FILLING BELLIES AND WARMING HEARTS AT THE LOCAL FOOD PANTRY

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Sophia May. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.

Sophia May was only 7 years old when she started working at the food pantry. Now, she’s spearheading a movement. While attending church with her grandparents, the family answered the call to help create a food bank for neighbors in need. In that church’s basement, Sophia got her first taste of volunteering when she was asked to sort canned foods. She found that she enjoyed the endeavor and kept at it. The food pantry initiative soon blossomed, and they went on to move to a larger space that could accommodate the needs of more clients. Fast forward a decade, and Sophia is now 17 years old and volunteering as the assistant manager of the same food pantry, now known as the Share Food Share Love Food Pantry, a community food pantry that provides food assistance to residents of 15 villages in the western suburbs of Chicago.

The pantry owes a large part of its success to Sophia, who contributed some vital ideas to its efficiency. With her assistance, the pantry was able to increase the number of people they serve by 25% without increasing hours of operation. Not only does she sort food, manage intake and help neighbors navigate the food pantry with dignity, but she also trains other volunteers to manage tasks so the flow of work can continue more efficiently. Sophia dedicates 12 to 18 hours per month to the pantry, which is quite significant, considering her heavy workload as a high school student.

Because Sophia started volunteering at such a young age, her message to all aspiring volunteers is the reminder that anyone can volunteer, no matter their age. While there may be limitations on what they can do, there’s never a limit on whether or not one can help. Sophia says one of her favorite moments is seeing young people come in with their Scout troops or families to volunteer together. Her message is an important reminder that volunteerism doesn’t have to be limited to adults. Instead, it’s a powerful experience that can be shared by anyone.

What inspired you to get started with this initiative?

When I was younger, my grandparents and I went to a church in Brookfield, Illinois, and in 2015, there was an initiative in that church to start a food bank for our neighbors in need. We started in the basement 10 years ago. I was 7, so I couldn’t help much, but I could help sort cans. It was work that I really enjoyed doing, and work that I think is really important. So as the food pantry has continued to develop, I’ve continued to be involved in it.

What inspires you to volunteer?

I would say that there’s a lot of injustice in the world. Not just in poverty, but in other areas too. On things like hunger, it’s a very fixable problem where there is enough food produced in the world to ensure that people aren’t going hungry. However, it’s the distribution that’s often the issue, and it’s the monetary barrier. The ability that we have to help our neighbors get those resources, whether it be food or access to opportunities like job training, is really important, because if we can do something about it, why wouldn’t we?

Tell us about your volunteer role with Share Food Share Love.

I’m an assistant manager, so I help train other volunteers. I make sure things are running smoothly. If there’s an issue that needs clarification or if someone needs help in the office, I can help with that. I’ve done almost every job at the food pantry. Every day, we see somewhere between 40 to 80 neighbors and their families, so we need to make sure all of our shelves are stocked. We have people navigate around with shopping carts and we help them make sure they’re getting all the food they need. We keep track of who’s coming, how many people and the possible demand we have in the future. Then we help them load their things into their cars. That’s more of our neighbor-facing side. We have people sorting food from food drives, making sure nothing is expired or damaged, and people who come in and help clean and organize. My grandma and grandpa do a lot of the administrative work and financial stuff.

What are your long-term plans or goals for the organization?

Our long-term goal is to keep helping as many people as possible. It’s a shame that there is such a demand, but we want to be able to meet it. We have some new programs in place. We have our Families First program, which focuses on helping young women and children. We have diapers and feminine care products. We’re growing in terms of the things that we offer. We also have a resource center where we’ve slowly been training people to help our neighbors locate things like assistance with jobs, housing and medical information. We’re really just cementing ourselves as people who our neighbors can turn to in times of need when they need a little bit of support.

What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?

Honestly, the people that I meet. I’ve been volunteering with a lot of the same people for many years, and it’s been really nice to meet that group of people who all come from different experiences and have different perspectives on the world. We all come together to try and help. Also, meeting the neighbors, because it’s nice to see a change in our community. I get to see certain people who come back every month.

What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?

I’ve learned a lot about communication. I think it’s much more rewarding to go around and make sure that they’re getting what they want and what they can use for their family. Whether it’s recommending recipes that they can use for things we have an abundance of, or just making sure that the food that they’re getting is the food that they actually want. I think that’s really important, because it’s very easy to just phone it in, but actually putting effort into it makes everyone’s experience better.

Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?

As I mentioned earlier, hunger is a very approachable problem. Changing the way in which we distribute food is difficult, but not impossible. I think it’s important for people to get involved because it’s very easy to get sad or worried about the state of global issues, but it’s also very easy to volunteer a few hours every weekend and help out where you can.

Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?

Find a cause that you care about, whether that be an animal shelter, a food bank or a clothing drive. Find something that you really care about and look for places in the area. You just have to start. There’s no way to easily prepare yourself from afar. You just have to go in not knowing what to expect and try it out. Maybe you’ll like it, and maybe you won’t, but you won’t know until you try. And it’s not a terribly difficult thing to volunteer most time. It’s only a small amount of time and effort out of your day, but it can make someone else’s life a lot easier.

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Sophia? Find local volunteer opportunities.