St. Johns Food Pantry, Mr. Joe Picket, 11/12/13

Our group went to St. John’s Food Pantry on Tuesday to help the pantry be ready for the people to come the next day. Wednesday’s is when people come to get their groceries from the pantry. When we visited our goal was to help out with the people who volunteer there and learn a little about what this and other food pantries do to help people. We helped by throwing away trash, and cleaning up. We also got plastic bags ready, packed cereal boxes, and stacked the bags of food so that they were ready for the next day. We also learned quite a bit abut the work that the food pantry does, and how much their work influences peoples lives. We found out that the pantry helps a larga part of NYC. We also learned that the organization does a lot of work with other schools, bigger organizations, and just local volunteers. The pantry also is only located at a church, but they serve everyone no matter what race, gender, or religion they practice. One thing the pantry cannot do is give groceries to homeless people, but they give them directions to soup kitchens nearby. Joe Spicketts talked to us about how all the money he gets for his pantry are from donations. He told us a heart-warming story about a homeless man who doesn’t have his arms and he begs on the street. He will sometimes come to the pantry and he tells Joe to reach into his pocket and take some of the money he had gained. Joe mentioned this and how many other people, from individuals to organizations, donate money for his pantry.