Hunger Is Not a Disease

Who Volunteers? – Working in a food pantry

RFP-Tent (1)

THE SHORT ANSWER?   Everybody.  But, of course, that’s not the whole story.

Can you:

drive a car?

drive a truck?

say “Welcome” to frightened people?

stock food on shelves?

direct traffic in the parking lot behind Robert”s Auction?

address envelopes?

stuff envelopes?

call people up and ask them to help deliver food ?

sit at a table in front of the Kingston Walmart?

But, really, whether or not you can do anything on the list is irrelevant.  If you want to get a close look at the ideal volunteer, simply go over to the nearest mirror and take a look.

DOES THE MIRROR YOU’RE LOOKING IN HAVE A CRACK?  Is it chipped?  Are there a few spots?  So much the better.

GNP55The ideal volunteer is you and me and our neighbors down the street.  We’re all qualified for the job.  And, if someone has just remarked on how old you are, that just makes you even more qualified.

Remember, in a pantry, there are no overqualified people.

The better question is not “Who” but “Why”?

PEOPLE ARE SEEKING AN OPPORTUNITY TO SOCIALIZE.   Humans are social beings and it’s important for our mental, physical, and spiritual health to stay connected to our community.  There is no better place to maintain this connection than working in a pantry.

IT’S IMPORTANT TO STAY PHYSICALLY FIT.   Working at a pantry  offers  fun exercise without the cost of going to a gym.

DO YOU NEED FOOD?   Many pantry volunteers use the pantry.  This is important.  We’re bringing the very same food into the pantry and distributing  that we are also shopping from.  We’re not asking anyone to take home food that we consider inferior.  People are happy to come to the Reservoir Food Pantry  because the quality and variety of the food is the best we can get.  This wouldn’t happen if we didn’t shop at the pantry ourselves.

Have life’s circumstances caused you to feel as though you’ve been put out to pasture?  Not to worry.  Retirement and/or loss of a job happen to all of us.  The absolute  backbone of the food pantry industry is  retired people.  Retired people are an indispensable part of the entire business of feeding the hungry.  In fact, I’m using every one of my life skills in the pantry and I’m in my 70’s.

WORKING IN A PANTRY OFFERS US ALL AN OPPORTUNITY TO SOCIALIZE.   When you work at a food pantry, you are surrounded by people  doing things.  You are with people who care.

Working at a pantry offers volunteers an opportunity to be around people who are different from ourselves.  Working at a pantry will put you shoulder-to-shoulder with  people who are different in age, race, education, first language, religious belief, political outlook, and social class.  In a pantry, we’re people from all walks of life working  together to feed hungry people.

All THE DIFFERENT THINGS HAPPENING WHEN YOU WORK IN A PANTRY CONSPIRE TO KEEP YOU YOUNG.

Everyone works with a single goal:  to feed the hungry.  Goals give us  meaning and purpose in life.

There is a downside, though.  The blessings  we all receive from this work distract us from 2 harsh facts of life:

deteriorating economic conditions and

increasing inequality.

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Peace and food for all.

Thurman Greco

 

 

 

Food pantries are a little quirky.