In every community, nonprofit organizations help to ensure our neighbors have life’s essentials — food, clothing and housing. And, at the heart of most nonprofits are volunteers, people who want to give back to their community and help others.
Mission Nutrition, a food resource for families and older adults within the DeForest Area School District, relies on those who give their time and talent to help sort, pack and distribute food to clients. Many find the work satisfying for a number of reasons, including Kristin Polywacz, who has volunteered with Mission Nutrition for about a year. She learned about the need for help at the pantry from an article in the DeForest newspaper, she said, and was drawn to the work because it “is solving a very tangible need in the community.”
Polywacz also expressed a sense of helping to right a social injustice.
“In a country where we have an abundance of food, the fact that we still have two groups — people who have food and people who really struggle to have food — is just unacceptable,” Polywacz said. “So to me, that’s a really great organization to be a part of.”
Polywacz’s employer, Quartz, supports their staff’s desire to volunteer, offering time off to lend a hand in their local communities, she added.
The volunteer experience has been rewarding in other ways, as well, Polywacz said.
“It’s almost like a community inside a community. I think Joann [Breggeman] has done a good job building something strong,” she said about the food pantry director.
The volunteers see the results of their efforts as they deliver boxes of food to families who drive up to Mission Nutrition on Tuesdays. Polywacz said she didn’t realize families received such a variety.
“Everyone knows about the non-perishables, but families get milk, eggs and meat,” she added.
She also likes that the work takes her out of her routine and allows her to interact with people she otherwise might never meet.
“Everyone is so focussed on what they’re doing, but they’re having fun,” she said.
Breggeman, too, said the volunteers make connections and build friendships. A core group of about 15-17 committed, steady volunteers help on Tuesdays and Fridays, when senior shopping is offered at the pantry. Usually the weekly roster includes about 50 to 60 people, Breggeman said, many of whom sign up just occasionally.
Among others who may just show up once in a while are high school students putting in community service hours.
“It’s fun to talk to them and hear what’s going on in their lives,” Polywacz said. “You see these light bulb moments… there’s such a need and everyone feels it.”
On pick-up days the first four Tuesdays of the month, lines of cars arrive at the DeForest Towne Center where volunteers provide traffic control. Breggeman said the pantry serves more than 700 unique families, some who come just once a month, though the numbers fluctuate around the holidays.
“There’s always a need. We have never not had a line,” Breggeman said.
Mission Nutrition rents a small space at the shopping center, so food that comes is packed up to distribute quickly.
Polywacz volunteers just two hours at a time and says it goes by quickly, calling it a “nice boost of energy.” The folks helping out sort and put food on the shelves, or pack the boxes to be distributed to the families.
Her schedule with Mission Nutrition also allows her time to spend on other community projects, such as the Yahara River Cleanup, she said.
Mission Nutrition is looking for volunteers. Those interested can visit the website, https://www.missionnutritiondeforest.org . In addition monetary donations are accepted and help to purchase needed food items. Community members can donate nonperishable items on site at 691 S. Main St. in DeForest.
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