February 24, 2015 at 7:42 am
February 14, 2015. 02 degrees. Snow.
What a gig. It was pretty much the same last year but memories are short and we forgot what it feels like to have numb fingers, toes, noses, ears. Only, this year was different. This year we had more volunteers working shorter hours at the table: Barbara, Garrett, Joan, Kerin, Louise, Prasida, Susanne.
Prasida sat at the head table near the grocery store entrance the entire time…as she always does. She’s the stem winder. In this case, the weather being what it was, it was more like she was beating the drum in the belly of the slave ship.
It wasn’t quite that bad though. When the weather got really cold, she cancelled Friday.
“I’m afraid one of us is going to freeze to death at the table.” she said. We laughed hysterically at her joke because the cold made us giddy. But, really, most of us are too old to be out in the elements at this temperature.
“We’re hoping you’ll take a moment to share a little $$$ or food for the hungry” could be heard repeated throughout the day by the volunteers. Shoppers approached the table with open wallets as they hurried into the warm building. Even at this temperature, we saw an occasional person without a coat.
We know the shoppers, the employees, the bus drivers, the taxi drivers. We enjoy visiting with everyone each month. With a table and 2 chairs at both entrances, there’s almost always an extra seat for a visitor to join for a chat. When you don’t see someone for a month, you need to catch up on the news:
who’s sick,
who’s well,
whose car got fixed,
how the job is going…or not going
what’s happening at some other pantry or soup kitchen.
We did miss one very special person this month: the homeless woman who spends her days at the Walmart. I wonder where (or if) she’s keeping warm in this frigid weather.
So, the big news this month is the cooold. Prasida folded up our tables about 2:30 on Saturday afternoon. We remarked to each other that the weather was also pretty awful last February and we stuck it out because we had no choice. This year we had a choice because of the many people who answered our hunger appeal in December. Thank you for your generosity.
We’ll be paying catch up though. We’re planning to stay a few extra hours at our drives in May and June. If you missed us on Friday, please drop by our tables on March 12, 13, and 14th. Hopefully the weather will be just a bit warmer then.
Thanks again for your generosity. Without your participation, we could never do the job we do. We fed 4188 households consisting of 8190 people in 2014. We could never, ever, not in a million years have done this job without your support.
Thank you!
Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
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October 22, 2014 at 6:14 am
“Just asking for food to feed the hungry.”
“Thank you for your donation”.
“Hello.”
Each of us working for the pantry outside the Walmart has a different introduction we use when we speak to the shoppers. We’ve been outside the Walmart monthly since last fall. The only month we didn’t stand outside the entrance was December when the Salvation Army puts out its volunteer ringing the bell.
In February, the temperature was 2 degrees. Standing outside the store in July, we all commented that the broiling heat was better than the cold.
But, really, in our hearts of hearts, we don’t care what day it is, what the time is, what the temperature is. What matters is that we’re outside the entrance and it’s our favorite place to be.
No, I’m not lying. I totally adore being outside the Walmart. We’ve made friends with everyone:
customers
employees
tradesmen.
On Friday, a young couple came up to show off their brand new baby who wasn’t even here yet at our September visit.
One of my favorite people at the Walmart is a homeless woman who always manages to bring us a can of food.
Employees drop by throughout the day to see if we’re okay.
In the midst of all the community, we’re raising $$$ to buy food to keep the pantry open another month. And…that’s no small job. Our census rises every month. Last month, we served 800 people.
For a young pantry, just a little over a year old, to have the food and funds to feed 800 people is something to be extremely proud of. Reservoir Food Pantry volunteers can do this because they know how to focus on the task at hand.
Prasida, Bob, Louise, Barbara, and Garrett know how to focus on feeding the people. The focus is completely “with us” all three days.
This focus offers opportunity to:
really enjoy what we’re doing.
set goals.
bond with the people we meet.
keep our pantry open.
As the coordinator, I’m often asked: “Who sponsors your pantry?”
Thank you to everyone at the Walmart, both customers and employees. Without you, we wouldn’t be able to feed 800+ people every month. When we feed the hungry, we strengthen our whole community. We couldn’t do this without your support.
Thank you for reading this blog/book.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
“Just asking for food to feed the hungry.”
