Volunteers are the key to vital connections
This article appears in Table to Table’s 2023 Impact Report.
T2T volunteers truly embody a passion for recovering food and delivering it to our neighbors. Along the way, they develop strong relationships with those who donate and receive the rescued food.
Two best pals who volunteer together on a weekly Saturday morning food rescue route, Cheyenne and Jasmine, chat with produce department staff when they pick up donations. They know each other by name and the employees seek this volunteer pair out each Saturday to make sure they don’t miss any food set aside for donation.
Have we mentioned Mary Palmberg? Well, we’re going to again. Mary is T2T’s longest-serving volunteer, now in her 25th year. Throughout her roles at T2T since 1998, she’s been an ambassador to our community, using every opportunity to promote and garner support for our mission. Mary builds great relationships with food donors, increasing their donations and commitment to our mission. She makes T2T deliveries memorable for recipient agencies and their volunteers, expressing sincere and heartfelt gratitude for their partnership and work.
Dina Janzen has driven T2T’s straight truck to deliver pallets of food for years. “I absolutely love connecting with the people inside the back doors of warehouses, stores, and food pantries every week,” she says. “I find it fascinating to observe how the complex systems that exist to rescue all this food are constantly adapting. My part of this system is simple, but my role feels essential.”
T2T volunteers enjoy forging global connections, too. T2T was fortunate to host Fellows of the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders through the University of Iowa’s International Institute for Business for two days this year. Fellows recovered food on routes and gleans alongside T2T volunteers and discussed the innovative work they’re doing in their own communities in countries across Africa – a great learning experience for all involved.
T2T volunteers are essential to retail food rescue, fleet prep, driving our straight truck, office work and data, gleans at farms and orchards, community outreach, free produce stands, and more! Learn how to get involved.
Program Assistant Steve Noack, known as a friendly face to greet volunteers and launch them on their food rescue routes each morning, fully retired (motivated in part by his adorable new grandson) in fall 2022. The team welcomed Gina Hudson into this part-time role in December, with the new, more-descriptive title of Dispatcher & Driver. Gina brings her volunteer experience at food banks and farm animal sanctuaries to this role that involves much communication with volunteers, food donors, and food access partner organizations. “It is a human right to have access to food and to nutritious food,” she says. “I believe this is also a crucial environmental issue by rescuing the food and keeping it out of the landfills where food becomes a substantial contributor to climate change.”
Also in summer 2022, seasonal AmeriCorps service member Lillian Poulsen developed food access education and diversity, equity, and inclusion training materials requested by food recipient partner agencies. “Supporting marginalized communities, especially in terms of better equipping volunteers and other people who want to help, drew me to this position. I’ve always been someone who’s willing to listen and wants to hear stories from others,” she says of the role.
Lisa Truong and Marquis Heard served as local produce recovery AmeriCorps members in summer 2023. Lisa took on farm, orchard, and garden glean coordination, forming relationships with new partners and coordinating at least 25 gleans during her four month term. She also transitioned the program to a regular schedule that fit farmer needs, an enhancement that increased gleaning opportunities and produce output. As a bonus, she frequently baked veggie-based desserts to share. Vegetables + Desserts = Delicious! Marquis coordinated free produce stands, setting a regular schedule for each produce stand location and helping to translate free produce stand materials. We’re so happy he is continuing his service at T2T in a yearlong term through Green Iowa AmeriCorps.
Whew! So many transitions and so many wonderful team members!
