By Jack Reidy
Ever since COVID-19 came around, food pantries have become more common and more necessary. Unfortunately, because of COVID, people have had less access to food and because of job losses, many people cannot afford to buy food. To help these issues, pantries like the George Washington pantry, White Plains High School pantry, and Centro Hispano pantry have been helping those who need food by either delivery or by letting people come and pick up the food.
The majority of the workers of these pantries have volunteered their own time to help the community. As someone who helped the George Washington and Centro Hispano pantries, I can say that it is a great feeling to know how much you have helped others. The way these pantries work can differ from one another. For some pantries, like the George Washington one, the school would get many different cans and others items of food. Then, when the volunteers arrived, they would grab tables, get bags, and start filling each bag with a specific amount of canned food followed by something else. The food would be brought to the bus circle and either someone would pick it up and take it to their home, or it would be delivered to them by someone working at the pantry. The Centro Hispano pantry worked in a similar way: many people would come with bags or carts and line up to receive food and sometimes toys for kids.
After working at both these pantries, I can confirm that you will feel happier after helping people in need. I gained a heartwarming feeling seeing people smile after getting their food or when a kid got to take home a toy. If there is anyone who needs community service hours and wants to help out people in need, then I would 100% recommend helping a food pantry. You could help the one at White Plains High School or go find one somewhere else and give up your time to better the lives of others.
COVID-19 was and still is causing incredible amounts of pain and stress, but these food pantries can help the people that have been affected the most by this terrible pandemic. If you have some free time, need community service hours, or if you are just in the mood to help others, then please volunteer for one of the many food pantries in White Plains.