In Bill's Footsteps...

On Sunday afternoon, a group of Berkeley Food Pantry volunteers met to figure out how the Pantry was going to run while Bill, the director, recovers from a heart attack.

Brian, the minister of the church that donates space for the Pantry, had a chart on the wall showing the tasks Bill does every day of the week except Saturday:




Bill's week at a glance

 

 

I hadn't realized how much errand-running Bill does: loading up his van with food from donor-businesses, buying food from the Alameda County Community Food Bank and Grocery Outlet, being at the Pantry for deliveries.   When we volunteers show up at 1 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, or Fridays, the food is there waiting for us to bag and organize.  It's Bill who gets it there.

Divvying up the tasks didn't take long.  A few angelic senior volunteers stepped up to do the shopping, which I couldn't imagine taking on (the volume!  Plus what to buy?), but I offered to collect Chipotle donations from one restaurant and to open up the Pantry at 12:30 on Monday.   Jerry usually picks up the Starbuck's donations that day and loads them into the my car to take to the Pantry.  The few tasks I took on are but a tiny fraction of what Bill does and what other volunteers offered to do.

 

My first stop on Monday morning

 

 

 

 

Chipotle donation of rice and cooked meat--very popular with clients

 

 

Donations in the back of my car, ready to be delivered to the Pantry

 

 



When I arrived on Monday to open up,  I found the front room chaotic:  donations and purchases collected by other volunteers, including big plastic garbage bags of bread from Semi-Freddis, and many boxes of produce: 

 

Food to be organized: bread in plastic bags,  flats of mac 'n cheese, stacked boxes of produce



 

 

By 2 pm, the rest of the volunteers had arrived, pitched in, and gotten the room shipshape and ready for clients:

 

 



 



On Tuesday, we heard that Bill was going home from the hospital.   Hooray!  We're managing to feed the multitudes, but it's not the same without him.




Bill with Pantry volunteer Sarah a few weeks ago