There Are Many Ways to Help at the Food Pantry

Getting food from a pantry is not something that any parent wants to do. In the current economic climate, however, it’s something that many have had to do. It’s not just limited to parents, either. This is a primary driver behind the Glen Ellyn Food Pantry.

Susan Papierski, the executive director of the pantry, says that her volunteers are crucial to the program. “They are a huge piece of the puzzle,” she said.

According to Ms. Papierski, the pantry operates on a schedule so all volunteers know well in advance when they will be working. “We have over 200 volunteers on the list,” Papierski advised, “They do everything from shopping, restocking, working with clients and helping with special events.”

One of the special events includes a big Thanksgiving function, where boxes of Thanksgiving dinners are provided for families who would otherwise not have one. Another special event is the annual National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Food Drive, where volunteers pick up the food and even help the NALC volunteers sort it.

The pantry is located at Grace Lutheran Church, 493 Forest Ave., in a relatively small space. Due to the space constraints, volunteers working directly in the pantry must be limited. It’s because of this that volunteers are needed on many different levels, rather than just working in the pantry itself.

“We basically have three main types of volunteers,” said Papierski. “Our shoppers go to Costco or Aldi once per week and Wal-Mart twice per week. They purchase food to stock the pantry and then deliver it to us here. The second group is our stockers; these are the people who help unload the shoppers’ vehicles and the food bank deliveries. Sometimes these deliveries are around 1,000-2,000 pounds of food! They then arrange the items on the proper shelves for our clients. Our client advocates are the people who show our clients around the pantry, so they can find the items they need. They also help pack client boxes before they leave.”

Ms. Papierski was quick to acknowledge that though these are the three primary types of volunteers, they are not the only ones.

“We have groups that get very creative in how they can volunteer for us. Since our physical space is so limited, we’ve had people run food drives by leaving bags on doorsteps with a note that they’ll pick them up later (similar to the NALC food drive), we’ve had people donate funds from lemonade stands, picnics, church income, and even birthday parties.”

In addition, one group recently held a chili supper to benefit the pantry that raised over $1,000, plus additional food. To complement the fundraisers and food donations, many children’s groups like to tour the facilities.

“This lets the kids see where their donations go. It helps them to have a sense of ownership for their volunteerism,” added Papierski.

To be a Glen Ellyn Food Pantry volunteer, there doesn’t appear to be any prerequisites, according to Ms. Papierski. “[depending on the type of volunteer] there’s a lot of physical work, heavy lifting and such. However, we can find something for everyone interested to do. Those who can’t do the heavy lifting usually work with our clients.”

When asked how clients get involved, Ms. Papierski advised that the pantry serves both Glen Ellyn and its bordering towns.

“People call to make an appointment, that’s one way we’re different from other pantries. We work one-on-one with our clients, so there’s not a bunch of different people walking through at the same time,” she said, “We also don’t have an income cap, we don’t even ask about income. Someone says they need food, our doors are open.”

It appears there’s another difference between the Glen Ellyn Food Pantry and others: clients are not allowed to double as volunteers. Papierski cited this as mostly a privacy concern and said it’s usually just better for everyone that way.

Anyone interested in volunteering (or utilizing their services) is asked to call (630) 469-8668, or send an e-mail to glenellynfoodpantry@yahoo.com. Either Ms. Papierski or the volunteer coordinator, Jodi, will respond. They will take potential volunteers’ information and try to match the group’s needs with the volunteer’s wants and abilities and work new volunteers into the existing schedule.