.
And red Cross and all that.
So if there is a disaster inSanta Cla County and all that,
(17:09):
our OES will call up and havesay, even if it's not for
sheltering, even if it's justfor the fire, there'll be out on
the sea for vegetation fire formaybe over four hours, and they
bring other groups in to helpfight the fire.
They'll call us up and say, ourcrew's been out there for four
or five hours and they needwater and they're hungry in
(17:30):
their food.
So we'll get a team, get thewater and snacks and we'll head
out there and get'em, pizzas andall that.
And so they continue to fightthe fire and we'll keep'em
keeping hydrated and keep'emsomething in their belly so they
can continue to fight on.
So
Chris (17:46):
that's so important.
So important.
So another question for you.
What are some of the biggestchallenges you face in ensuring
that Meals reach those in need?
And how do you and your teamaddress those challenges?
Bob 3 (18:00):
With the food warehouse we have and everything that
we're able to do, we have reefertrucks, we have box trucks, we
have all kinds of things to beable to get food to people.
So we have like over 28 sites,commodity sites that we deliver
to churches and otherorganizations that we bring them
food and they're able to servetheir people through their
(18:22):
churches or whatever communitythat they, they deal with, their
folks that they have in theirarea.
And we'll take our trucks outand we'll drop their loads of
food off to them so they canfeed their churches and all
that.
We'll also there's areas thatsome folks aren't, they can't
make it to the, either the foodwarehouse or that to be food
(18:42):
handed up.
So we'll have a truck that'll goto their area.
And they'll come, just come tothe truck and we'll have it in
the boxes through, up throughthe back end of the truck.
So they have, they are able toget food.
We.
If we get a call and saysomebody needs food and we make
sure we get it to'em.
We wanna make sure that nobodyour daily at our food warehouse,
(19:04):
we have probably about 50 to 60people that go into our food
warehouse and load up theircars.
Probably, I would say at leastover 150, if not more.
Dollars worth of food that wehand out from boxes, from cans
to pasta to depending on what wehave in stock.
It could be Hamburg, it could beturkeys, it could be chicken, it
(19:26):
could be, whatever we have atthe time that we're able to
receive in, we'll give to thesefolks and then they can come
back.
Either once a month or every twoweeks, they can come back if
needed,
Chris (19:37):
would never turn anybody down for food.
That's great.
I, it's funny, I have four kids,so a family of six and the kids
would always have a few friendsover, and I'm sitting there
thinking about, man, I.
How stressful it is for me tomake hot dogs and hamburgers
for, a dozen people.
Oh.
And you guys got it down tohundreds and on a very grand
scale.
It makes me think too, to do afamily barbecue sometimes, man,
(19:58):
if you have to.
The cost.
How are, again, you thinkSalvation Army, the Bell and the
Red Kettles, I know that's a bigfundraiser in a sense, but are
there other ways that people itmake donations to, to help fund
the, this operation?
Bob 3 (20:11):
So they have, there's all, they could, they a lot of
our are some our.
Our community, folks in ourcommunity, sending checks.
We have different events that wedo.
We have a golf tournament thathelp contribute.
We have the KKO that helpscontribute.
It's just any just.
Or just people normally justdonate out of their pockets, or
(20:34):
they have that, what are that?
The barcodes.
And we have barcodes out therethat you can scan and, help
contribute that way.
During it the think about duringit the e dfs part of it, a lot
of people don't think about, themoney during, for emergency,
during a non-emergency.
So we don't think about, keepingthe ed s emergency side up and
running'cause there's noemergency going on.
(20:56):
So you don't think about, theyneed funds or help or any of
that until the disaster happens.
And then we're able to get morefunds during that time.
But yeah, there's just we had akids day that helps kids.
We have a paper.
For kids that we do once a year,and it helps the kids at the Red
Shield.
For summer, they have a pool togo to.
They have programs that theyhave a basketball and they have
(21:19):
softball boxing that gives thesechance for these kids to get off
the street and go to a place andhave a time to spend during the
summertime.
So it's just, they're alldifferent types of things that
we do, and like I said, mostpeople.
If you ask, they say, really?
Oh, you do that?
Oh, I didn't know that.
And it's just amazing.
(21:40):
And it's one of the bad things Ialways say about the Salvation
Army is we don't do very good inthe PR part of it.
You don't, we just don't.
Except at Christmas.
Yeah.
Except for Christmas.
And they rigging the bell.
Yeah.
That, that
Chris (21:54):
one everyone knows.
I even I was that guy.
Until Dennis called me up andshared me what what his mission
was and what he was doing.
It was very enlightening for me.
I.
And gave me faith and hope that,humanity's gonna be okay as long
as there's organizations likethe Salvation Army around.
'cause it's we need more ofthis.
There's a lot of folks, aroundthe country, of course, around
(22:16):
your county, but, globally it'ssuch a need.
Another question for you.
The food kitchens, how do youguys collaborate with other
local organizations or programsto combat food insecurity in the
Modesto community?
And I imagine what you're doingin Modesto is probably mirrored
across the country and evenfurther.
Right?
Bob 3 (22:34):
So we all do the same thing.
We all like I say, we havedifferent places that churches
that we reach out to, we justthey either come to us, we go to
them we have a, like I say, 28different commodities that we
deliver to, to get the food towhoever needs it.
And like I say, with the foodwarehouse and all that, we have
(22:54):
plenty of the plenty of food forfor us to be able to get the
food to the other folks out inour community.
So that's, wow.
We're very fortunate in CentralValley here in Modesto.
If there was a major disaster oranything like that.
Our location here is we could gotwo hours to Sacramento, two
hours to San Francisco, or twohours down to Fresno, and then
(23:18):
meet up with anybody in betweento be able to, if there was an
earthquake or whatever that mayhappen, able to get the food
down to them to where they cantake it from there and get it to
the folks that need it furtheron.
And, wow.
Chris (23:32):
So we're so that so the food kitchen Yeah.
That's really the daily foodkitchen, that's, yeah.
Pretty much for the Modestocommunity.
You oversee.
But the EDS portion that, isthat all of Northern California?
It's a big Oh it's up and down
Bob 3 (23:46):
all, like I say, across the United States.
And our areas, our region isfrom San Francisco, and then we
go all the way to.
Bakersfield to, down to Reddingin that area.
So that's our territory that wecover here.
And then then you have the DelOro, which covers the Sacramento
(24:06):
area, the San Joaquin Valleysand different areas in that
area.
So we're covered all across theCalifornia.
The one thing that we take pridein, what we do here for EDS.
Is the captain and I developed azone chart to where we're able
to.
And within two hours to any ofour responses up and down the
(24:30):
San Joaquin Valley respondwithin two hours.
Once we get the call now, that'sonce we get the call that's
getting water and snacks to thepeople that need it.
And then as long as we get thatto them, then we have our crews
that'll come in with the mealsand all that.
But we wanna get on site, get'emwater, get'em snacks.
Get'em hydrated and then as ourteams roll in we're able to
(24:54):
provide more and more, but it'sleast we are able to get on site
within two hours of receivingthat call, which is pretty
amazing.
That's getting a call, gettingyour teams set up, loading up,
heading down there in the twohour zone, throughout the area,
throughout the Central Valley.
Chris (25:13):
Yeah.
That's that's still, it's prettyfascinating you think about the
logistics needed, the volunteersthe funding and how it's been
making a difference for so long.
So another pivot here.
Could you share a memorableexperience or story from your
time volunteering and andoverseeing this organization
that highlights the impact ofthe food kitchen on individuals
(25:36):
and families?
Bob 3 (25:37):
So one of the things that, during a memorable story
was during COVID and we weredoing probably at the, and this
is at the food warehouse.
We were probably serving over120 some cards coming in,
handing'em out boxes of food andgiving to whatever they needed
that at the time.
And as we ran outta stuff, wehad a.
We some folks may have gottenturkeys and then once we ran
(26:00):
outta turkeys, we moved tosomething else.
It might have been hammered usor something.
And as we're giving this foodout, we'd have some people that
were very appreciative and thenyou had some that were not very
appreciative.
And so we have one time where Iwas handing out foods and they
says that person got a Turkey.
I want a Turkey.
I said we just ran out ofturkeys, but you're also getting
(26:22):
the same amount of food.
Just, unfortunately we don'thave the turkeys to get you.
And then they'd get high, right?
And I thought.
Wow.
Come on, you're still getting,you're still getting a good,
yeah.
Going hungry.
Good amount of food, so I, atthe end of the day, I started
doubting myself and I thought,man, I'm driving home and I'm
thinking, God, am I reallymaking a difference here?
Am I doing, it's just my.
(26:43):
Purpose in life.
Am I changing anybody's life andthinking, maybe it's time for me
to start looking somewhere else.
And this happened the same day.
And so I'm driving and I get acall and,
Speaker 4 (26:56):
and
Bob 3 (26:56):
the lady calls me and she says, Bob, would you mind help
me?
I says, sure.
What do you need?
She says, I have a gentleman.
He's he's stuck in his home.
He can't get out.
He's disabled.
He has no food.
Nothing.
And he doesn't know what to do,and I said, no problem.
I'll load up and I'll head tohis house and I'll deliver, I'll
get some food to him.
And so I got everything.
(27:17):
I went, knocked on his door, andI came in with a, it was about a
50 pound box of hands and pastasand all that, that I handed to
him.
And he said, oh, thank you.
And I said no, I got more foryou.
Did she do?
I said, yeah, and I brought awhole thing of frozen foods of,
it could be bacon, it could behamburger meat, depending on
what we had at the time.
And then I had a whole notherbag of snacks form chips or
(27:41):
crackers or whatever.
And so I went in there and I did'em, and it's just, oh, this is
all for me.
And I says, yes, sir.
And I says if you need any more,you call me up and I'll be more
than happy to, I still get, I'd
Speaker 4 (27:55):
still get choked up on this one.
And so I walked out that doorGod just told me then yeah you
are doing the right thing.
This is what you're supposed todo.
So after that moment, I never Inever questioned, I never
Bob 3 (28:09):
questioned that again.
So that's why I continue to dowhat I do and I know, as things
go, and even now with you ifsomebody was to say, you're
gonna do a podcast, 10 years agoI would've said, you're crazy.
There's no way I'd be doingthat.
'cause I wasn't a, I was never apublic speaker.
I always was the behind thescene guy.
I did all the logistics and allthat and I let the other people
(28:29):
be in the front.
And do their job.
And I was more than happy.
I was kinda like the people likein the movie stars are out front
And all that.
Yeah.
And I was the guy behind thecurtains making sure they look
good, and that was always mykind of role.
So for me to step out in front,it's been a little hard'cause
I'm not used to it.
But
Speaker 2 (28:47):
yeah.
Bob 3 (28:47):
But that was, and I got one other story that was always
that, tell me when I grew up Igrew up back East and South
Amboy, New Jersey.
Anybody out there from SouthAmboy?
It's a shout out.
We had our house, we had a coalfurnace back then in the day,
and that's how we got our heat.
And my mom would go down andshovel coal into the furnace.
She overstuffed the coal and thehouse started smothering in the
(29:09):
cellar.
A coal in the black soot it justcovered the whole house of
black, so you couldn't see yourhand in front of your face.
And the fire department came outand they says I don't wanna, we
can't, we don't know.
We don't know how to, what we'regonna do here.
So I think they ended up cuttinga hole out the upstairs in the
bathroom window.
'cause they said we can't go inthere.
(29:30):
We can't see.
And so they cut a hole out ofthe bath upstairs where the
bathroom was and they brought usdownstairs.
And each one of our, my othertwo brothers each family took
one of my brothers.
And the one family that took mewas the Salvation Army.
Guy and he lived two doors downand he actually, my mom told me
this story that they used tohelp my mom when we lived in
(29:53):
south Amboy, very poor duringthe time as growing up as kids.
They would bring food and theywould do things for us.
And I didn't know that story.
And this is funny how it just,here it is, 360 degrees and
back.
Chris (30:05):
Full circle.
Full circle.
Absolutely.
Wow.
And that's the, yeah, both ofthose are amazing stories.
And now you're right, Bob.
It that's just impactful.
And I do believe God he'sworking through you and your
team.
That is an amazing story and I'mso thankful you shared that with
us, and especially yourupbringing, how that ties in.
(30:25):
It's just, it's funny that Godworks sometimes, I tell people
all the time, he does miraclesevery day.
You just gotta open your, youjust gotta look around.
Yeah.
Just be alert.
We take so many things forgranted and don't, sometimes you
call it coincidence or I gotlucky.
It's no.
Our father in heaven will,they'll look out for you.
They'll take care of you.
You know what?
Sometimes we make bad decisionsand, you get ourselves in a
(30:45):
bind.
It's always, his time is a lotdifferent than our time and as
they say, absolutely.
Church.
Let's wrap it up here.
Man.
This has been a greatconversation.
I'm so grateful you shared withus.
I'm grateful we get to tell thestory.
The Salvation Army is more thanthe red kettles and the bells at
Christmas is that's a big partof it, but it's just so much
more.
And the Emergency disasterservices serving people in a
(31:09):
time of great need.
No one expects.
A tornado, our flood our fireearthquake.
There's so many things, it'sjust natural disaster, you can't
plan for those things.
So I'm grateful that there'sorganizations like like the
Salvation Army and your teamBob, and of course Dennis and
Captain Jeff.
That's I know.
It's a big team effort.
(31:29):
Is there anything we didn'tcover?
Any last words, anything elseyou wanna share with us?
I know it
Bob 3 (31:34):
one thing, last words of my, my, my saying is always be
humble.
Be kind and work hard.
And that's how I went throughlife and
Chris (31:46):
that's So be humble.
Be kind and work hard.
And work hard.
That's a winning combination.
Those are some great words toend on.
Be humble.
Be kind and work hard.
That's something we can all takea lesson from.
Bob, thanks so much for joiningme today.
I really am grateful you sharedyour story and the work, the
(32:07):
great work that the SalvationArmy's doing especially in that
Northern California area.
I really appreciate it.
Bob 3 (32:13):
Thank you.
It has been a pleasure.
And I, yeah, thank you.
I hope I hope people realize outthere that, we do make a
difference in life,
Chris (32:21):
you
Bob 3 (32:21):
know?
Chris (32:21):
Oh yeah.
I think, yeah.
There's no way anyone listeningwould I think everyone listening
is probably one, probably I wasjust surprised and shocked.
'cause you're right.
Unless you've gone through thosemoments.
It's easy to not realize thatthere's a need.
For those of us that arefortunate enough to have food in
our refrigerator, in our,cupboards and not have gone
through a disaster, it's easy totake that stuff for granted.
(32:45):
That was really my hope withthis conversation.
We can just bring some awarenessto it and again, all the work
that you and the team are doing.
Bob, thanks so much for makingtime today.
I've enjoyed it.
I appreciate it.
Oh, thank you.
Me, myself also.
Thank you.
There we go, man.
Hey, that's another episode ofThe Wireless Way.
Thanks for listening.
Definitely check the show notesout.
I'll have some links in there.
(33:06):
You can learn more about theSalvation Army, and especially
the Emergency disaster servicesthat they do.
It's a very well organized andhonorable organization.
Obviously these men and womenare serving families and people
in all stages of life, and it'sjust so important.
So please check the show notesand if this, if this episode hit
home for you, if you werethinking of someone as you were
(33:27):
listening, that needs to hearit, please share it with'em.
I think sharing this kind ofinformation is a rising tide
Rises all boats as we say.
So please share this thisepisode to those you think will
find it beneficial.
And thanks for listening today,and we'll see you next time on
the Wireless Way.
Just a little additionalinformation that Bob shared with
me later that I wanted toinclude in this episode in 2024.
(33:51):
The Salvation Army in Modesto,California made an extraordinary
difference in the lives ofthousands of people.
They provided over 383,000 Mealsto homeless and low income
community distributed nearly232,000 food boxes.
And served over 87,000 snacksfor people for seniors, 1044
(34:15):
home delivered meals.
Ensure Care reached those mostin need.
Their working, housing andhomelessness was equally
impactful.
Offering 132,000 nights ofshelter.
Seven 18 clothing sets.
284 hygiene kits and rent orutility support to over 1100
(34:37):
families.
And again, well over 3,500people receive social services
throughout the year.
When it came to youth andfamily, they delivered 2,500
backpacks, well over 800 days ofcare and 59 kids enjoyed camp
programs.
They also provided well over1200 transportation vouchers,
(34:57):
distributed nearly 5,000 toysand engaged more than 22,000
individuals in sports andeducational programs.
1,736 people took part incommunity center activities and
81 seniors were supportedthroughout a dedicated day
program.
In total, the Salvation Army inModesto, California.
(35:18):
Again, one region and one state.
They do this around the globe inpractically every country.
The Salvation Army, Modestoserved well over 9,300
individuals and recorded anincredible 19,866 volunteer
hours just in 2024.
And they've been doing it for amighty long time.
(35:39):
So it's definitely my honor toget to know Bob, get to know of
course I've known Dennis Callofor some time and Captain Jeff
doing great work for for people.
All you know and there's reallysetting the stage for so many
other regions of the SalvationArmy to follow.
It's been a real honor to workwith them and learn more about
them.
So next time that kettlebellringing around Christmas and the
(36:01):
holidays, dig deep, give themmore than your pocket change.
They're doing great work in theshadows, in the background.
Long after the media has left,after disasters they're helping
people year round, every day.
So thanks for checking this out.
Have a fantastic remainder ofyour day, week, and look forward
to seeing you on the nextepisode of The Wireless Way.
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