By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

A four-pack of toilet paper. That is one thing that Family Network of Wyoming volunteer Phyllis VanderSloot would love to see each of the organization’s clients walk out with.

“They get one roll of toilet paper for the whole month,” the Byron Center resident said, adding who can last a whole month with one role of toilet paper?

And while the shelves of the Family Network food pantry are well stocked of food items and the freezers, thanks to area businesses, are full, the personal care items like toilet paper, barely at times take up half of a shelf. So the toilet paper is handed out sparingly so as everyone who comes in can get at least a roll.

Dale Echavarria, the retiring co-executive director of Family Network of Wyoming, is the first to admit collecting food is much easier than getting personal care products.

“Unlike food items, personal care products do not have an expiration date and so they can stay on a store shelf for a longer period,” Echavarria said.

Echavarria is grateful for the community support and donations to the Family Network of Wyoming, which comes to the organization in various ways. Local organization such as SpartanNash, Car City, and Shannon Orthodontics bring much needed personal care products and food items to the pantry.

“I remember the first year that Shannon Orthodontics contacted us,” Echavarria said. “They said they had had a food fight with other area dentists and was wonder if they could drop the items off. We were expecting a few boxes and instead had a parade of stocked mini vans.”

Even those in need have contributed back, Echavarria said.

“Recently the Wyoming Wolves had a food drive bringing in more than a 1,000 cans of food,” Echavarria said. “It was moving because some of the families who gave have been or are our clients.”

What’s in a name?

Because of the name, Family Network, most people think it is a counseling center,” Echavarria said. And while there is some counseling along with a medical supply closet and a Christmas store, the main focus of Family Network is its food pantry.

The former Faith Community Christian Reformed Church at 1029 44th St. SW serves as the headquarters. The worship area is the storage room where volunteers pull items. The entrance way is where residents line up for their monthly supplies. The downstairs serves as offices, meeting area, and storage for the medical supply closet.

The main hub of activity takes place in the the worship area, where food is distributed two days a week to about 10,000 residents yearly in the Wyoming, Grandville, and Jenison areas. Residents are usually assigned a pantry to visit once a month based on where they live, Echavarria said, adding that Family Network will take a person or family in distressed and help them get connected to the right pantry.

Before distributing, the volunteers gather for a brief meeting and prayer and then Echavarria heads to the foyer to talk to the clients. He lets them know of opportunities while seeing if there is anyone new to the pantry or anyone with special needs. From there, one-by-one, the residents meet with staff and volunteers who help fill out food sheets and assist them in shopping.

It takes about a person 30 minutes to make their way from fruits/vegetables to receiving their meat items and selecting bread. Once and while there are extra items such as flowers donated by one of the stores.

“Many of the people who come through here would never have money for flowers,” said Sandy Jenkinson of Wyoming. “So it is a nice treat to be able to give them something like that.”

Taking the lead

Family Network of Wyoming is a lead pantry. Echavarria said they saw a need to streamline the process with stores to make it convenient and constant for food pick up or for trucks to drop items that can not be delivered. Family Network then reviews all the food that comes and redistributes it, providing other pantries connections to items they might not be able to get because of location, staffing, or lack of resources.

“We believe there is not a scarcity mentality, it is a team work mentality,” he said.

Nothing is wasted. Fresh produce or dated items not used at Family Network are sent to other area pantries and even items that don’t make the cut for distribution are set aside for area pig and chicken farmers to use as feed.

Always in Need: Volunteers

“I meant many of the people during a food drive,” said volunteer Burt Ponstein. “Everybody was so nice and friendly that I just called one day to see about volunteering.”

To do all that the Family Network does takes a village, so volunteers are another need for many pantries like the Family Network of Wyoming. About 43 people currently volunteer at Family Network.

“Many of us, well, we’re not 22 anymore,” Echavarria said, adding that as the current group ages out, he is concerned about filling the gaps with new volunteers.

Part of the obstacle is that Family Network of Wyoming is one of the best kept secrets in the area, Echavarria said, referring again to how people keep thinking it is a counseling center. However with a peek through its doors, Echavarria hopes people will see the good it has been doing for the past 15 years.

“We just need people to consider if they can help,” Echavarria said. “It might just be an hour or two, picking up food, helping to organize the pantry. There is something for about every skill level.”

Or it just be just dropping off some personal care products, like toilet paper, on the way to the next destination.

For those who wish to volunteer or donate, go to fntw.org.

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