April is National Volunteer Month, and at Food For Free, we’re excited to celebrate the incredible individuals who dedicate their time and energy to supporting our work. Volunteers are essential to our mission to improve access to fresh, nutritious food for everyone in our community. We truly couldn’t exist without the robust network of volunteers who choose to join us in the fight against hunger!
Speaking of networks, did you know that our Healthy Eats and Just Eats grocery box-packing volunteer shifts are a great way to spend time with friends, or make new ones? In this spotlight, we will share the story of Susan Sherman and Linda Mar, longtime friends, who decided to volunteer together at Food For Free.
Starting off as neighbors, Linda and Susan have been friends for decades and have lived around the corner from each other in Cambridge for close to 30 years! One night while having dinner together, Linda shared that she had been considering finding a place to volunteer at regularly since she had recently cut back on her work schedule.
“I had heard about Food For Free a while ago and became more aware of the food insecurity issues in our community, especially since the pandemic,” Linda shared with us. “Having enough food is such a basic element of being able to function every day, and it’s great for Food For Free to provide healthy options for those who need help.”
Susan was convinced to join Linda in supporting Food For Free after tagging along with her to one of her grocery box-packing shifts. “I loved the camaraderie, the mission, and the veggies,” Susan recalled.
Speaking of veggies, a fun question we sometimes ask our volunteers when they come in for a shift is, “If you were a vegetable, what would you be?” We decided to ask Susan to tell us what veggie Linda would be, and vice versa, and apparently Susan thinks that Linda would be an onion for all her intriguing layers. Linda says Susan is special and sophisticated, which brings to mind asparagus.
Currently, Susan and Linda agree that the Just Eats box-packing shift is their favorite one to participate in together. Volunteering together not only gives them an opportunity to give back to the community together, but the two also make the most of their shared time by walking to and from our Packing & Distribution Center together and getting some exercise in while catching up along the way.
We asked the friends what makes them proud about being part of the Food For Free community, and providing support to their neighbors in need was at the core of each of their responses.
“Right now, packing boxes of veggies is my favorite,” shared Susan. “Everyone is working together in such a simple way to accomplish so much. Packing pallets with big boxes of food gives one a really clear visual of how food insecure our neighbors are. I love that we can help so many families.”
Linda’s take reminds us that being a part of a bigger cause doesn’t need to feel somber. “The volunteers at Food For Free are like-minded people who want to help address a critical issue,” she explained. “Everyone is always friendly and willing to help out, but always while having fun too!”
Linda, Susan, we applaud you for your tremendous contributions that help bring access to healthy, delicious food (including onions and asparagus) for 150,000 of your neighbors across eastern Massachusetts. Thank you, Linda, for bringing Food For Free up at the dinner table that day, and thank you, Susan, for answering Linda’s call to action!
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To register to be a Food For Free volunteer, visit https://foodforfree.org/volunteer/.
