WORKING -- Van Hanning

-- Story by Jennifer Kho, photo by

HE IS

Stocking his refrigerator so you can stock yours

THE EPITOME OF STABILITY

Vance Hanning, 53, who stocks groceries at El Metate Foods, Inc., has

been an institution at the market’s location for 32 years.

El Metate, which opened at the end of March, was previously Bargain

Foods. Before that, it was Bargain Basket.

Hanning, who stayed throughout the ownership changes, has never had

another job.

“I moved from Fontana with my dad and sister, [and] went looking

around one day and asked at Stater Bros.,” he said. “They weren’t hiring,

but I saw a ‘Help Wanted’ sign for Bargain Basket there. I came over and

was told to start work the next day. I just stayed here ever since. This

is all I’ve done.”

Hanning’s duties include checking in food arrivals, storing the food

and shelving the refrigerated goods and some of the other groceries.

Putting food in the large refrigerator in the back of the store is the

toughest part of the job, although Hanning said the job -- which hasn’t

changed much since he was 21 -- is pretty easy for him.

LEARNING THE ROPES

The heaviest thing Hanning said he has to lift nowadays is bleach,

since detergent packages have gotten smaller over the years.

“Those used to be big,” he said, pushing a flat cart filled higher

than the top of his head with groceries. “You don’t have to be that

strong to do this. I mean, just look at me.”

At the beginning, it was also very difficult to learn the locations of

the store’s merchandise.

“Now I have to relearn, since the new owners always change everything

around,” he said. “The milk case used to be on the side, for example, and

now it’s in the middle.”

MAKING IT WORTHWHILE

Hanning said the best part of his job is interacting with his

co-workers and the customers.

“I’ve known a lot of the customers since they were really small,” he

said. “I know several generations of some families. I like kids,

especially, but I like talking to everyone. I’ll come in and say good

morning, say something stupid or something that makes people feel good.”

The worst part of the job “is putting up with my manager, Ed,” he

said, laughing. “He’ll get a kick out of that.”

But really, Hanning said, his least favorite part of the job is

dealing with the occasional angry customer.

“They also have to put up with you, though, so it goes both ways,” he

said. “There are good and bad parts to everything, but here it really has

been mostly good. I’ve just been really lucky.”

He plans to keep his job until he retires at 62, he said.

“I live close by -- across the street -- and it’s not really a hard

job,” he said. “If you do what you’re told you have no problems. They are

good to me and I just like it. I don’t like to look for jobs, but if I

didn’t like it I wouldn’t be here.”