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A bowling alley, a restaurant, a movie theater, a miniature golf course. These are all places you might consider celebrating turning another year older. Grant Timbrook chose The Food Bank Volunteer Room.
Grant, a pastor at Prairie Grove Baptist Church, and dozens of his church members packed The Food Bank’s Volunteer Room across three different shifts one Saturday in May. Grant decided to turn an occasion usually spent celebrating one person into an opportunity to serve countless neighbors across his community. Grant says that as he gets older, he’s learned that he doesn’t need gifts and wants to focus on giving back.
“I'm grateful for my birthday, I'm grateful for another year in this life and on this world, and that God's given me,” Grant said. “Every year, I just try to do something different to bless other people, and this year I'll be 55, and so I thought, how about spending my birthday weekend trying to fill 55 volunteer slots here at The Food Bank.”
Grant said he chose The Food Bank because we can accommodate groups of all ages and all abilities. He said planning ‘55 for 55’ was a simple process.
“The communication has always been great, either through phone call or through email or through the website, and there's just a lot of options available, which I like, because it gets all of our age groups involved. If someone can't be here on a Monday, there's a possibility that Saturdays are available. If weekends aren't good for you, then weekdays, weeknights are available, depending upon the time of the year, and so it's just a very easy process, and I really encourage other group leaders to check out The Food Bank for their group to come serve,” Grant said.
He also supports The Food Bank’s mission.
“It's easy work but important work in helping get food to those in need,” Grant said.
The first two volunteer shifts packed 627 Senior Boxes, monthly packages of shelf-stable food for eligible seniors 60 or older. Volunteers formed an assembly line and filled the boxes with protein, including canned beef, chili, beans and peanut butter. The boxes also had canned vegetables and fruits along with rice, evaporated milk and juice.
Senior boxes are especially important for our service area. Feeding America data shows that more than 90,000 seniors in Missouri are food-insecure. In the past, neighbors who received Senior Boxes have shared that the food has allowed them to spend money on other necessities, including medical bills. An 87-year-old neighbor once shared that they do not drive, and the Senior Box saves them from having to figure out how to get to the grocery store.
After such a significant number of Senior Boxes were packed, the Volunteer Room pivoted to a new project that needed attention: frozen pork. That third Saturday volunteer shift reworked at least 3,000 pounds of pork to help prepare it for local families. With protein becoming increasingly difficult to acquire, partner agencies and neighbors will be particularly appreciative of this delivery.
The Food Bank’s work is not possible without our volunteers, and we are grateful for each person who generously gives their time. Each hour of volunteer time allows us to spend more on food.
“I hope after this experience, many will want to return often to volunteer at The Food Bank,” Grant said.
Happy Birthday, Grant! Thank you for choosing to celebrate with us while also supporting our neighbors. Learn more about The Food Bank’s different volunteer opportunities here. If you feel inspired to host an event similar to Grant’s, you can register a group to volunteer by using this form on our website.
