White and Steele 71st Anniversary logo

September 2016 Metro Caring Volunteering Night

september-2016Thank you to Fritz Klann, Susan Portillos and Misty Faulkenberry for their volunteer time in September!  Misty and Susan worked in the marketplace assisting shoppers and keeping the shelves neat and stocked. Fritz luckily dressed warmly enough to keep the refrigerator and freezer sections stocked all night.

There are some exciting changes in the marketplace of Metro Caring! Shoppers no longer have to keep to an item limit in a section - it is a “take what you need” marketplace now. This means constant stocking of shelves and coolers all evening which means volunteers are needed more than ever!

Not only is this change in policy difficult for the shoppers to grasp but the volunteers need to remember also not to limit anyone. We encourage them to take what they need but keep in mind to keep it at about a week’s worth of groceries. Not only do they have food in abundance to be able to do this, Metro Caring now has enough money to supplement the donations by purchasing the more preferred items. They had all shoppers do a survey last month as to their most desirable foods in the marketplace, giving them a list to choose from putting in order their preference. They will use these surveys to decide what to purchase.

"It was so fun to see people’s reactions to this change, especially those that come and shop every month. They still have suggested numbers of items in each section on a shopping list at this time, and one individual said to me, "no, we like to follow the rules, it says 5 items".  I explained these were now suggestions and encouraged him to take what he needed. He was still hesitant but did take another peanut butter! Another gentleman said “you are the second person who has told me that, are you sure?” With a big smile on his face!" -Susan Portillos

"It is amazing to see a food bank that is striving to provide an experience like shopping in a regular grocery store." -Fritz Klann

"It was actually a lot of fun being able to help others. I know some of them were embarrassed and uncomfortable given the situation but I was able to talk with a few people and kind of ease the level of discomfort. I was thankful for the opportunity and look forward to it next month. Susan was also a great person to have walk me through my first time there and she definitely has a passion to help others and it is very inspiring." -Misty Faulkenberry

It was a great night! White and Steele's next volunteering night is Tuesday, October 25, 2016.  This is a great opportunity to give back to the community in an uplifting way. Come check it out!

White and Steele, P.C. logo

303-296-2828

600 17th Street
Suite 600N
Denver, CO 80202