Working With Barbara At The Cambridge Food Pantry

Since I stopped working on the Backpack Program at the Cambridge Food Pantry because the hours conflicted with my studio hours, and began volunteering on Tuesdays, I found myself around a new group of people.

Usually when I get to the Food Pantry, I get to work unpacking boxes and putting the food away.  Like the other people there I don’t do a lot of talking.  I do the job as quickly as I can and when I’m done I leave to get back to my own work.

Most of the other people have been working there for years and know each other well.  They stay after I leave to doing clean-up and other odds and ends that need to be done.  Sometimes they even have lunch together.

I didn’t think about it much until I was at the pantry one day and someone said something to me that made me feel like I needed to make more of an effort to  connect with the people I was working with.

When I thought about it, I realized that, since people are scattered throughout the building  I rarely said hello when I came in or goodbye to anyone when I left.  It’s also the kind of organizational work that I can easily get focused and obsessive about.  Meaning, I might look standoff-ish.

Also, I’m not good at remembering people’s names and not great at small talk.  I’m used to working alone.

But last week I tried in small ways to be more friendly and open to the people around me.  I slowed down a little, taking time to say hello and ask questions.

Today, by the time I got to the Food Pantry, most of the boxes were already unloaded.  Except for the cereal. One woman had already unpacked three or four boxes and there were six more to go.

So I asked her if I could help.

It turned out we worked really well together.  She was both smaller and older than me, but moved just as quick. We got into what I think of as a kind of dance,  moving around each other in the small space without getting in each others way.  When we did something together we were in sync and we left each other alone when we went our separate ways.

When I was leaving she remarked on how well we worked together.  I agreed, pleased,  then told her I didn’t remember her name.

She knew my name, and told me hers was Barbara.

I’ll look forward to seeing Barbara next week at the food pantry, and I’ll even remember her name.