We went to FHMJ on Tuesday and had a fairly normal night there serving dinner to shelter guests before they bedded down for the night. We did get to see Issac, the team leader who was there on our first night, which was nice. We also met a nice young woman who had recently completed a degree in behavioral science and was waiting to hear if she had been accepted into school for her Master's degree work, heading toward becoming a psychologist. I think she enjoyed working with us, and found some professional interest in the experience as well. It was kind of a light night in terms of volume, both for the women and the men, so everything was pretty low key. As always, we had a good time. To see more about our experiences at FHMJ, check out previous posts from Week 11, Week 14, Week 17 and Week 22.
The bigger news of the week was trying out a new food pantry, Common Pantry. This is the closest food pantry to our house in the city, and covers an area bounded by Diversey, Kedzie, Lawrence and Ravenswood. They distribute food once per week, on Wednesdays and also do once per month produce distribution as well as home deliveries. The pantry has been operating continuously since 1967 making it the oldest continuously operating pantry in the city and beating out our friends at the Lakeview Pantry, who cover the geographic areas directly to the East, by about five years. They have been operating out of their current location on Damen Ave. since 1985, adjacent to a church. In the near future, the pantry will celebrate its 45th birthday with a party and the release of a book written from the stories told to them by their clients about why they came to the pantry and how the pantry has helped them.
There are a couple things that make this pantry a little different from others we have been to. The first is that clients do not pack their own food. Rather, Jen and I and a couple others worked in a small room packing up preset amounts of food based on family size. The second unusual thing is that the clients are given a number of points based on the size of their family, and while the pantry workers pack up the pre-determined food list, the clients can "spend" their points in the front room of the pantry to things that are not on the standard list of necessities. For example, clients can get toiletry items, pre-made sandwiches, dairy items, produce,etc. The idea behind this is two-fold. The first and most important is dignity. A lot of the people who come to the pantry do so because they have few viable choices in their life, and giving them a choice about the food they receive helps restore a small measure of normalcy and control in their lives. The second is more practical - the clients can choose things they need and want and are therefore more likely to get the most out of the service that is available. When we work at the Lakeview pantry, the selection of food is pretty much always the same, and I have heard clients turn down items saying, "I have too much of that at home already!" The system at Common pantry is designer to reduce that problem and give people a chance to get what they need.
As for our experience at the Pantry, Jen and I had a blast. I got there a little later than Jen, and was mistaken for a client at first, which was a new experience for me, but quickly sorted things out and got to work. The work space in the pantry is pretty small, so you get to know your co-workers pretty well. We really enjoyed the pace of the work because unlike other places we have been it was pretty laid back. We were able to serve everyone who was there, but because of the "shopping" aspect of things, there is time to pull the food orders together without rushing. As a result, we got to chat with the other volunteers and get to know Scott, the pantry's director. One of our co-workers was a woman who is interested in starting a food pantry at her church. She was working her way around the city, a lot like we are, trying to learn about what works and what doesn't, and basically teach herself how to start a pantry. It was really inspiring to talk with her. She was not someone who had studied non-profit growth strategies or anything like that. Instead, she just felt called to do something more significant with her life and so she is moving down this path to starting a pantry. The sheer altruism of it all made me want to help her, and I think she will not have trouble getting others to see the same vision she does.
Everyone we met was fun and friendly, and clearly dedicated to the pantry. Many of them were obvious "regulars" and knew the staff, the clients, and the way the pantry works very well. While we were there, we scheduled more time with them, so I will have more to tell in a few weeks.
While I was there, I shot a couple pictures. This is the front room of the pantry, where the clients do their shopping. Scott can be seen behind the rack of food...
This is the back room, where we packed the food for the clients...
For more information about the FHMJ, go to:
Franciscan House of Mary and Joseph
For more information about Common Pantry, go to:
Common Pantry
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