. . . and help food bank balance its responsibilties

By JUDD WEIL

Staff writer

Without volunteers, Marion County Food Bank would slow to a crawl.

“It would be a long line of vehicles,” said Jane O’Connor. “It would take me 10, 15 minutes or more per car. Probably more like a half an hour if I had no volunteers.”

That delay isn’t feasible for a service that serves about 80 families weekly. That number can climb to 120 or more depending on need, O’Connor said. Holiday demand can reach 150 families.

Keeping up depends on a steady group of volunteers.

“Thursday, we had 15 people to help us,” O’Connor said. “Monday, we would have about that many. It’s 10 to 15 per session.”

Volunteers handle nearly every step from organizing food, preparing bags, and managing the system that tracks clients. This allows vehicles to move quickly through the line.

“It takes the whole rest of them to get it ready so that when people drive up we can give them food immediately,” O’Connor said.

The streamlined, drive-up model, adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic, cut wait times significantly, volunteer Gene Winkler said.

Volunteer help is just as critical behind the scenes.

When large shipments — often thousands of dollars worth of food — arrive, it takes 8 to 15 people to unload and stock the building, O’Connor said.

“Sometimes, it’s this church; sometimes it’s that church,” she said. “We put the word out, and they just come and help.”

Even with strong turnout, the need remains constant.

“We can always use volunteers,” Winkler said, noting that some longtime helpers were scaling back.

The food bank operates entirely on donations and volunteer labor, without significant government funding.

“We need time, money, and food,” O’Connor said.

For those interested in helping, organizers keep it simple.

“Just drop by and talk to Jane or Bill,” Winkler said.

Every volunteer plays a role, O’Connor said.

“If I picked one,” she said, “it would have to be everybody.”