On my first day as a Cambridge Pantry food volunteer, I felt very much appreciated; thanks to everyone who sent food. I was grateful to be there.

There was a ton of work to do and a room full of kind, welcoming (and helpful) people working very hard to do it.

I got a real workout, and my leg and back are protesting. It was well worth it. We packed nearly 70 bags of food for tomorrow and the weekend for children.

It was very important for me to be there and see the life of a good pantry from the inside. When I write about it, I’ll have a natural feeling for the place, which is central to many people’s lives.

Because of you, we had much to send them, including what they most wanted and needed. I want to keep that up.

I was where I belonged; the pantry is a world of good-hearted people who have compassion for people who fight for their families’ health and well-being. For many of the people I talk with, this is not something they ever expected.

I can’t think of anything more potent than helping children get enough to eat.

This was cleansing and uplifting; doing good lifts me high, just like the volunteers all around me. It’s so much better to help people rather than argue with them.

The Pantry kitchen.

 I can’t thank the Army Of Good enough for their support and generosity.

It is taking hold; I can feel it.  Today, the food of the day was toothpaste; tomorrow, it will be baked beans, then Prego sauce and Luv diapers.

I’m learning that almost immediately after food arrives, it leaves. More people than ever are struggling to feed their families and depend on others to help them.

The pantry exists on the edge. There is little left over, and funding is drying up. Everyone was overwhelmed by the Army of Good and what they had already done.

There is no rest for the weary here, no point at which there is no worry.

While corporations and politicians get richer and richer, working-class families and the poor get poorer and hungrier.

The people at this pantry are passionately determined to feed every person who comes through the door with good food to sustain themselves and their families through hard times.

There is no drama, just a great need to help. If you’d like an early jump on the beans, you can go here.

 Eddie is the first friend I made as a volunteer at the Cambridge Food Pantry; Sara, the Pantry Executive Director, is my phone pal; we text every day at least once.

Eddie, me, and a half-dozen volunteers were preparing nearly 70 “backpack” food packages for the children of families who come to the pantry for food they can no longer afford to buy.

He is a good man.

It took us nearly three hours to pack the backpacks, and fortunately, the other volunteers were there to teach me and remind me of what was to go into each bag.

There were apples, soups, powdered food, snacks, milk containers, and a dozen items to be squeezed into plastic bags; the number of children getting a pack and an ID number – no names.

Each Thursday, volunteers gather in the morning to prepare the snacks delivered to the town’s only central school in the afternoon. I’m one of them now.

As expected, the volunteers are friendly and dedicated. I was reminded that the world is not full of angry people on social media. Lots of people are out there doing good.

The regulars also reminded me that these packs would be used throughout the weekend, and we ensured these kids got enough to get them through.

Other volunteers brought out fresh supplies as we filled our packs. I was tired and happy. This gives my life real meaning, even more than grammar.

One of the volunteers asked me about the blog and if I would come back again. Every Thursday, I said, count on me. The morning was a good workout for my new brace.

Eddie is one of those angels who appears out of nowhere as a vital volunteer.  The others worked quietly and steadily.

Eddie unpacks boxes and tracks all the food and where it is. He is an eloquent spokesman for the pantry. “I grew up on a farm,”  he said, “and we never ran out of food to eat or went to bed hungry.”

Today, he said, it was very different.

He said the idea of children not having enough food torments him. He works hard (without pay) to organize the food at the pantry and make sure it’s ready for distribution; I saw how difficult and complex a job it is.

Sara is concerned that the state legislature will cut their financial support for the backpack by as much as a third. That would be a hard blow.

Sara, the pantry’s new director, has got Maria’s energy level. She never stops.

Eddie told me she was out repairing a truck the other morning. She never stops moving and is determined to broaden the support for the pantry; she says the need is enormous and vital to many families. She was skillful and drew me in.

I spoke on the phone to one pantry customer who told me about his struggle to feed his family healthy and filling food. “I work two jobs,” he said, “I have three children; I just can’t keep up. No matter what I earn, things cost more. These people are angels.”

Another load of boxes came into the pantry today; it’s taken hold with the Army Of Good. Blessings to them. Amy from Green Bay wrote that beautiful message from Helen Keller; it was in one of today’s box deliveries (today below)

There are boxes all over the pantry; food comes in from all over the place, thanks to the Army Of Good and others, food that is desperately needed.

After the backpack boxes, there is lots of cleanup to do.

The pantry ran out of microwave popcorn last week and put out an SOS – parents and kids missed it. The good people of the Army of Good sent a truckload, and everyone at the pantry who wants to have microwave popcorn this weekend will thank you. It was a pretty sight.

Inside of a backpack for children.