Jon was at the Cambridge Food Pantry a half hour earlier taking pictures as the volunteers unloaded the truck that brings food from a distribution center in Albany every Tuesday.
When I got there, they were still handing boxes from the truck through the back door, like firemen passing along buckets of water.
Perishables go in the cooler, some boxes get put right on shelves, and the big boxes with an assortment of canned, bottled and boxed food go on the cart to be sorted through.
As the boxes come in Sarah, the Food Pantry’s director, checks off the things she ordered and marks down the the things she didn’t order but come anyway. They never get everything they ask for. Today there was no celery (among other things) and too many boxes of shelled almonds.
My job, along with three or four other volunteers, is to open the boxes and sort through them.
Each box is numbered indicating the type of food they contain. I got the boxes with condiments. This time here were only two bottles of mayonnaise, but two dozen bottles of Ranch dressing. The Chick-fil-a dressings are a favorite, but the bottles often come dented and dirty.
Once all the boxes are empty and the food lined up on the tables, Terry takes what she needs to fill the shelves in the shopping area. Then we put the rest in the back room where it is stored until the shelves need stocking again.
There were lots of boxes today and Jon put down his camera for a while and helped me. It’s not the kind of work he usually does. Jon’s great with the camera and words, but hauling boxes isn’t something he easily do. It’s the kind of physical work I enjoy, all that organizing is very satisfying. And it was fun working with Jon and quicker with the two of us.
The pantry is festive, decorated for Christmas, there’s even a tree. Today is Giving Tuesday and the Food Panty is looking to fill in the gaps that didn’t come in the boxes today. They’re in need of Tide, soap and Shampoo.
You can click here to donate those and other items the Cambridge Food Panty needs.
