Anne Langebartels

Mary Palmberg is someone you might call a “local legend.” Many people in our community have the privilege of knowing Mary, with her energy and enthusiasm to tackle any goal and to, as she puts it, “make the most of her days.” She has worked in the University of Iowa’s Provost Office, has hosted the Helpers Email list connecting 250 volunteers with community needs, and was the Director and Volunteer Coordinator for the Free Lunch Program until 2014, helping secure its current space in the 1105 Project. She’s also been a volunteer at Table to Table since 1998, making her one of our longest-serving volunteers.

Mary’s service with T2T is remarkable for many reasons. Here are a few: 

• She can rescue any amount of food: a few weeks ago she and her volunteer partner rescued 1900 lbs. of food on one route alone! 
• We have yet to discover her limit on how many volunteer shifts she can fill in a week: so far this year, she’s clocked more than 100 shifts on food rescue routes, prepping vehicles in the shop, picking up food at the Iowa City Farmers’ Market, and distributing veggies at produce pop-ups. 
• She is the ultimate food rescue ambassador. She builds great relationships with food donors, increasing their donations and commitment to the mission. She makes T2T deliveries memorable for recipient agencies and their volunteers by delivering food with the best attitude and expressing sincere and heartfelt gratitude for their partnership and work. And she not only volunteers herself, but she brings along countless new volunteers. She uses every opportunity to promote and garner support for the mission. She truly couldn’t do more to be a better ambassador. 

Mary has kept Table to Table moving forward all these 23 years she’s been involved, certainly not least of all this last year with all of its changes and unpredictability. Her knowledge and experience in hunger relief efforts combined with her passion for serving our neighbors makes her irreplaceable at Table to Table. Mary is a true example of the impact one person can have on changing a community for the better. 

Get to know Mary

How long have you been volunteering with Table to Table?  “Since the day I retired from the University of Iowa: February 13, 1998 (and maybe even before that).”

What’s one of your favorite memories from your time volunteering with Table to Table?  “I have SO MANY favorite memories … but a unique one was doing a route in the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.”

What is one thing you would tell new T2T volunteers when they’re first starting out?  “To be very friendly, appreciative, and helpful to the people at [food] donor sites.”

What do you wish other people knew about Table to Table, food insecurity, and food waste?  “Table to Table makes staff at [food] donor sites feel very good about their products not going to waste. T2T makes a huge difference in the budgets and food offerings of its recipient partners.” [She’s right! The food T2T delivers would cost partners hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase. And T2T-rescued food accounts for 60% of the food most pantries in Johnson County distribute.]

What is one of your favorite food memories?  “Georgia Mud Fudge Blizzards made with chocolate DQ—shared with my T2T partner Nancy Weber after most of our Tuesday morning T2T routes during the Riverside Drive Dairy Queen’s season.”  

One thing that would surprise someone to learn about me is…  “I biked from ocean-to-ocean across the U.S. twice (in 2000, Virginia to Oregon; and in 2003, California to Florida), and the length of the Mississippi River twice (in 1999 south from St. Paul to New Orleans; and in 2007 from New Orleans to Lake Itasca) on trips with small groups of cyclists.”

Jim Bradbury and Jeff Knox are the perfect “pear!” (Literally, they were the original recipients of Table to Table’s “Quite the ‘Pear'” award, bestowed upon route volunteer duos that make an incredible team.) These two have been volunteering together at Table to Table for five years.  As the story goes, back in 2016 a friend told Jeff that volunteering at T2T is a lot of fun.  Jeff talked his friend Jim into volunteering with him, and the two have been volunteering together ever since.  

If we ever wanted to convince people that rescuing food is not only important but also can be a whole lot of fun, these are two of the people we’d choose to do the convincing.  T2T staff look forward to Fridays when these two come in for their route because they will undoubtedly bring lots of laughs and smiles to our faces.  We are so thankful for their service and look forward to many more opportunities to smile!

A little about Jeff

What is/was your occupation?
Speech pathologist, Grant Wood AEA, Iowa City Schools, Adjunct Professor at St. Ambrose University

What’s one of your favorite memories from your time volunteering with T2T?
It’s just fun.

What do you wish other people know about T2T, food insecurity, and food waste?
It’s amazing how much food we collect, and how much food is used each week.

What are your hobbies?
Filling out surveys.  (I think he’s pulling our leg here.)

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Any flavor of ice cream

A little about Jim

What is/was your occupation?
Mechanical engineer

What’s one of your favorite memories from your time volunteering with T2T?
One time we had a full pallet of frozen chicken and were thankful that they were already boxed.  That was a 2,000 lbs. day for us!

What is one thing you would tell new T2T volunteers when they’re first starting out?
Get to know the people that you pick up food from and those you drop off to. These are really great people that want to help those that are food insecure.

What do you wish other people knew about Table to Table, food insecurity, and food waste?
The problem of food insecurity and food waste is a big deal, and what we do is important.

What are your hobbies?
Golf

What is your favorite dessert?
It always has to include chocolate cake and ice cream.

Marcia and Dan began volunteering at Table to Table in January of 2020.  They had recently moved to Iowa City from the Chicago area and were looking for a way to get involved in the community and meet new people.  Upon the recommendation of Marcia’s sister-in-law, who had previously volunteered at T2T, they gave us a call.  Since that time they both have helped out in several different ways.  

Marcia and Dan currently go on a weekly food rescue route together.  On top of that, they will pick up another route from time to time when there’s a need.  Marcia also serves on the Volunteer Engagement Committee, has lent her expertise for our volunteer training initiatives, and has helped pick up fresh garden produce donations. 

On top of the routes that Dan does with Marcia, he often answers the bell when called to sub on volunteer shifts, which include retail food rescue routes, produce pick-up routes, special distributions, and Saturday routes.  Both Dan and Marcia have helped with fresh food box distributions as well as developing policies based around infection prevention at the beginning of the pandemic.  

We sure are glad that Marcia had that conversation with her sister-in-law!

Get to know Marcia and Dan

Marcia

What is one thing you would tell new Table to Table volunteers when they’re first starting out?  I think it is helpful to understand, respect and appreciate all the people that contribute to food rescue for those in need.  Building relationships is helpful during this process.  

What do you wish other people knew about T2T and food insecurity?  Individual actions can really help someone who is in need.

One thing that would surprise someone to learn about me is…
I grew up on a farm in central Iowa with 12 siblings.  I went to a one-room schoolhouse for a couple of years before the school bus would pick us up for town school. Dan and I have lived in Texas, San Francisco Bay Area and a suburb of Chicago before moving to Iowa City.

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream (or favorite dessert)?
Chocoholic from Heyn’s

Dan

When asked about what he would share with new T2T volunteers when they’re first starting out, Dan emphasized the unique experience of partnering with a variety of other community members. It has been an unusual year working with T2T during the pandemic.  Marcia and I worked with several different [volunteer] partners when we started training.  But when we came back after T2T restarted routes last year, we have only worked together.  It was interesting getting to know some of the other volunteers while sharing a ride in the truck — I miss that.

What are your hobbies?  I am a racquetball player and a bike rider.

One thing that would surprise someone to learn about me is…
I am a three-time state champion in my division in racquetball.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you want to go?
I would like to spend a summer in Europe.

Loyal came to Table to Table because he had heard a report on NPR about how food insecurity was being exacerbated by the pandemic, and he wanted to find a way to jump in and help. Loyal started volunteering here in October of 2020 and has been busy helping out ever since, volunteering twice a week, helping out both in the shop and on food rescue routes.  In fact, on more than one occasion,  Loyal has gotten back from his route and stayed to lend a hand in the shop because he saw that we could use more help.  We are grateful for his time and talent and know that he is having a positive impact on our community.  Thanks Loyal!

Fun Facts about Loyal

What’s one of your favorite memories from your time volunteering with Table to Table?  My route partner, Eliza, and I once picked up a bit over 1,700 pounds in one trip! It’s definitely not the all-time record, but it sure stood out to me as a great morning.

What is one of your favorite food memories?

I really liked the movie It (Stephen King) when I was a kid, so when I was in the fourth grade, my mom made me a Pennywise birthday cake, complete with the clown nose, fangs, and crazy hair.

What are your hobbies?

When the weather is nice, I enjoy spending my free time geocaching, but if I’m stuck inside, you’ll probably find me crocheting.

As we wrap up volunteer appreciation month, we can’t think of a better way to express our appreciation for our fantastic volunteers than by sharing stories from their T2T volunteer shifts in April. These stories illustrate volunteers’ resourcefulness, good humor, and enthusiasm to go above and beyond in the name of food rescue. We truly could not recover nearly 2.5 million pounds of food each year without them.

Just last weekend, volunteer Michelle Hills finished her regular food rescue route collecting a few hundred pounds of food. While she was out, another volunteer called in and couldn’t do their route. Michelle noticed when she got back from her regular route that nobody had recorded any donations for that route and offered to do that one too! Without her, we may have lost the opportunity to deliver more produce, meat, and a variety of other foods to Coralville Community Pantry that morning.

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Mary Palmberg and Nancy Weber picked up a huge haul at Walmart & Costco a couple of weeks ago. Mary says, “No surprise that we barely — and only due to our years of practice — fit all that frozen bakery and (heavy) frozen meat into the cooler section [of the van].” On top of that, they received lots of whole pineapples. 

At the next stop, a couple of hundred pounds of charcoal briquettes! So, upon delivery, Mary made a deal: “We told Hải at the Coralville Pantry that she could have some of those nice pineapples if she took some charcoal briquettes…the number of pineapples dependent on the number of 20# bags of charcoal. She laughed — though she also took charcoal along with her pineapples.” 

The good-natured flexibility of our partners to accept whatever crazy variety of food (and BBQ accouterments) that arrive on the truck is key to our success. “We were amazed that we’d passed off all the charcoal — and everything else — by the end of the route,” Mary says.  

We’re impressed by the packing and sorting skills our veteran volunteers have. It’s an underrated talent that ensures no fruit is left behind!

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On another of what Mary calls an “exciting & rewarding day on the road”, it was looking like a “light” food rescue day with two carts of grocery, meat, and bakery…until a very helpful and friendly store employee, Taveon, led the team back to a cooler with towers of cabbage and bananas. So many, it warranted a call back to base to see if T2T had the capacity. After getting the affirmative, they had to do their magic again to fit everything in the van. On their way out, Mary asked about a cart of miscellaneous items including toys and Easter baskets that weren’t for sale anymore, so they took those too! Hải Huỳnh, Coralville Pantry Community Projects Coordinator, shared with the volunteers that those extra toys and gifts they asked for would be put in birthday bags for kids.  

Mary and Nancy made stops at North Liberty Pantry and HACAP Head Start and then an additional stop at Shelter House where they delivered a box of bananas and quite a few cabbages. The cook was excited about preparing the cabbages for dinner that evening.

T2T recipient partners and our volunteers are truly remarkable, and it’s clear that the admiration is mutual. Mary and Nancy return from their route celebrating their interactions with Hải: “What a super (& strong!) woman she is!” and, “She’s fantastic!”   

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Kenn & Pat Bowen, volunteers since this past September, shared photos of their beautiful haul from New Pioneer Coop. Fresh veggies and healthy prepared foods were a welcome and delightful delivery that day!

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And finally, volunteer Charlotte Fairlie passed along an impactful message she received from a community member as she was picking up food at a stop on her route just a few days ago:

“A woman rolled down her window as she was pulling out of her parking space and said,

‘I just want to thank all of you for everything you are doing and all the work you put in.  I have been in the position of having to use your services, and I want you to know how valuable it is and how much it’s appreciated.’”

As Charlotte says, “Her message is for all of us.”