Originally published in On Mission magazine. Reprinted with permission.
By Jeff Kurowski | On Mission
The value to the community of Hope Center Pantry is clear in the words of the people it serves.
“Your pantry means food in between paying bills and working to keep up. I’m so very grateful for all who volunteer at the pantry. May God bless you all.”
Lisa A
“As a Vietnam veteran, I am thankful and grateful for the food and items the Hope Center Pantry provides. Thank you.”
David B.
“I use the pantry, and I appreciate how organized it is. With my already stressed life, I know that when I go there, I’ll be able to do some laundry or get dish soap to do my dishes, and cook a few meals.”
Billie Sue W.
“Going to your pantry, you make people feel like people are human, and not people who are in need of help and afraid to ask.”
Janine A.
Pantry Leadership Structure Change
As long as the food assistance needs exist, Hope Center Pantry, located at 505 Clinton St. on Green Bay’s west side, will continue to provide groceries and hygiene items, but the leadership structure will change in 2025 and volunteers are still needed to fill three positions. Janice and Chris Clemens, members of Nativity of Our Lord Parish, Ashwaubenon, have served as directors of the Hope Center Pantry since June 1, 2021. They will be stepping down at the four-year mark.
Janice Clemens, and her husband, Chris Clemens, began serving as directors of Hope Center Pantry in June of 2021. They will step down after four years. A new structure that features nine volunteer leadership positions is being implemented. A leadership structure that includes a director and eight other positions succeeds the couple.
Succession Board Forms
“About two years ago, we got together and did a focus group,” said Janice. “We went through all the things that we do. We developed some ideas to take to the (Hope Center Board) for recommendations moving forward. One of the (focus group participants) was a businessman who recently retired. He said, ‘It’s just too much to ask all those duties of one person or one couple. How about we break it down?’” As a result, a succession board was formed to help create and fill the new volunteer positions. The Hope Center Pantry currently has 100 volunteers who serve 400 families each month, which equates to about 1,200 people.
3 Volunteer Positions to Fill
Six of the nine volunteer positions have been filled. One-year commitments are sought for the following:
- Keeping the pantry stocked
- Writing the quarterly newsletter
- Coordinating volunteers
Job descriptions created for each of the nine positions include the estimated number of weekly hours, ranging from one to 12, to complete the tasks.
“These jobs may look scary on paper, but when you actually do them, they’re easy to step into. We have step-by-step what to do. We have everything documented,” said Chris.
“By breaking it into the different positions, if someone leaves, you only have one person you need to replace, not somebody who does everything,” he said.
“We’ve tapped into our volunteers over and over again, but need to look outside that group,” said Janice.
Third Largest Food Pantry in Green Bay
Hope Center Pantry is the third largest food pantry in Brown County after Paul’s Pantry and Manna For Life. It is the former St. Patrick Food Pantry, which was founded nearly 28 years ago at St. Patrick Parish.
The pantry moved to the Hope Center, which when the facility opened in August of 2016. Janice and Chris succeeded Donna Kessler, who served as pantry director for 20 years.
Catholic Parishes Support the Pantry
The Hope Center building, which houses Hope Center Pantry and Love Life Ministry West, is supported through Catholic outreach of the west side Catholic parishes of Annunciation, St. Joseph, St. Jude, St. Patrick, St. Agnes, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and Nativity of Our Lord. Regular donations for the food pantry are provided by Annunciation, St. Agnes, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Joseph and St. Jude parishes; St. Norbert College, De Pere; and St. Matthew and Resurrection parishes, both in Allouez.
The pantry is open from 1 to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
A Reward for Volunteerism
“We will be around to guide people,” said Janice about the months before their four-year service term ends. “They can watch us do the job and then we can let them do it. I feel proud of what we can hand off.”
Chris said the reward for their volunteerism is their relationships with other volunteers and clients.
“The clients usually come the same day of the week. I know most of the people who come on Tuesdays (a regular shift he and Janice work) by name and they all know me,” he said. “If they get a new job, they tell us, “I might not need to come back.’ We say, ‘Well, you keep coming until you don’t need to.’”
“We have clients who are nonsheltered homeless, so they aren’t able to cook, freeze or refrigerate anything,” said Janice. “We took the order (of a homeless man) and he asked for pancake mix. ‘A friend let me move in, so now I can do that,’ he said. “We celebrate that with them. He can now have something more than a pop-top can of chicken or tuna that goes on crackers.
A Good Cause & Well-Run Operation
“We need to get the message out that there’s this very good cause and it’s a very well-run operation,” said Janice.
If you are interested in any of the three open volunteer leadership positions or for more information, email hopecenterpantrygb@gmail.com or call (920) 437-3356.