ABSTRACT

It was 8:40 a.m. on one of those extremely cold January mornings. Kevin had unlocked the food pantry door and let the clients into the hallway even though it was not yet 9:00 a.m. He did not want them to freeze in the cold. Being a regular volunteer at the Church of St. Mary’s food pantry, Kevin knew he still had time to stock the shelves that had not been restocked by the volunteers the previous day. He was aware it would be a very busy day, and he would be unable to stock, but would have to stay at the window and serve the clients. It was the end of the month, and he knew well that most people had already exhausted their food stamps, so at this point they relied on pantries and soup kitchens for food. As one of the pantry’s clients, Kevin recognized what it meant to be in need of food to survive. He wanted to give something back to society because he had been receiving much food assistance for the past 15 years.