GUEST POST BY PETER KENT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF DAILY BREAD FOOD PANTRY, DANBURY, CT – Every few hours or so, a little reminder flag pops up on my phone that says simply “Order From Food Bank.” I set this up when originally gifted with the task of ordering from our food bank partner and was concerned about forgetting to order on time. As it turned out, no such reminders were necessary – because ordering is so much fun!
Possibly by design, the process is similar to ordering groceries online. Except that we are ordering for 300+ families from a quirky store that may or may not have much to choose from. And doing it twice per week.
But that doesn’t quite capture the experience. In reality, it’s more like some madcap game of Hungry Hungry Hippos, played against rival food pantries dotted around the state. There’s only so much food to go around, after all, so you better be quick! Putting something in your basket is no guarantee it will still be available when you “check out.” The pressure is ratcheted up even further because items are often described rather cryptically (the system has no pictures), and some things are tantalizingly designated as “if available.” So exactly what you are grabbing, if you are grabbing anything at all, is not always 100% clear.
For every order, the game has several “rounds.” You can adjust your order as many times as you like within a designated ordering window, with new items appearing at seemingly random times. If you like checking your Instagram feed a hundred times a day, you’ll love this game! Adding even more excitement, the ordering window can change for all sorts of reasons. And if you haven’t ordered on time – No Food For You!
There’s a Tetris-like component, too, because everything you order has to fit on the delivery truck, and then be squeezed into the building (like many pantries, we are chronically space-constrained). Don’t spend too long thinking about that though: if you hesitate, the item may be gone!
I’ve gotten better at all this over time but, like any good game, there is an element of luck. Log in at exactly the right time, and you can score big time. Delay by five minutes and you are filling the truck with rutabaga, refreshing your screen every second like a demented five-year-old, hoping against hope that some more desirable things are added before your ordering window slams shut.
No matter how hard you play, once in a while you’ll have a bad day. Even the best of us can’t bat a thousand. That’s when your usually supportive fellow volunteers show their true colors. Mixing sports metaphors somewhat, Monday morning quarterbacking abounds. Suddenly, everyone’s a Hungry Hungry Hippos expert.
Of course, any worthwhile game needs new features to keep things fresh. For 2023, there are charges for many items that were previously free. Should you spring for twenty cases of expensive Cheerios, or keep your fingers crossed that you’ll hit the food-drive jackpot before the next delivery? Only you can decide, and the clock is ticking!
Peter started volunteering at the Daily Bread Food Pantry in Danbury, CT, shortly before the Covid pandemic. He is a former corporate lawyer and is working on developing his experiences running Daily Bread into a sitcom.
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