Opening the Door to New Opportunities
A family of six stumbles into the door of The Open Door Pantry to get their groceries for the month. A mother struggles to get her children together while checking in with staff. The staff members point the children to a colorful nook of free books and a variety toys. The mother then calmly chats with the staff telling any confidential issues the family has or small talk about how the last month has been. Once her check-in is finished, the mother goes into the food pantry where she picks out the food her family needs for the month. She is helped by a personal shopper to help bag, weigh, and choose the best products for the specific family. Every Wednesday night since I was fourteen years old, I volunteered as one of these staff members where I dedicated time to help families in need. It was an amazing experience to know I was helping these people. According to The Open Door Pantry website, their mission is “A fresh approach to ending local hunger through access to healthy food.” The pantry stands by this mission by providing easy access to food and many other resources.
The Open Door Pantry started out as just a small food shelf in Eagan, but it has become so much more. There are now two locations in Lakeville, Minnesota and Eagan, Minnesota, but they help the cities anywhere in between. The Pantry is so dedicated to its clients that it now brings the food to them if they do not have a way to get there with the Mobile Pantry. Another new food program
offered is the Garden to Table initiative. This program is all about clients growing their own fresh food. The Open Door Pantry has started over 140 community garden plots which are free for the clients to use at anytime. The Open Door Pantry is all about helping feed our community, but they help much more than just their clients. Often times, a person will come in desperate for food without an appointment or even being a client, when this happens the staff is trained to give the people a bag packed full of variety of healthy food and tons of information on becoming an official client. Once a new client has their first meeting and gets into our system, they have access to all our food programs and services unrelated to food.
The Pantry is not limited to food, in fact, it is much more. The Open Door helps change lives with providing economic help, introducing family services, and referring social work agencies. Trained volunteers sit down with clients to review confidential information including income and issues within the family. The main purpose of these services are to minimize poverty, and stop crisis situations in the community. I have brought clients to tears showing them all the monetary assistance and family support programs the Pantry can provide. I asked a client about how the additional services had helped her, and she responded by saying, “Before coming to the Pantry, I had no idea all the aid available to me. The services here helped get my family out of very hard times. I do not know where we would be without this place.”
The Open Door Pantry is a great place for families who are struggling economically. The support provided by the workers and volunteers can change lives. I have loved having the opportunity to be apart of something so life-altering for people. The Pantry is always a happy place to be. Clients and volunteers build relationships overtime from visit to visit, and it makes visiting the pantry a joyful thing. It is hard to capture in words the cheerfulness and gratitude the food shelf brings to people, but no one explained it better to me than Lilly. A little girl, called Lilly for confidentiality reasons, walked into the Pantry one night with her family while I was volunteering wearing a birthday tierra and a huge smile. I chatted with the family while checking them in, specifically with the birthday girl. Lilly told me she was so excited to be at the Open Door Pantry on her fifth birthday, so she could pick out a free book. I smiled and nodded her over to the free books where she searched for the best option. I continued shopping with her parents who proudly glanced over at their smiling daughter from time-to-time. Once we packed and weighed all the food, I had the family wait in the check-in room with other staff. I discreetly snuck into the storage room where I picked out a princess birthday bag filled with toys, candy, and other items a five year old girl would dream about. Schools and churches often donated toys and treats which we use to make children's birthday bags. As I walked up to the family, birthday bag in hand, Lilly’s eyes lit up and her smile became contagious. I started handing her the bag, but before the bag left my hand, she gave me an enormous hug. This little girl did not even know what was in the bag, but she could not contain her excitement about it. Lilly continued to thank me, and even said it was her best birthday ever. I could not help but smile to see how happy I made this family, especially this little girl.
It is a dream of mine to help families just like Lilly’s for a career when I am older. I aspire to be a financial advisor for a non-profit company someday. Being a volunteer at The Open Door Pantry has opened my eyes to an occupation like this. It is so rewarding to know you have positively impacted someone else's life. Having a salary to do so is just the cherry on top. Jack Wolf, an employee I closely worked with at the Pantry, talked about working for The Pantry and said, “I used to be a volunteer, so when I saw a position open I knew I needed to apply. I would be getting paid to do something I already wanted to do.” I agree with Jack. I see myself flourishing in a position that brings business and helping others together.
Personal shoppers quickly and efficiently help clients get their food, and get out the door.
The Open Door Pantry 2015
Clients have their choice from many healthy and delicious options.
The Open Door Pantry 2015