For many volunteers at Central Texas Food Bank (CTFB), time spent in the Sort warehouse is their first hands-on experience with the mission. They inspect produce, pack food, and work side by side to help get meals out the door.
But behind every volunteer shift is a carefully coordinated operation. A dedicated team makes sure food moves quickly, safely, and efficiently to families across Central Texas. At the center of that work is Anna Martinez, Sort Manager and CTFB’s Team Member of the Month.
Turning Donations Into Meals
Every day, food arrives at CTFB from various sources. These include grocery partners, community drives, and large-scale donations. Before it can reach families, it needs inspection, sorting, and preparation for distribution. That’s where Anna and the Sort team come in.
“We take the food as it comes in and break it down into smaller quantities,” Anna explained. “Our volunteers inspect everything — making sure it’s safe, within date, and ready to go — and then we box it up so our partner agencies can order it.”
From fresh produce to shelf-stable goods, each item that passes through “Sort” is checked and repackaged to meet the needs of food pantries, mobile distributions, and home delivery programs across our 21 counties.
“Whether it’s checking dates, cleaning it up, or getting it into the right quantities, we help make sure it’s ready to go out,” Anna said, “In some way, our hands are on it.”
Powered by Volunteers
While the sort team manages the operation, volunteers make it possible at scale.
“Without our volunteers, we can’t do any of that,” Anna said. “There are only a few of us on the team. When we have 60 volunteers in the room, we can move so much more food than we ever could on our own.”
Volunteers play a direct role in how quickly food reaches families. For Anna, one of the most meaningful parts of her work is getting to know the people who come to help.
“Everybody has a different reason why they come to volunteer,” she said. “Some have been on the other side of it; some are new to the area and want to get involved. Hearing their stories and seeing them want to come back makes a big difference.”
Finding Better Ways to Move More Food
In a fast-paced environment like Sort, small improvements can have a big impact. For Anna, innovation means one thing: getting more food out the door.
“It’s about finding ways to move more quantity through our area so people can get their hands on it faster,” she said. Recently, that has meant expanding the number of volunteer workstations and running multiple projects at the same time. This increases both efficiency and output.
“Normally, we had 10 tables. Now we’re at 14, and my goal is to keep growing that,” Anna said. “The more we can process at once, the more we can get out to the community.”
During high-demand periods like holidays or severe weather, that flexibility becomes even more important.
“I’m not afraid to get in there and do the work with my team,” she said. “Whether it’s setting up tables, jumping on a forklift, or working alongside volunteers, we do whatever it takes to keep things moving.”
A Direct Connection to the Community
The work happening in Sort doesn’t stay in the warehouse. It reaches neighbors across Central Texas every day.
“Some of the produce we bag goes directly to mobile distributions,” Anna said. “The canned goods go out through partner agencies. We also help build boxes for home delivery programs.”
In other words, the work of Sort touches nearly every part of the food bank’s distribution system.
“We kind of have our hands in a lot of areas,” she said. “A lot of what we do goes directly to neighbors, and that makes a huge difference.”
Why It Matters
For Anna, this work is deeply personal.
“I’ve been on the other side of it,” she shared. “I grew up dealing with food insecurity. I’ve been the one waiting to pick up food.”
Now, she’s part of the team helping make sure others don’t have to go without.
“I like knowing that I’m helping families who are in the same position I used to be in,” she said.
A Team Effort
Anna is quick to point out that the work doesn’t happen in isolation. From sourcing and purchasing to warehouse operations and facilities, every team plays a role in moving food through the building and out into the community.
“All of us work together to get this food out for the people who need it,” she said. “I appreciate everything that everybody does — because it helps us do our job.”
Making Tomorrow Possible
For volunteers, a few hours in Sort is a small contribution. But behind the scenes, that time helps power a much larger system. This system ensures food moves efficiently from donation to distribution.
And for Anna, that work is about more than logistics. It’s about showing up, working together, and making sure families across Central Texas have access to the food they need today and tomorrow.
Join the Work in Waco
As CTFB continues to expand its reach, new opportunities are opening to support families across the region, including in Waco.
We’re currently hiring for roles that help power meal production, warehouse operations, and food distribution. This is the same kind of behind-the-scenes work that ensures food moves quickly and efficiently to the communities we serve.
If you’re looking to make a meaningful impact and be part of a team dedicated to feeding our neighbors, we invite you to explore open positions in Waco.
