Good morning, good morning, good morning, and welcome, welcome, welcome.
It's time for part two of our community connection. Right here on K
one, the one you trust, and we have a sunny fixico and he
is with the Delaware Tribe Indians. How you doing, Sonny, I'm fantastic.
Well, of course you are. Yeah. You know, we have
the members of the Delaware Tribe in usually about once a month and we kind
of catch up on a lot of things that are happening. And I got
to tell you a lot of things have been happening. But you run the
food pantry right there. You've been busy, haven't you. Yes, we're
always now busy. In the last thirty days, it's started about nine hundred
households in the last thirty days. Wow, that's amazing, all walks of
life, whether it's the elderly, the children, families and anything in between
and anything in between. We had the younger generation shopping for the older generation.
Yeah, that's a good thing that they do that, you know,
shows a little honor. And you know, the thing that's kind of cool
is that this way of helping out with your tribal members. You know,
if folks who aren't tribal members want to chip in. The door's open,
isn't it. Yeah, Well, you got a little box inside the building
there on Tuxedo where folks can make donations. Yeah, they can make monetary
donations, or you can bring in ken goods or produce items and bring them
in and we'll take them and take them as a donation. Now, one
thing that's really cool about your pantry is that it's just not boxes and cans
you mentioned produce, but you also have meat that's available because you've got all
the equipment there to store. Yeah, we have a really nice cooler and
a really nice freezer, and you know, you can take care of things
like dairy products too. We were just talking about I wasn't even weare until
you told me. Do you actually go shopping from milk, yes, sir,
not that cam stuff. Yeah, we've got milk and fresh meat,
chicken breast and ground beef and poor chops. Now, you got some pretty
powerful alliances when it comes to being enabled to get a good line on your
meat products, right right, and that and that helps the bottom line greatly,
right right. Yeah, we get a lot of our meat from the
Osage tribe. They have a butcher House in Hamony, Oklahoma, and they
give us a really good deal. Man. That's good. Everybody working together.
Yeah, well that's super. Now when you see so many people needed,
I think we all know everybody. You've got a big household. I
had a big household. We got to know that every penny got a name
on it. It's going to place and when it gets tight like this sometimes
you know, folks need that help. And that's what the pantry's for.
Yeah. Yeah, it's for all travel members give you. It's a nice
supplement to your budgets and everything. So we're not going to let anybody go
hungry. No, that's the whole mission. You've got a wonderful facility there
on East Tuxedo and Marbara Lane. I guess is what it's called a little
huh Now, that building looks just fantastic from the outside. I gotta get
I gotta get over there and visit because I keep promising a wheel just to
say hi to folks and everything. But that is a beautiful campus you have
there. Yeah, this sure is. We completed a memorial this year.
You did. Yeah Acrsous Street over by the pond. Oh yeah, yeah,
that was completedbe about six months ago or so. Guys. And you
know that pond is a beautiful setting, and you know to put the memorial
right there where it's nice and peaceful. Right, Yeah, it's fantastic.
I like walking around that pond. I'll tell you what, it is,
gorgeous. The tribe, the Delaware Tribe, we do have a lot of
members right here in Bartlesvielle. But you're not restricted to We got folks up
in Kansas and all around, don't you. As long as your tribal memory,
you can shop there. Yeah. The only thing is we we are
partnered with the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma. Huh. And if on those
items they are restricted to only Oklahoma, you have to live in Oklahoma for
those little Yeah. Yeah, I'm from here. Yeah, I get that.
I understand because you know, whenever you do things with other folks,
there is alway is an agreement that you have to follow. And yeah,
there's a partnership. You got to make it work, to make it work.
So this is open to tribal members. And like I said, we
we have a lot right here in the Bartlesfield Dewy area. And I think
one of the tribal members last week said Bartlesville's own because with someone of you
Delaware live right here in the area. So this is really pretty cool.
So if if once again folks are needing food in the in the tribe,
what times are the pantry doors open? We are open from four to eight
on Tuesday through Friday, and ten to two on Saturday. On Saturday,
it's right, I imagine you get crushed on Saturday. Pretty good. Yeah,
we eat a lot of a lot more out of town people on Saturday.
They come through and ye make it happen there and yeah, it's really
good. So long did it take you guys to get these partnerships together,
because that's not an easy undertaken. I imagine it took a little while,
a lot of yeah, face to face, a lot of phone calls.
I'd say it took about four to six months. And we had to be
operating for a year before anybody would start to partner with us. So they
wanted to make sure it was going to last, right, right, man?
That for year had to be rough, trying, I should say,
challenging. Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah that what does not kill me makes
me stronger. Oh my gosh, Well, how many people you got to
helping you out. You can't be a one man show and take care of
nine hundred people every thirty days. We have five little employees including me,
and two of them mark nights and two of them more days. I see,
So you're always making sure that everything's fresh, taking care of being handled.
I just didn't even have volunteers. We have had a few, Yeah,
we have volunteering. Would some of the younger ones, I understand,
like to help out there, just to get some service hours and take care
of the elders as well. Volunteering would consist of bagging groceries up for tribal
members, stocking shells, and or breaking down cardboard. Well, easy enough,
I think we've all done that. Yeah, I worked at grocery store
once. But I don't wear you out like breaking down cardboard. Yeah that'll
that'll give you some Yeah, it'll get you going. But this is all
a part about how the tribe takes care of itself and you know, self
sustaining, and then that's really kind of a hallmark of the Delaware tribe.
You guys really take care of your Yeah, I think it's really awesome,
and work together to take care of everybody. Yeah, sure, that's something
that a lot of folks could learn. Right, So where did you get
the the idea that this maybe is something that Sonny wanted to do? Is
it just is it something that it was always in your heart to help in
some way? I do like to help people. Yeah, for sure.
I've always done grocery, and so walking into the pantry was a little different
for me because you're, you know, giving it away and you're not selling
it. But it's been good. I always kind of looked at it like
it was almost volunteer work anyway. So, well, you had a good
grocery background, that's that's that says a lot right there, So you know
how to get the lines together, you know how to get the process together
for the workers and everything else. Like right, yeah, I've got about
ten years the grocery behind me. Wow at thirty. Yeah, I just
got to say, you're you're not you're a very young man. Pretty much
all I've done, Well, well, this is good because this is really
helping out. This is great. You got some young'uns too, don't you.
Yeah, young young kids, and are they helping dad out? Yeah?
Oh wonderful. You're pretty good. Yeah. Oh, man, that
is super sweet. So if we want to find out more about the pantry,
sort of just dropping by and saying, hey, is that on your
your your Facebook page or and on your website some of the some of the
like the hours and and things like that. Well, you can always come
in, or you can email me at s fix itic at doltribe dot org.
Okay, and I'll answer any questions you got. Well, I bet
you will. Yeah, for sure. Well, this is really good and
it's nice to know. So if you're a tribal member and you weren't aware
that the pantry existed, it does. All you have to do is ask
a couple of questions and just stop buying. When when you're opening it's Tuesday
through Friday, and what are the hours four to eight? Four to eight
and then on Saturday ten to two. And then you can just drop by
and you know, talk to Sonny. Hell, I answer any questions you
got, and we'll get you up and get you taken care of. Yeah,
we'll get you some groceries. All right. Well, that's good,
that's good news. And the thing that if the folks who just tuned in
didn't know, you do have available fresh dairy fresh produce and meat because of
the coolers and the freezers that are available there too. So it's not like
you're going to be, you know, going to boxing cans only. You're
going to get You're not going to be in a food desert. You've heard
that before. Yeah, this is a little oasis out there. You get,
you get all the food grips here. And that was very good planning
and very good strategic planning to get this all taken care of. Take care
of people like that. That's great. All right? Is there a phone
number of folks can call if they want to just hit you up with the
email. You can also call me at nine one eight nine one four three
one sixty two. Alrighty, alright, we got that. All right.
I want to thank you for being here with us today and Sonny, always
a pleasure. Thank you. Do not be a stranger in good luck folks,