A call for volunteers for Paul’s Pantry

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - Founded in 1984 by the late Leo Frigo, Paul’s Pantry continues to be one of Green Bay’s most successful community service programs.

That’s due in large part to the volunteers helping serve 125 families every day.

But now, due to the pandemic, Paul’s Pantry is putting out the call for help because there’s a shortage of people donating their time.

“Our volunteers are the engine that make Paul’s Pantry go. The volunteers sorting all the food that comes in and stocking the shelves and doing all that needs to be done every day to distribute 12,000 pounds of food each day,” says Craig Robbins, Paul’s Pantry executive director.

Ideally, the pantry has a volunteer staff of 25 a day, but since the pandemic hit that number has averaged around 15.

“We understand Covid and all the fears associated with everything that’s going on, so over the last two years we’ve lost 18,000 volunteer hours,” explains Robbins.

Fewer volunteers has put additional strain on staff and current volunteers to keep operations running smoothly.

While some business, school and church groups are starting to return more regularly, Robbins says the pantry could certainly use some extra help.

“Obviously we need young people with muscle and can hustle, but we have a lot of jobs for seniors that don’t require a lot of lifting or moving around -- you can sit -- but anybody, everybody, we’re one big family, it doesn’t really matter, everybody is here to pull the cart in the same direction,” says Robbins.

Robbins says Paul’s Pantry is very flexible with volunteer hours, with some volunteers working one day a week, or even once a month.

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