NLCSD Food Pantry volunteers devote time, energy and joy to the community

6,240. That’s roughly the number of hours our wonderful volunteers have put in to make sure our food pantry is running well.

These volunteers run the food pantry by themselves for the most part, with help from the school with ordering and unloading; they make sure all the food preservers are working, that the food is all still good and anything the pantry needs is there.

These ladies count how many families there are, how many individuals are in each family, and they make sure that everyone gets fair usage of the pantry on a monthly basis.

Toward the end of each month, they give feedback to the school about what they need and the school orders food for them.

When asked about the pantry volunteers, the principal, Mr. Kracht, had high praises for these ladies.

“They are amazing, I can’t say enough about how much they do for our families and our community,” he said. “We cannot thank our volunteers enough for what they do for us.”

I got a chance to speak with the ladies, and I asked them what their favorite thing about working with the food pantry was.

Every one of them said that knowing they were in there and being able to help people was their favorite aspect of the pantry.

They said that the most challenging things they encounter with the pantry are unloading the trucks and keeping things organized.

Most of them said they spend about six to seven hours at the pantry in a typical week.