Sorting food for needy families
 
Sporting their "Rotarian At Work" safety vests, members of the Rotary Club of New Berlin, along with other volunteers, sorted food at the New Berlin Food Pantry on May 9. The food items were collected during the Postal Service's annual food drive.
 
Most of the food items were delivered by postal employees. Some private citizens also stopped by to drop off bags of food. Barb Jacob, assistant director, estimates that the food pantry took in 34,000 lbs. of food items. This was perhaps the largest food drive to date, "which is awesome," she says.
 
Rotarians helping out included Art Angove, Stephanie Friemoth, Tom Fuszard, Pat McLaughin, Dianne Moore and Bob Schaefer. Several Interact students, from New Berlin Eisenhower, also took part. Rotary Club of New Berlin was glad to help out for the third consecutive year.
 
New Berlin Food Pantry, Rotary Club of New Berlin, New Berlin RotaryThe food items, which were bagged and stored in postal bins, are initially set into wheeled carts. This allows the food pantry to estimate how much food (by weight) was donated. The gentleman at right keeps track as each cart is loaded. Note how full this particular postal vehicle was.
 
 
 
New Berlin Food Pantry, Rotary Club of New Berlin, New Berlin RotaryThe full carts are then rolled next to the table at left. There, volunteers empty the bagged goods into cardboard trays. When full, the trays are transferred to the middle table, where the sorting begins.
 
 
 
 
 
New Berlin Food Pantry, Rotary Club of New Berlin, New Berlin Rotary
 
 
This gives you a better perspective of the arrangement. Each bin and barrel is for a specific food item (green beans, tuna, pasta sides, boxed potato, and so forth). Food pantry staff and other volunteers, working inside the food pantry, review each item's expiration date, then shelve the products for distribution.
 
The New Berlin Food Pantry serves needy families in Brookfield, Elm Grove and New Berlin. The pantry is open only on Wednesdays. Food donations are accepted from 9:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. (Please do not donate expired food. It must be discarded.) Needy families may collect their food items from noon to 5:15 p.m. Any questions, call the food pantry at 262-789-8040.
 
Jacob expressed her appreciation for the Rotary club's help. "You did an awesome job," she said. "Thanks a lot."