On-Shift: Van Driver Spotlight Part Two - Costco and St. Paul’s Parish
We’re rolling into PART TWO of our van driver spotlight! In case you missed part one (and if you did, now is a great time to go back and read it!), we met four outstanding volunteers who pick up food weekly at the New England Produce Market for Food Link. However, produce isn't the only type of food our van drivers pick up and deliver. As you will see shortly, our van drivers don’t collect just food either! This week, we will be delving into two volunteers’ journeys to pick up donations at Costco and one volunteer’s touching experience dropping off food at St. Paul's Parish.
Fostering Connections through Costco
Jay and Shane are two long-time friends who began van driving together two years ago, after Jay’s usual partner changed shifts and Jay invited Shane to join one of their heavier pickups. Having had a great time, Shane decided to become a van driver, too. For the last two years, Jay and Shane have picked up 40-50 boxes of non-perishables, produce, and other items weekly from Costco in Waltham. While Food Link’s primary mission is food rescue, Jay loves how the Costco shift allows them to gather an assortment of donations. Besides food, Jay and Shane pick up soap, shampoo, toys, pet food, housewares, and other supplies for our recipient agencies. “It’s about dignity,” Jay says. “There’s what you need to live and then what makes quality of life.”
Image Description: Photo of the back of a Food Link van overflowing with items including banana boxes, cut flowers, detergent, and a fridge. (Image Credit: Shane Bushey)
Beyond supplying Food Link with items we do not often receive from other retailers, the Costco shift also broadens our volunteers’ connections with both our food donors and recipients. “We build relationships with the store receivers,” Shane explains. The receiver at Costco Waltham sometimes sets aside specific items for Food Link, once including two pallets of backpacks full of school supplies. Over the last several years, they have also collaborated with Costco demo specialist Kyong. She regularly gives the two volunteers coffee, grateful for their hard work.
The diverse array of donations Jay and Shane collect ensures organizations receive the items that best fit their needs. On one occasion, they picked up a refrigerator with a freezer from Costco that Food Link then sent to MAAP, a local community care and advocacy organization. When Shane made the delivery, he learned that the organization previously only had coolers, so they were delighted to receive a fridge. Similarly, when Jay and Shane brought back flowers and soil from Costco, the donations were delivered to the Massachusetts Bay Veterans who were requesting flowers at that time. HRI Properties has received donated mattresses, coffee makers, soda streams, and other high-ticket items for their residents.
One of their favorite parts of the shift is showing up at Food Link with “new and weird stuff.” This once included a full-sized dollhouse that brought everyone’s creative minds together. Thanks to an idea from Mei Mei Dumplings co-founder Irene Li, who visited that week, staff and volunteers decorated the play structure with colorful fruits and vegetables. This unexpected Costco donation eventually found a home inside the Bowdoin Apartments in Malden.
Image Description: A photo of the back of a Food Link van that holds a full-sized dollhouse. (Image Credit: Shane Bushey)
Image Description: A photo of the dollhouse, now decorated with fruits and vegetables, inside the Food Link Hub.
All in all, the Costco pickups are exciting shifts that allow volunteers to build meaningful relationships with our partners and collect a variety of items for our recipient agencies. If you are interested in van driving, Jay and Shane invite you to tag along as a passenger on their trips!
Image Description: A photo of Shane with his arms spread wide and wearing a strained expression as he attempts to hold back boxes from falling out the rear of a Food Link van. (Image Credit: Shane Bushey)
Coming Together at St. Paul’s
Image Description: A photo of the inside of a Food Link van packed with produce and prepared food for Medford Community Cupboard.
We’ve discussed van driver pickup shifts, but what about deliveries? While our pickups ensure we have food and other items to give to our partner agencies, our deliveries nurture those connections. For smaller deliveries, our volunteers use their own cars, but for larger ones, Food Link vans become a necessity. Here is our volunteer van driver Stephanie’s wonderful experience dropping off food for St. Paul’s Parish:
Every Saturday morning, Stephanie delivers about fifty boxes of produce, sliced bread, dairy, and meat for St. Paul’s food pantry in Harvard Square. When she first started the shift, food pantry volunteers would help her bring the donations down to the pantry, but when volunteers became unavailable, Stephanie carried the boxes herself.
Assistance soon arrived. “As the food pantry customers–ranging from pre-teen to quite elderly–noticed this pattern, they began to help,” Stephanie retells. “Now when I arrive and greet the group, the customers look up from their reading or card games and climb the stairs to the awaiting van.”
Image Description: A photo of volunteers packing a Food Link van with boxes of lettuce and banana boxes.
Together, Stephanie and the customers bring the current week’s donations downstairs to the pantry and carry the previous week’s empty boxes upstairs to the van. “I show them which boxes are heavy and which are light,” Stephanie explains. “Some of the older guys like to show off just how strong they are by carrying two boxes, and the older ladies tease them.”
Even though not everyone speaks the same language, they are all able to communicate with one another through smiles, nods, and pointing. “For me,” Stephanie says, “it's the best feeling. I drive away knowing that all of this delicious food will be enjoyed by these kind and helpful people.”
Image Description: An overhead photo of two banana boxes with various kinds of yogurt.
Parking for Now
In this two-part blog special, you heard from seven volunteers about three different van driver shifts. From transporting over 2,000 lbs of produce a week to collecting much-needed non-food items to building relationships with our recipients, our volunteer van drivers are the true links of Food Link. We are so grateful for their time, energy, and commitment.
If you are interested in van driving, email our Volunteer Coordinator, Bridget M. If you still want to get involved but driving is not your strong suit, we encourage you to sign up for a passenger shift.
This concludes our Van Driver Spotlight, and we hope you enjoyed this feature. Special thanks to Jay, Shane, and Stephanie for sharing their stories! We’re parking this blog post for now, but we look forward to seeing you out on the road.
Image Description: A frontal view photo of a Food Link van parked at the Hub.
If you would like to volunteer at Food Link like Jay, Shane, and Stephanie, we encourage you to sign up on our Get Involved page! Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media to keep up with all Food Link news. If you have any questions, email us at info@foodlinkma.org or call us at 781-819-4225.