Managing a Small Food Pantry is Complex

by Nina Douglass
Jeff and I have now completed the first of two weeks of covering Maureen McNair’s management of the South Bay Food Pantry. Adapting to the role has been a formidable learning experience, characterized by several distinctive stages:
​1. Denial: “How complicated can it be to manage a small food pantry?”
​2. Shock and overwhelm: The state of disbelief and numbed feelings upon reading Maureen’s voluminous, detailed (and essential) notes and completing San Diego Food Bank training.

3. Recognition: Managing this small food pantry is an extremely complex role. Examples: 

• The Feeding San Diego truck arrives 45 minutes late on Friday with 4,300 pounds of goods, just as the four volunteers were needing to leave for other responsibilities. Solution: Luckily, our fast-moving volunteers are able to stay and efficiently put it all away.
• Two other food distribution efforts are occurring on the same Saturday morning.  Will we be able to distribute all of the food we are receiving? Solution: Post a notice on NextDoor about the food pantry.  (Outcome: We had 131 households in need of food come to the pantry - the need is clearly continuing even as the pandemic’s impact wanes).
• On Friday, we estimate serving 140 households on Saturday. The truck brings 549 pounds of apples, 484 pounds of celery and 575 pounds of tomatoes. Can we really give each household 16 apples?  For every category of goods, decisions must be made. Solution: arranged for a partner food program to take any perishable food we might not be able to distribute.
• Another problematic surplus - too much bread is left over at the end of Saturday’s food distribution. What to do? Distribute it to people experiencing homelessness as part of our Sunday food distribution.​

4.  Appreciation: It is a joy to collaborate with South Bay food pantry volunteers, shoppers, FUUSD donors and with visionary Maureen McNair to address food insecurity in our South Bay neighborhood.  Thank you for your continued support of this essential service.