Capt. Nathan Darling of the Salvation Army on AppleSox, Food Drive

Monday, June 3 was Townsquare Media Night at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium, home of the mighty Wenatchee AppleSox.

The weather was too gusty and inclement for the usual fare - large and festive tents  embroidered with the KPQ and other logos. (This is one of seven local stations owned by Townsquare Media.) But Townsquare staffers did assemble at the front gate to help unload incoming food donations.

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Capt. Nathan Darling is a pastor and corps officer at the Salvation Army in Wenatchee. He says that the food drive is a boon for everyone involved.

"The way it's set up is - the radio station gives tickets out and in return they just ask that a small food donation is brought in," Darling says. "Your ticket is the food donation."

Darling has been with the Salvation Army for just over a decade. He spends most of his workday in the Social Service Office in downtown Wenatchee. His duties are largely administrative, but Darling is a wearer of many hats. Nothing is beneath him. He'll gladly cook meals, or greet hungry clients, or sort and stock inventory.

But the Salvation Army's expectations are weighty, Darling says.

"They have a course that you take when you express an interest in becoming an officer with them," Darling says. "It's actually a course that I later ended up teaching for an eight-year period of time."

"If they send you to the training college, which is down in Los Angeles County, you get a very specific course on the history of the Salvation Army."

Prior to joining the Salvation Army, Darling was a longtime pastor in the Church of Nazarene.

Click here for information on how to donate to the Salvation Army.