By MARK HALL
Feeding Team Feature
This month’s column is about a volunteer encounter at one of the Noblesville pantries.
In the spirit of the Christmas season, and every year, one of our volunteers – we will call her Donna – bakes an abundance of cookies. She goes all out with ornate decorative cookies, the kind that our grandmothers make. They taste wonderful and look like they jumped off the front page of a baking magazine.
Last December, it just happened that she made too many cookies, or maybe she just ran out of icing too soon. In either case, it’s what happened next that makes the story. Donna connects with another volunteer, Joyce, who takes the extra cookies and some icing, placing them in a pantry here in town for a neighbor to enjoy.
A week or so goes by and Joyce is volunteering stocking that same pantry. Up walks a young lady, a neighbor who frequently shops at that pantry for herself and her boyfriend. We don’t engage with neighbors shopping from a pantry unless they choose to engage with us. In this case that’s exactly what happened.
This young lady – we will call her Margie – took several minutes while gathering some meals to explain to Joyce how important the pantries are in her present situation and how it helps her and her boyfriend make ends meet. Margie reported that in weeks prior, she took the un-iced cookies and icing that was in the pantry. She went on to explain that her boyfriend had a rough upbringing. He had never had Christmas cookies, and he had never made cookies, let alone put icing on them to enjoy a special treat. It made a big difference in their holiday as they were able to have meals, they were able to create special holiday memories, and as he was able to make and enjoy iced Christmas cookies for the first time in his life.
With over 27,000 food-challenged neighbors in Hamilton County, FeedingTeam.org provides outdoor 24/7/365 no-questions-asked free food pantries throughout Hamilton County.
Neighbors ask, “Why do this? What’s in it for you?” The answer is always the same: Serving people feeds my soul. It is a calling, not work.
There were many suppers when we as a young couple with young kids could only afford Dinty Moore beef stew and a potato for dinner. Surreal moment. This is why the pantries exist. As a typical young family, we could not always make ends meet.
Thank you for embracing the pantries. We love serving with you.
In future columns we will share more stories from neighbors about how your generosity served them in times of need. Be assured that the face of hunger in Hamilton County is not what you may think.
In practical terms, this straightforward way to help neighbors is having real impact on lives, families, and our communities. Thank you. A few meals can change the course of a person’s life. A can of green beans means so much more when you have nothing to feed your kids. Would you like to get involved? We are in the process of evaluating our next 10 pantry locations. If you think you have a potential location, please contact us.
Mark and Lisa Hall are the Founders of Feeding Team. They may be reached at lisa@feedingteam.org and mark@feedingteam.org or by calling (317) 832-1104.