The Association to Meet Emergency Needs (AMEN) food pantry has been providing assistance in the Dickinson, North Dakota, area for 38 years. So, when the pantry itself recently asked for help via social media, volunteers from Marathon Petroleum Corporation’s (MPC) Dickinson renewable diesel facility quickly came forward.
“A post on Facebook showed pictures of empty shelves at the pantry, and some of our operators were talking about the post and how smart the pantry is doing in the area,” said Nick Bear, director of the pantry. Dickinson Renewable Diesel Facility. “With the network investment and using our institution’s budget, one night after work, I shopped at local retail stores and filled several shopping carts with non-perishable products.
Bear contributed about $1,000 worth of parts to the renewable energy facility to be charged in a larger worker initiative for AMEN. An on-site food drive generated more than six hundred pounds of food and other goods through direct contributions and purchases made with approximately $1,300 in money. Donations. Volunteer employees delivered all food and materials to AMEN, helped inventory shelves, and assisted consumers upon arrival.
“Every user who walks into the pantry gets a list of predetermined parts to choose from, and we’ve streamlined the buying process for them,” said Shannon DeWall, MPC’s senior coordinator of time and planning, who organized the worker’s buying process. voluntary effort. ” It was humbling to meet other people who are benefiting from the pantry. Some were regulars, but some only needed transience to recover.
For Jeff Gartner, MPC Control Systems Specialist, volunteering the opportunity to reconnect with AMEN. For several years, Gartner brought new products to its 15,000-square-foot lawn until it recently took a break from the lawn.
“Corn, cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, squash,” Gartner said. “Some years I donated around 800 of products. “
The volunteer effort also resulted in the formal submission of a $10,000 grant from the facility that had been approved in the past. DeWall emphasized how much she and other volunteers got out of the overall experience.
“We all thought we were just going to take inventory of the shelves. We didn’t know that we would have this individual time with those who wanted it,” he said. “It’s incredibly rewarding to be more informed about the effect the pantry has on the community. »
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