Three new volunteers pause beneath the shelter of the Scottsville Pavilion. Kelly—along with her two sons, Brady and Rudy—are new to this Mobile Food Pantry operation, so they briefly huddle near a cluster of cabbage to take it all in.
Although a foggy cold blankets the town, it’s been a morning of movement. The clock hasn’t even struck 10 a.m., but stations are already set. Volunteers—all gloved—line the periphery of the space, mounds of bagged produce and stacks of food boxes prepped at their feet. The morning’s main event, food distribution, is about to begin.
“We don’t have school right now because of what’s going on, so we thought it’d be best to come out here and try and help some people during this time,” says high school sophomore Brady. Just beyond where the Food Bank’s refrigerated truck is anchored, a line of cars snakes across the gravel lot. Inside each vehicle, a neighbor in need patiently awaits the start of the drive-through process.
Rudy, the youngest of the family at 13, sums up succinctly why the three felt called to become Food Bank volunteers: “We have food, and we want everybody else to have it, too.”
Kelly, Brady, and Rudy represent just three of the 311 new volunteers who mobilized across our 25-county service area during the month of March to help the Food Bank respond to the COVID-19 crisis. In addition to families, we’ve seen graduate students, furloughed employees, healthy retirees, and health care workers helping on their off-days. Many of the Food Bank’s faithful but typically older volunteers have had to pull back, understandably, out of concern for their health; thankfully, others in younger age groups have stepped up to fill that gap, prompting a 28% year-over-year surge in volunteer hours for the month of March.
Exceptional moments happen every day
Volunteer and Food Drive Coordinator Colleen Berger cites the impact of seeing new volunteers walk through the door, eager to lend a hand, even when so much uncertainty swirls around in the outside world. Day in and day out, volunteers show up, “despite the amount of fear and panic that surrounds this current crisis.”
And on the other hand, Volunteer and Food Drive Manager Jennifer Clark Robertson has been deeply moved by the flood of text messages, emails, and phone calls she’s received from the Food Bank’s regular volunteers who are not able to serve during this time. “They genuinely miss being able to serve,” she says.
Jennifer recalls the words of Fred Rogers: “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” She treasures engaging with such “helpers every single day—those folks who volunteer their time to support the work we do at the Food Bank, before, during, and after this pandemic is over.”
“People are finding their spark by serving others and taking action in their own communities.”
Compassionate support ripples through food assistance network, too
Not only are volunteers playing an essential role in the Food Bank’s COVID-19 response by manning warehouse shifts (limited to 10 people) to pre-pack emergency food boxes and produce, as well as providing boots-on-the-ground support at mobile distributions, but they’re helping a crucial network of partner agencies and pantries stay open.
“People are finding their spark by serving others and taking action in their own communities,” Jennifer says. One first-time volunteer’s reflection echoes this sentiment directly: “In light of recent circumstances, I really feel the need to be a contributor—rather than just a consumer.”
If our staff could talk with every Food Bank supporter during this time, what would they say?
“Your endless generosity and love for our community is the reason I still have so much faith in and deep gratitude for humanity and our ability to support each other when things get hard,” says Colleen. “Thank you for showing all of us that kindness has not been quarantined and, in the end, community is important,” adds Jennifer. “Together, we will get through this.”