By Helen Hollyer

Over the past quarter of a century, food has been distributed to those in need at several short-term Creswell locations, each with drawbacks and limitations, but now at last, Community Food for Creswell (CFFC) has a clean, convenient, long-term location with a 10-year lease in part of the Creswell VFW hall.

Not only is the bright and inviting new site much better suited for food distribution, the generous VFW members, most visibly Post #4093 Commander Larry Dukes, have become involved in providing not only an appropriate site but also their time as volunteers in helping modify the area for use as a food pantry and on an ongoing basis as pantry volunteers.

The benefits may well extend in both directions because it is possible that the dwindling ranks of Creswell VFW Post members will again swell as food recipients who are themselves military veterans become aware of the benefits of joining that organization.

The new location facilitates cleanliness and food safety, promotes efficient and safe receipt of food (especially by minimizing strain on volunteer backs) and includes new areas for extra food storage, food repackaging, record maintenance and cleaning supplies.

Community Food for Creswell's board members expect all but $300 to $400 of the relocation costs to be paid for from donations, in-kind services and grants, including a $2,000 grant from Food for Lane County.

Jeremy Cooper, owner of Sprinter Electric, discounted the largest cost, electrical installation services.

"This was important to me," said Cooper, "I remember my parents taking me to a food pantry when I was young."

A 2010-2011 request to the Oregon Food Bank to pay the balance of the discounted electrical installation services invoice, and a grant request for concrete to construct a weather-impervious slab along the southeast side of the VFW building remain to be realized.

The perishable food program has been integrated in CFFC, that is, for the first time, the same site is being used to distribute emergency food boxes to income-qualified recipients on the first and third Thursdays of the month and unused perishable food on the second, fourth and fifth Thursdays.

No longer must food recipients wait outside in inclement weather to pick up food items, now they are able to relax and chat in a reception area inside the hall while waiting, and then walk down a center aisle to select from non-perishable items displayed on grocery shelving donated by Ray's Food Place, frozen items from a donated chest freezer that replaced ice chests and perishable food clearly visible inside a three-door glass-fronted display refrigerator given by Jan and Don Grousbeck.

The donated equipment makes food distribution safer, cleaner and more space efficient.

In late July or early August, the VFW parking lot is scheduled to be repaved, and a cement slab is to be poured along the southeast side of the hall. The old awning is to be re-installed over the patio area, with outdoor tables to be positioned there.

An Eagle Scout project to repaint the VFW hall exterior is planned later in August.

When the projected improvements have been completed, CFC plans to hold a celebration of the new pantry, in hopes of boosting both the numbers of clients and community support – financial and in-kind.

Those cash, services and in-kind donations, plus hundreds of hours of volunteer time, awed Kara Smith, head of Agency Relations for Food for Lane County, as she watched volunteers carry boxes of emergency food to recipients' vehicles.

"Our system in Oregon is completely different than those in other states," Smith commented. "Oregon has one central food bank, 20 regional food banks, 29 local pantries and numerous meal sites. Food for Lane County, now in its 25th year, is one of the largest food banks in the state.

"FFLC distributes more than seven million pounds of food per year, most of it donated," Smith continued. "The FFLC warehouse has rows and rows of shelved food, and only the last row is USDA-provided surplus food. The remainder is purchased or donated, and at least 60 percent is from the generosity of Lane County donors."

CFFC Director Jenny Carmichael said that the generosity of the Creswell community has to be experienced to be believed. She cites a recent instance when gravel was needed for placement in front of the door at the VFW hall to prevent mud and dust issues when food is being unloaded and people were entering and exiting the pantry.

"I called Nathan Marple at 8 a.m. and told him what I needed and by 8:30 a.m. he had arrived at the VFW with two loads of gravel that he spread," she said. "That kind of instant, unselfish response brings tears to my eyes."

Carmichael said that the most critical need presently is for additional volunteers to double the hours the pantry is open from twice a month to four times a month. Donations of laundry detergent, personal hygiene items and diapers are also very appreciated.

"I want to show them the face of Jesus, and that people care. Many people go through a down time in their lives, especially now in this economic climate, and we're here to help them," Carmichael said.

"This is just a way to stretch a really tight budget," she said. "It's the best use of scarce resources, freeing up a family's limited funds to pay rent, medical bills or other critical expenses."

Many food recipients volunteer at the pantry. Although CFFC protects the identity of food recipients, understanding that some are reluctant to talk about their situations, one who herself is a pantry volunteer was willing to discuss why she needs assistance at this point in her life.

"I qualify for this help, so where is the shame in that?" asked volunteer and food recipient DeeAnn Ewoniuk. "I consider having enough food a basic human right."

Ewoniuk works four days a week at Cascade Home Center for a total of 33 hours, just under the 36-hour limit at which she would qualify for benefits.

"It's a fact of life when you work in retail," she said, "the vast majority of retail is part-time without benefits."

Ewoniuk separated from her spouse 10 months ago. The sudden and unanticipated separation left her without resources.

Her employer David Christopher told her to call Pastor Norm Few at the Creswell Presbyterian Church, who told her about the Tuesday Night Friendship Dinner held in the church's fellowship hall, and about the Creswell Food Pantry.

Her friend Duane Toman referred her to Keith and Wilma Kerr, who had a unit in their furnished triplex for rent. The Kerrs invited her to move right in, and took payments toward the deposit.

"I grew up in a small mill town in Washington where I knew everyone," Ewoniuk said. "I'd worked four years at the hardware store and knew a lot of people. It's really made me feel good about basic human kindness.

"I don't own a vehicle and walk everywhere, but lots of people pull over and offer me a ride," she said. "I say ‘hello' to people on the sidewalk and almost everyone responds."

When Ewoniuk got three boxes of emergency food from the Creswell Food Pantry in September shortly after her separation, one of her store customers was there and offered her a ride home. She didn't go again until December or January when she needed additional assistance.

"I read in the newspaper that they were asking for volunteers," she said. "I wanted to give back to this group that had helped me, so I began volunteering in May. I had driven for Meals on Wheels in Washington for two years.

"Part of why I decided to volunteer was because I'm a retired RN. My last job was facilitating caregiver reviews for group hospice nurses. Volunteering was an opportunity to meet people and get out of myself… to make friends," she said. "It's good to be out and be with people."

Asked about the quality of the food offered to emergency food recipients, Ewoniuk said some nutritional values could be better and some of the perishables were no longer edible.

"For the client that might feel ashamed or embarrassed about needing food assistance," she said, "they might feel insulted or despair because they're being offered food that is no longer palatable or even healthful. However, there are always plenty of canned soups and vegetables, rice, pasta and beans.

She told of asking a client accompanied by five children if she wanted certain items, to be told, "Honey, I have $4 left on my food stamps, I'll take whatever you can give me."

Carmichael hopes that the new facility will help CFFC assure quality produce, more food variety and serve more people.

"That's what this pantry is here to do," she said, "and we're committed to doing that.

CFFC's new site and the quality of volunteerism and donations involved to get there is testimony to the kind of community Creswell is. People here care about one another and it shows."

Anyone interested in volunteering for the pantry or donating to its work can contact Jenny Carmichael at 541-729-4793 or at PO Box 351, Creswell OR 97426.