Greg Nichols, who volunteers every Wednesday morning at the West Des Moines (WDM) Human Services Food Pantry often refers to himself as a religious humanist. He had a strong desire to blend the enjoyment of his retirement with something that has a deeper meaning. Volunteering at a food pantry has been an important answer.
“Food insecurity,” says Nichols, “speaks to me as something that’s damned important and that I feel good about being involved in addressing.”
Nichols, a retired senior executive from Iowa Student Loan, has been volunteering in the WDM food pantry for about 2.5 years. He came to the food pantry in the wake of his appointment to City of West Des Moines’ Human Services advisory board. “To be an effective board member, I felt a need to be ‘hands-on’ with what the Board supports. I wanted to get involved in something where I could help mitigate a basic need.”
The WDM pantry has long served all residents, But Nichols has seen the need grow to meet more cultural and dietary preferences and make their space accessible to those when English is a second language. He sees the food pantry as a valuable resource in helping these families meet their specific dietary needs in a better way than the “one-size fits all” approach you might find at a congregate meal site or other programs available during times of peak need – like the summer months. “I feel so good every time I volunteer,” he says, especially when he sees clients leaving with everything they needed to get.”
As Nichols has seen more clients visiting the food pantry, there are often reminders of the many barriers that exist outside our four walls beyond just food. In the small interactions each day, It’s clear for volunteers like Nichols how many are struggling to meet some of their most basic needs like housing, utilities, and transportation.
To be an effective board member, I felt a need to be ‘hands-on’ with what the Board supports. I wanted to get involved in something where I could help mitigate a basic need.
He’s always taken aback when someone says “No, I don’t want eggs or milk because I don’t have a refrigerator.” More than once, he’s helped take food out to the parking lot, only to realize the client is living in their car. And likewise, clients who have no car to load into, but are packing their supplies in suitcases and leaving on foot. “Every one of those is memorable,” says Nichols, with a sigh. “Every single one.”
Nichols had spent much of his career helping people in need make the best use of the available resources, so a food pantry seemed ideal. He liked the idea that the WDM food pantry is a kind of “one-stop shop.” With the purchasing power DMARC provides, pantry partners like WDM can expand on the options that are available outside of the food provided by DMARC at no-cost. This partnership allows pantry partners to offer a 3-day supply of food pantry staples whenever someone visits. In addition to providing much-needed healthy foods, the WDM pantry stocks clothing and personal items like toilet paper, toothpaste, hygiene products, and diapers that can’t be purchased with food stamps. As a volunteer, Nichols sees every client as unique and that leads to some particularly positive memories as well. In a way, every aspect of volunteering for the food pantry is memorable, “not just because you’re doing something good — which you are – but because, after spending a morning with people with real problems, I know how lucky I am.”
