Food Pantry Utopia

Pretty soon, I will return this blog to the practical information some of you are looking for.  (I actually have a post in the works about how we source our food.  Stay tuned for that.)

Lately, however, I have had to contemplate what our pantry should look.  We are in the midst of restructuring our leadership team.   Mainly, I am trying to farm out chunks of the jobs my partner and I do to lessen our time commitments.  When we started this endeavor, we were serving less than 10 families each week.  We are now averaging close to 40 every week, and we've been on a upswing since October.  So, in the name of sustainable ministry and sustainable personal commitments, we are restructuring.

Today, as I was thinking over possible ways to divide the labor, I realized how little time is actually currently spent doing what we need to be doing.  Honestly, the typical volunteer led pantry such as ours simply does not have enough time, or enough committed and trained volunteers, to make such a vision happen.
Our time is largely spent in food acquisition, volunteer recruitment and retention, and administration. We carve out what time we can for relationship building, but there just isn't enough time to do it adequately.

In an ideal food pantry, here's what I would like to see:


Paid leadership
We are human.  Unpaid ministry is distinct calling and a spiritual discipline.  It is also very hard to maintain and easy to walk away from.  Paying at least one full time ministry leader, if not also one or two part time support staff members, will help keep leadership consistent.  People won't leave for need of money, and they will also have a better sense of their value, authority, and leadership.  These attributes will help with some of the tougher stuff when it comes to counseling and advocacy.  (And speaking of the tough stuff, if you pay someone to lead a ministry, you also can be more highly selective in finding a leader. You can expect certain skills and a level of education and experience to make these things happen.)
This wouldn't necessarily be a full time food pantry focused position, but perhaps a community minister, neighborhood advocate, or some other more encompassing position.


Relationship Building
Our pantry works in this arena, but certainly has much room to improve.
Learning why someone is coming to the pantry, and understanding root causes, is the first step in moving them out of the system and into a more sustainable place.


Focused Individual Development
Once root causes are determined, have resources in place to help someone turn their situation around.  There is no one size fits all program.  It might include financial counseling, job skills training, nutritional counselling, life skill coaching, etc..  It might involve some personal and spiritual counseling to help face the brokenness that lots of people we meet carry around, and that gets in their way of moving forward.
While your paid leader should be expected to have expertise in one or more of these areas to make this happen, they can't do it all.  Meaningful connections with professionals and experts are needed.


Volunteer and Job Opportunities
This is a natural extension of focused individual development.  Once someone is known, finding their place in making the system work is key.  If there are paid assistant jobs, trying to fill them with those who came through the pantry is ideal.
Eventually, your team should be filled out with a variety of current and former food pantry recipients.
Not only do they bring a different perspective to the process, but the appreciate the importance of keeping things going.  For those who need it, this also offers a chance for some skill development and resume building.
A couple of our key volunteers are also food recipients.  The best part of this is that they not only understand the system a different way, but know some of the people in line from a different angle. They can help us catch things (both good and bad) that we might otherwise miss.


Advocacy
If someone comes to a pantry, it's a flag to deeper issues.
Focused individual development will address those issues which are personal.
However, there are many causes which are societal.  For most people, there will be a combination of these two things, though the balance between the two may be different.
If you see patterns of issues that affect multiple guests, it's time organize with them and act.
Is there a lack of public transportation, keeping people from reaching better paying jobs?   Create a group of those affected and work together to advocate for change.
Is there one employer from whom you see many pantry guests?  Can you help gather employees along with a representative from your agency to talk to management and negotiate better wages?
Personally, right now my gut is telling me that our SSDI system has some deep systemic problems that are keeping people in poverty.  I have neither the skills nor time to address this. Higher level government advocacy and problem solving are sometimes needed.


Ongoing connection
The goal is to work with people so they can move out of this system, but it isn't to kick them out of the door so you never see them again.  If the relationship building part worked well, both sides will be invested enough to want to stay in relationship.
This is going to look different for every person.  Perhaps they will speak to groups about their experience.  Perhaps they will work with you in administration.  They may want to lead food drives at their place of business.  They might just want to meet you for a monthly cup of coffee, or be Facebook friends, or have an occasional phone chat.
Not only is this great for the individuals involved, but it also builds a large network of folks who care about your ministry and who might be available to help the next person along.



It would be a big, messy system that wouldn't fit neatly in anyone's box.  It would need to be led with flexibility, discernment, and wisdom.

For now, trying to lay a sustainable and balanced foundation is going to have to suffice for us.