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Live United by Erin Haag

Late into Wednesday evening, the United Way of Freeborn County staff were thinking about one more thing for the opening of our first Welcome Pantry mobile distribution. Even after 9 p.m., there were text exchanges about making sure we had the proper trash receptacles, and finally a sweet reminder from Nikolle for everyone to get some sleep, and that we can’t take care of others without taking care of ourselves.

For me, it was a mark of how far UWFC has come. In the beginning, I had lots of volunteers that showed up the day of the event, but no one to help shoulder the burden of logistical planning of the event. That’s just not a job that can really be delegated to a volunteer. Many nonprofit teams live, work and breathe their mission of their organization. It’s what makes us dream about work situations, or get excited about meeting other people in our field when on vacation or lay awake texting each other about things we might need for the event in the morning. 

Thursday morning, we met for a team huddle at the office, packing up our supplies and reminding ourselves of the schedule. Heidi was met at the door by a team of volunteers from the Lions Club, Albert Lea Select Foods and more. The Channel One Regional Food Bank truck was there and waiting for our arrival (early!), so by the time I walked in, setup was underway. Pallets of milk, chicken and cheese were unloaded and covered with special thermal blankets to keep the temperature stable. We had onions, pasta, tomato sauce, tortillas, pineapple and more. 

We had our challenges of course. The volunteer break room was warm and stuffy, which wasn’t great since we couldn’t have any food or drink on the floor. Our volunteer working with the milk and frozen chicken appreciated the chance to warm up though! We also had challenges with accessing a training video that all volunteers are required to watch, and cell phone/internet reception, which meant that  I couldn’t keep in touch and answer questions as much as I would have normally. It all worked out though, and we had debriefing sessions with our lessons learned that we’ll bring to the next one. We have a whole list of people to thank, most notably the Albert Lea Armory, the volunteers from the Lions Club, Albert Lea Select Foods, the Exchange Club and more. We also welcomed Chris, food shelf manager for Channel One Regional Food Bank who graciously has offered to work with us the first few times to lend his expertise. Watching him in action has given us much to learn from, and we’re grateful for the generosity and support given. One of my favorites volunteer stories? A community member stopped by our office on Wednesday to drop off a backpack. Heidi asked her, “Have you ever volunteered with us before?” The answer was no — and Heidi recruited her to come on Thursday. We’re so thankful to have met her, and love making new connections like that. 

What about the clients we served? There was a line outside the door when we opened at 10 a.m. I was busy enough that I never walked outside to see the line. We were prepared to serve approximately 250 households, so when the line petered out at 10:18, I got a little concerned. We got busy and made sure it was on social media, the radio and called known clients who normally would attend. More shoppers came, and we kept busy enough, but it definitely wasn’t the huge demand we had seen in previous Pop-Up Pantry times. 

All week, we’ve had a lot of phone calls highlighting the barriers, and Thursday afternoon was no different. Barriers included transportation, time of day, not enough notice and being too early in the month. We were aware of all of these barriers, and most were not under our control. The date and time were what was available — which led to not having more time to spread the word. We do have plans to adjust that for the next pantry if possible. 

Transportation is the tricky one, and one we’re working to be creative. For the most part, it comes down to capacity. The more volunteers we have, the more services we can offer. We can operate a mobile food distribution with 15 to 20 volunteers (two shifts), but we can’t do that and delivery unless we have more. There are some strategies being considered that utilize existing infrastructure systems in place. The second piece of it is the parameters. If everyone could get delivery, they usually would, right? How do we determine who should be on the list, and who shouldn’t? Where do we draw the line? All of these factors are being discussed and considered. 

I’m pleased with how the Welcome Pantry event went. It was good to see some familiar faces from both shoppers and volunteers, and wonderful to meet new ones. I am excited that we have the first one under our belt, and we’re learning and growing to offer more services, and fill the gap of services. Will we do it again? Absolutely! I’m hoping to have two to three dates confirmed by next week, and we’ll be calling for volunteers again. If you’re interested, please give us a call at 507-373-8670. Thank you to each and every one of you who volunteered your time and offered feedback and helped us learn and grow. This is the way we live united, and the way we serve our community. 

Erin Haag is the executive director of the United Way of Freeborn County.