Be the One – Volunteering at The People’s Pantry

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Home » Be the One – Volunteering at The People’s Pantry

IMG_3264by Samantha “Twiggy” S., Olim camper

Last week, I visited a food pantry in the basement of a church in Great Barrington called The People’s Pantry. I went with four other Olim campers and our Associate Director, Laura Gurvis.

I had never been to a food pantry before last week, so I was a little apprehensive about what to expect.

We arrived at the church at 10:00 am, and were ushered into the basement by friendly people who ran the food pantry. We brought in three tubs and many bags full of nonperishable food donated by camper families on Opening Day.

It took about 20 minutes for the five of us to unload all of the food. We inventoried everything that we had, and then sorted them onto their appropriate shelves. The people working at the food pantry and the people receiving the food were all very grateful for the massive amount of food that camp had collected, and the five of us who had helped distribute them onto the shelves.

IMG_3267 (1)This firsthand experience was very important because it allowed me to take the lessons that I learn at Eisner and bring them into the real world. I now have a better understanding of exactly where donated food goes to, and I have now seen exactly how much good even small donations can do.