Unseen Heroes of Doorways Food Pantry

Every Saturday morning for almost 23 years, the Doorways Food Pantry has opened its’ doors to provide nourishing food served with a warm smile. But the real work behind Doorways takes place, unseen, on Wednesday mornings. That’s the day teams of dedicated volunteers come in to unload the truck, restock the shelves, and get everything ready for Saturday morning. “Those Wednesday morning volunteers are the beating heart of the food pantry” said Gerry McCabe of Doorways. “Without their effort, the whole thing collapses. They kept us going through Covid, and they keep us going every week.” Led by Diane Fox, they are a marvel of efficiency and service.

There are two teams of volunteers: the shelf stocking team and the truck unloading team. The ladies of the shelf stocking team come every Wednesday to refill the shelves for the families who shop; the same ladies also process all the food donations from various food drives throughout the year. Two of the ladies take turns driving to Fall River to pick up bread donations for our shopper families; several of the Wednesday ladies also volunteer on Saturday mornings to assist in food distribution.

The other vital cog in the operation is the truck unloading team. Twice a month, a volunteer drives into Boston to collect our order from the Greater Boston Food Bank. When the truck returns, the team unloads thousands of pounds of produce, frozen meats, eggs and food staples. They work with the stocking team to get everything put away and to ready the pantry for Saturday morning. In the last year, over 2,500 shopping visits were made by Doorways’ shopper families. “The Saturday morning volunteers get to hear the words of thanks from the shoppers, but the Wednesday crews are the real heroes” says Paul Hodge of Doorways. “It is their work that allows us to care for our neighbors in need.” God bless our volunteers.