By William Smith
Lawrence DuCharme was surrounded by hundreds of potatoes Tuesday morning inside the St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry — and he couldn’t have been happier.
Each potato will find its way to the hands of a local person in need. But that’s just a side dish. For over a century, the St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry has provided every kind of food a family could need.
DuCharme, who heads up the pantry, started volunteering for the organization about a year ago. He had retired from a long career at CNH (Case New Holland) and was looking for a way to give back.
He never imagined that a local organization like St. Vincent DePaul would have such an intricate network of volunteers. He was stunned – and impressed.
“I became very interested when I realized just how big of an operation it was and how many families it served. We’re serving people who maybe don’t have a good source of food. I felt like it was doing some good for the community,” he said.
The pantry, one of about a dozen in Burlington and the largest, exists entirely through a network of 70 volunteers. The pantry is open 1 to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday to local families who meet income requirements.
“We use the same income requirements the Food Bank of Iowa uses,” DuCharme said.
About 70 percent of the food in the pantry is purchased at cost through the Food Bank of Iowa, which supplies hundreds of other pantries across the state. The rest comes from donations or direct purchases by the pantry to fill any food gaps. Clients are allowed to get food once a month.
DuCharme puts in about 20 hours a week, and some of the other volunteers put in as much as 10 to 20 hours a week. That’s not counting all the special helpers, like the Boy Scouts.
The pantry used to operate out of the church basement but was moved upstairs to a parish building after the COVID-19 pandemic. The need for local families grows monthly and has become even more significant since the pandemic.
“Last year, we served over 7,700 families. That’s over 600 a month. Last year, we saw a continued growth of need, and this year, we’ve seen the same thing,” DuCharme said. “It looks like we’re going to have another record year.”
DuCharme moved to Burlington six years ago with his wife and three children. He was born and grew up in Wisconsin, and he worked for CNH there before taking a job at the Burlington plant in 2016.
DuCharme has the pantry running like a finely tuned automobile. A network of 70 volunteers ensures that the pantry never goes unattended. During shopping hours, about a dozen volunteers work to fill carts from tables stacked with food items. Taller stacks of food boxes sit behind the tables, allowing volunteers to re-stock the tables as they go.
“We have nine different bread teams. Their job is to every day go to the two Hy-Vee stores, pick up whatever day-old bread they’re donating. I’ve got a team of folks that come in just to help with food bank delivery. We get that twice a month, so I’ve got a team for that. I’ve got a couple of teams that pick up Walmart a couple times a week. I’ve got five different teams, one for each day of the week, for distribution. Then I’ve got a few extra individuals that help me with ordering and stocking and those types of things,” DuCharme said.
A walk-in freezer makes it possible to meet the protein demands of clients, and all clients get extra food in December — a benefit that replaces the Christmas food baskets the organization used to put together.
The joy of giving to others practically makes DuCharme giddy – but he isn’t the only one. Frank Paolo has also volunteered at the St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry for over 20 years. He still hasn’t grown tired of it.
“I got into it because one of my buddies was working here,” he said.
“It actually makes you feel good because you’re getting to be a part of the community. And when you get as old as I am, you’ve got to find things to do.”
Though he’s been at the pantry much longer, Paolo has seen the same increase in need as DuCharme. He’s just seen it growing since he arrived two decades ago.
“Instead of getting better, it’s getting worse,” he said.
Paolo is surprised to see people he knows using the food pantry. People he thought would never have to. He hasn’t had to use the pantry himself and thanks God for his good fortune.
“It just blows my mind,” he said.
DuCharme has made a few tweaks to the organization in his year as president and has enjoyed welcoming new volunteers into the food pantry.
He hopes to welcome many more. Feeding the hungry is a job that never ends — it just gets passed on. DuCharme is delighted he picked up the baton.
“It’s been very fulfilling,” he said.
The St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry on Division Street is open from 1 to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.