For more than 30 years, residents of Dyersville and some of its surrounding communities who may have been experiencing some temporary hardships benefited from the voluntary efforts of Cookie (Mary Sandra) Schermann at the Rural Community Food Pantry.
Whether to help put food on a family’s table or perhaps provide gifts for a family’s children at Christmas time, Schermann has been its driving force. Those duties will soon shift, as Schermann is stepping down from the role.
Mickey Kelchen, who has volunteered with Schermann the past 10 years with the Pantry, heaped praise on its founder. “Over 30 years ago Cookie saw there was a great need in our community to help families and other citizens put food on their tables. What started out as a program to help a few citizens turned into a project that feeds many. Cookie did not stop with helping provide food for the needy, she also developed the Angel Tree program to help needy families provide gifts for the children at Christmas.”
According to Kelchen, Schermann ordered the food for the pantry from local grocery stores and would sometimes go into Dubuque two or three times a week to purchase food from the food bank. In addition, last year 370 children received gifts and more than 260 individuals and families received food boxes for Christmas.
“She is the backbone of the Pantry,” Kelchen said. “She leads by example, and she never judges or questions the need. She stresses you can never judge someone by outside appearance and that it is very important to respect the confidentiality of the people in need. You cannot judge anyone without walking in their shoes.”
Kelchen added, “Cookie’s retirement will have a great impact on the Pantry but she has worked very hard the last three years to train a group of ladies to serve the community with the same love and respect she has. Part of that training is to work with your heart and treat everyone you serve as if they were a member of your own family. Many people in the area have referred to her as our own ‘Mother Theresa.’”
While Schermann may downplay any comparison to the nun who was declared a saint in 2016, her mission at the pantry has certainly been faith-based. “Our faith calls us to ‘love one another’ and to ‘feed the hungry.’ From what I have seen these past 32 years, they go hand-in-hand. It’s been a joy to see the adults and the youth plan events to bring in food. Area parishes, schools, families and organizations have helped with food and gifts throughout the years in many different ways. The shelves in the Pantry are always ready to serve others because of caring communities.”
Kelchen is among the three women who will carry the traditions of the Pantry forward, along with Lisa Burlage and Melissa Otto.
“I see the Pantry as a bridge that brings givers and receivers together,” Schermann said. “I feel blessed that I have been able to be a part of building that bridge, along with many others.”
Of the others, Schermann commented, “I have complete confidence in these women and know they take the mission of the pantry seriously. It makes leaving my position a lot easier.”
