YOLO Spotlight - Tania Garcia Cadena of Woodland Food Closet
Though it is difficult for Tania to have an opportunity to find a few free minutes (let alone an hour or two!), KLJ Studios is happy we were able to get Tania into the studio for some pampering and photos. We knew Tania is involved in so many great causes, and it is exhausting to consider all she accomplishes in a single day, but she also seems to be uber-organized and efficient and handles it all with ease and serenity.
Tania grew up in Woodland and was the kid who was a leader and a giver, even back then. She was student council leader and volunteered so much as a teen that she earned the Soroptomist Service Award in high school. Maybe that was a hint of the future because she has been a member of Soroptomist for over 20 years. Soroptomist is an international volunteer organization that provides women and girls with access to the education and training they need to achieve economic empowerment. The organization was formed in 1921 in Oakland, CA when women were not allowed to join service organizations. Tania has also volunteered at a nursing home and says her main focus has always been on children and women’s issues.
Tania is also the Executive Director of the Woodland Food Closet (not to be confused with the Yolo Food Bank). The Food Closet can provide those in need with three days of food and has been especially crucial this past year during the pandemic. The Food Closet can be used for those in emergency situations or who just have circumstances where they need assistance. When it was hard to find volunteers last year because many of the older volunteers were in the higher risk group for COVID19, volunteers from Yocha Dehe stepped in to fill the gaps. The pandemic created several changes in the Food Closet, including their commitment to making sure everyone who needs food can get it, even if it needs to be delivered.
FUN FACT #1:
Tania has been married for 28 years (they have been together for 34 years) and enjoys her three children, two girls and one boy. She is also the oldest of 32 siblings and cousins, among which are her own brother and sister. One of the things she has always liked to do to relax is to go to her kids’ sporting events when they are active in sports.
FUN FACT #2:
Other activities that Tania loves during any down time is reading, camping, kayaking, visiting local wineries and attending concerts when the band Grooveline performs. Possibly she enjoys the concerts so much because her husband Ray Cardena is a member, but they are a really good band so it’s possible Tania may have ended up being a groupie either way.
FUN FACT #3:
When asked what was the scariest thing she has ever done, she mentioned a zip line in Puerto Vallarta, but said she actually found it exhilarating. A close second place was speaking at the League of Women Voters public forum when she was running for City Council.
WHAT PATHS DID TANIA FOLLOW TO GET WHERE SHE IS TODAY?
1. At age two, Tania decided she wanted to be a preschool teacher. But when she visited a preschool, she thought it was an awful experience and remembers a teacher being mean to the kids. This almost caused her to change her mind, but her mother told her that she needed to become a preschool teacher and change things the way she thought they should be. She followed that advice and went on to work with kids for 30 years, including running her own preschool.
2. Tania has served on several local commissions, including the child care and parks and recreation commissions. She ran for City Council a few years ago because she felt she could also serve the community in that way, but then ended up becoming a Council member by volunteering to fill an opening when another member departed.
3. And how does this dynamo spend her days? Mornings you will find her, now working from home, performing her duties for the Food Closet by answering emails, making phone calls, and all the other expected Executive Director duties. After noon, she switches into City Council mode, then the usual family and home tasks such as chauffering, cleaning, and all that fun stuff. Evenings are dedicated to Soroptomist and City Council meetings. Oh, and she also works part time at Haven, the boutique on 1st Street in downtown Woodland, “just for fun”. Talk about exhausting!
When asked how she envisions her life five years from now, Tania said she still wants to be serving the community of Woodland by helping bring business into town and doing what is needed for the community to thrive. She would like to be known as a person that helps others and becoming a resource for others to reach their goals. We think she has achieved that many times over, but we don’t think she will stop putting everything she has into doing everything she can. That’s just who she is.