I went to help out at the Cambridge Food Panty today. I’ve never been there when the truck with food from the distribution center arrived. The people, who have have been volunteering there for many years, worked like a finely run machine.
Five people snaked from the back of the truck, through the open door and into the walk-in cooler. They handed off the boxes of fruit and vegetables like firemen passing a bucket of water to put out a fire.
As the boxes came into the building someone would call out what was in it so Sarah, the Pantry’s director, could check it off her list. When the refrigerated food was put away, more boxes came out of the truck and down the hallway where even more volunteers waited, me included.
We passed the boxes to one another with instructions on where to put them. Then someone called of the U-cart (because it’s shaped like the letter “U”) and it was loaded with more boxes. These were filled with miscellaneous cereals, crackers, snacks and baking supplies, and other packaged food and brought into the dinning room where they would be unloaded.
Those boxes need to be sorted through and the food put on the shelves for the customers or in storage. That’s the work I’m used to doing, although there’s still so much I don’t know.
Today, along with some of the regulars, was a woman and her granddaughter, who was about nine or ten years old. She showed me a felt gnome she made in a crocheted basket. When I told her she did a great job I wasn’t just saying it. She sewed the whole thing together with perfection.
And she was a good worker too, asking questions and sorting through the boxes. While I hurried around unloading boxes, I noticed as one of the regular volunteers told her what needed to be done without being the least bit condescending. And I thought if I ever have the opportunity, I’d try to do the same.
As we were finishing up, enough boxes to fill a shopping cart arrived from the Army of Good. ( You can see some of the food the Army Of Good purchased this week on Jon’s blog, just click here) And it made me think that volunteers show up in so may different ways and how everyone, including the volunteers, benefits from it.
If you’d like to contribute to The Cambridge Food Panty they have an Amazon Wish List just click here.
