If you have been reading with any regularity, you may notice that it has been about two weeks since I put up a new post. This is not because Jen and I have not been volunteering. We have, but we took a long weekend in door county last weekend, and quiet time in the woods took precedence over writing. The upshot is that I will be publishing two entries this week, and should be able to stay up to date from then on. So... on to week 28.
This week, we went back for a second visit to Common Pantry, the closest pantry to our house and the one that serves the area we live in. For a run down of how they operate, see the post from Week 23. It was a hectic day at the pantry when we were there because the pantry is open on Wednesdays. That may not make a lot of sense immediately, but the previous Wednesday to the one we worked was the 4th of July. As a result, the pantry was closed. That meant that at least twice as many patrons as normal were trying to use the pantry on the night we were there. Actually, the pantry was kind of mobbed all day long, as we found out.
I worked in the back again, loading canned goods into bags for the patrons while they shopped with their points. Jen spent the night handing out bread and produce, which is a slightly more demanding job, mostly because there is some patron contact and they have a say in what they get more than with the canned goods. During the evening shift, we served about 35 families (accounting for about 200 individuals), which was a heavy load for the night shift, but not unmanageable. In talking with Scott, the pantry director, I found out that he had opened the pantry a couple hours early for the afternoon distribution, essentially doubling the time the pantry was open. The total for the day wound up being about 115 families, which is at the upward edge of what the pantry can handle, but everyone was able to get some food, and I don't believe anyone had to be turned away at any point in the day. We did run short on some items late in the evening shift, but the shortfalls were not too bad. I was very impressed with how well Scott and the other pantry workers planned for the very heavy day and it seems as thought most things went according to that plan.
In addition to the distribution, Jen and I also filled out some volunteer information forms which are an initiative on the part of the pantry to know more about the people who volunteer with them. They want to know what jobs people are interested in doing at the pantry, and what the tolerance is for being asked to work on short notice if the pantry does not have enough help on a given day. The push to know more also extends to the donor base. Scott has been able to spend some time recently doing analysis of the the people who give to the pantry and the trends about how they give. This kind of information is essential to non-profit groups and it is a sign of forward thinking that the pantry is interested in this level of analysis. It is not really surprising since the pantry has been around for so long, but it is good to see that they are keeping the future in mind.
Overall, we had a great time, just like the last time, and we signed up to work again next month.
For more information about the pantry go to Common Pantry.
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