One birthday gift benefits thousands

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - A birthday gift for one man has become a valuable service to an entire neighborhood in downtown Albuquerque.

Brad Brown and Mike Griego have fed more than 10,000 of their neighbors in Martineztown, and their passion for feeding the needy started with a knock on Brown’s door.

“A person came to our door and asked if he could sell his shoes to buy food for his wife and baby,” Brown told News 13 back in 2009.  "I thought something has to be done."

Brown wanted to do something to make sure his neighbors weren’t suffering, so he called Roadrunner Food Bank and set up a mobile food bank as a birthday gift for Griego.

Two and a half years later Brown and Griego are still working together in full swing on every second Wednesday of every month. The men hand out food in the parking lot of a neighborhood church near Lomas and Edith NW.

And while these men are the ones helping others, they think of themselves as the lucky ones.

“We’re really lucky,” Brown said.

“It just means so much to give back,” Griego added.

“You can never tell if there are going to be 40 families or 120 families and by some miracle, we've always had food. Nobody has every gone home without food,” said Brown.

The men have fed about 12,000 people since 2009. They spend around $160 a month to provide around 50 pounds of food to 80 families.

“If you look at what this costs, it's less than my cable bill,” said Brown.

Irene Perea tells News 13 she is grateful for what the men have done for her own family and the community. Perea’s grandson and children recently moved into her home after her grandson lost his job with a painting company.

“All of a sudden he didn't have a job. The unemployment wasn't enough for him to keep his house and all his kids fed,” said Perea.

And Brown and Griego aren’t the only ones giving back in this community. Griego brings his fourth and fifth grade students from Our Lady of Annunciation Catholic School to help out too.

“We learned that not everyone can get food very easily,” said student Reghan Pettit.

Roadrunner Food Bank has had to cut down from giving 50 pounds of food to 35 because there's less available and a bigger need for it.

“Every dollar you give to Roadrunner buys nine dollars worth of food,” said Brown.

The men encourage others to give, volunteer or hold a mobile food bank.

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If you have a success story you would like to share in News 13's "New Mexico Works" segment,  send an e-mail to reporter and news anchor Jessica Garate .