“My favorite part is the smiles,” said Shawn Corder. “There are a lot of smiles.”
Corder, along with roughly 80 other volunteers, make an amazing thing happen one day each month. That amazing thing is called Ruby’s Pantry. Ruby’s Pantry is held the third Tuesday of every month at the Redwood Falls Armory. Hosted by the First Presbyterian Church, the flyer simply says, “food distribution” and “sharing the love of Christ through food.”
Lead team members, Lindsey Caraway and Sue Osborne (and 78 other people) pull it all together.
What are the requirements for Ruby’s Pantry?
Anyone who gets hungry.
“The food and other items that we receive are corporate excess”, said Caraway. “These items are not a handout. People pay a $20 cash donation and we fill up their baskets. We project how many people will be here each month, and every month is different. We have seen as many as 475 people at one event.”
The projected number for September was 216.
At about noon on the third Tuesday of each month, volunteers start trickling into the armory.
People such as Gerry Patten come to start setting up tables and chairs. Cheryl Davis is in charge of registration. Connie Benson is in charge of volunteers. Leon King is in charge of parking. It’s a pretty slick operation.
Caraway receives an e-mail about three hours before the truck comes with food. That e-mail lets her know what will be delivered in the truck at approximately 3 p.m. The distribution of food and supplies begins at 4:30 p.m.
The truck showed up in September pretty much right at 3 p.m.
There was Brooks Steffl with his own equipment and donated time to move the pallets of food from the truck into the armory. One of those pallets consisted of huge bags of fresh potatoes. Volunteers Joyce Nolting and Esther Childs, seemed to show up out of nowhere and started packaging those potatoes into donated plastic bags from Walmart for individuals to take home.
Boxes upon boxes of items were unloaded. Frozen pizza, containers of whey, beverages, meat, pickles and the like, had an individual station and a volunteer to assist.
Baskets, boxes or bins are filled. Volunteers are also there to load items into vehicles.
Many volunteers were questioned, and not one had a complaint. The volunteers range in age from preteen to over 80, and yet they all worked together with smiles simply because they enjoyed it and wanted to be a part of a good cause.
Comments from volunteers were things such as, “We just like it,” or “I like helping others” and “It makes me feel good”. Many volunteers simply said that, “It’s seeing the people”. As busy as it was in such a short period of time, there was nothing but good attitudes, fellowship and smiles.
Not only does it take great coordination to pull an event like this off monthly, it also takes some behind the scenes work also.
There is bookwork to be done, money and accounting, Facebook updates, e-mails and simply securing enough volunteers for each event.
Ruby’s Pantry is not just a Redwood Falls event. There are dozens of distribution centers in Minnesota and Wisconsin alone.
The inspiration?
Ruby A. Flodin.
According to the Web site, rubyspantry.org, “Ruby lived in Western Wisconsin for 89 years. Although she had little, she always shared what she had with others. She had a large garden that was grown in the most sandy soil you have ever seen. But God always blessed Ruby with a great harvest. She could also be found picking wild blueberries and other berries that she would can and freeze. Although not blessed financially, Ruby was rich because she always had enough to share.
“She truly was the example of someone who realized that if you only have enough for yourself you don’t have enough. If she had a dollar in her purse, she’d give you two.”
Her legacy lives on.
Ruby’s Pantry is always looking for volunteers to assist. One can volunteer every month, but it’s not a requirement. All help is appreciated.
For more information about participating in the program or to volunteer, e-mail:rubysredwoodfalls@gmail.com, visit www.rubyspantry.org or view their Facebook page at Ruby’s Pantry Redwood Falls. The next Ruby’s Pantry distribution event is this Tuesday (Nov. 15) from 4:30-6 p.m. at the National Guard Armory in Redwood Falls.
