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Community Corner

A Servant's Heart: Good Eats for Needy Families

Staff at this Melrose food pantry are choosy about what they stock—including Jif.

Joan Dean is on a mission: She wants to make sure that every can or box of food that comes through is properly vetted so it's not past the expiration date.

“Do you know I have to turn away almost 20 percent of donations because they’re old? Isn’t that too bad? People mean well, but they don’t always check the dates,” said Dean, a Melrose native who opened the pantry 16 years ago in the vestry of the on Franklin Street.

She turns to a volunteer. “What was the date on the can we saw today?”

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“It was 2005,” said Dan Leggiero, a Melrose resident and student at St. John’s Prep, who was spending Saturday morning organizing inventory.

“A person could get sick,” Dean sighs.  

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Every month, A Servant’s Heart supplies 150 families from 14 communities with unexpired, non-perishable food. Sixty families are from Melrose. Lately there are many newly needy, formerly middle-income people who’ve lost their livelihoods to the downturn. Others need something until their monthly food stamps renew.

Dean’s got quite a system. Her process of collecting, sorting, labeling, and stocking food marries military efficiency with grandmotherly warmth. She’s a dynamo in white sneakers, patiently instructing volunteers, many of whom are first-timers, in the basics of food in, food out. (She moves so quickly, Melrose Patch had trouble getting a photo of her in focus.)

Here’s how it works: After it is collected from individuals and area businesses, food is sorted, by category, and placed onto long lunch tables. Cans and boxes are overturned to display expiration dates, which are marked in thick black magic marker; dates are inked on the items’ tops and sides. Then food is stacked by date, with newest in back—just as in the supermarket—so when registered pantry beneficiaries come in, they can select food knowing it is good to go.

Food that isn't placed on the shelves is put into take-away bags containing oft-requested foodstuffs like peanut butter, mac and cheese, soup, chili, ketchup, mayonnaise, Hamburger Helper, instant mashed potatoes, and rice.  

But that's not enough for Dean: She urges people to donate canned white chicken meat, ham, and tuna. "People go for anything high-protein." She added, "And Spam. We go through lots of Spam, believe it or not."

That's a lot of comfort food, an observer said.

“Yes,” said Dean. Stressed out and hungry, people who visit the pantry want rib-sticking, easy-to-make food. 

Melrose Patch was about to ask about the oddest item donated, but we may have come across it ourselves while unpacking a box from this spring’s food drive coordinated by the local veterans’ organization: a can of Raid.

But there’s a place for it. The pantry offers many non-food items because people on a strict budget often either don't buy or are inclined to stretch household and personal care items. Also, food stamps don't cover them. So a visit to A Servant's Heart might turn up items ranging  from dishwashing liquid to paper towels, deodorants, shaving cream and, well, Raid.

A meeting place

It's clear that A Servant’s Heart, one of two food pantries in Melrose (the other, Pantry of Hope, is at the on Main Street), is as much a visitors’ center as it is a pantry. Many stop by either to say hello or to help. That's everyone from Boy Scouts to volunteers from , which partners with A Servant’s Heart to keep things humming. Recently children from the Shalom School, of on East Foster Street, helped out (“See the beautiful poster they made us?” said Dean), as did Leigh Waaramaa and her daughter Alyssa, who often contribute to operating the community dinners held every third Friday of the month.

A Servant's Heart is also well known among area business leaders. contributes much to the pantry, as do small enterprises like , which donates bread and scones.

Finally, there are the people of Melrose who, all volunteers concede, are incredibly generous. At a recent food drive held at Foodmaster, an informal count showed that most shoppers who were given flyers requesting donations left the store with an extra bag for the food banks involved. Many gave items that were officially inessential but had a feel-good appeal, such as gourmet coffee or name-brand snacks.

Daniel Leggiero said that, although his school's community service requirement had been fulfilled, he’d like to come back. “Here you have many different people from all parts of the city working together to get the job done.”

He nodded, “Yes, it’s been good.”

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