By Tom Spalding, Communications Volunteer
“Getting to know the clients and witnessing how it makes a difference and working for social justice.”
“I am accomplishing something for others.”
“Opportunity to give back to the community and to serve those that are in need of assistance.”
“Helping the clients and seeing how appreciative so many of them are.”
“My heart is full of my interactions with shoppers and other volunteers—so many good people.”
Those are just five of dozens of comments that Boulevard Place Food Pantry’s arsenal of volunteers contributed as part of an anonymous internal survey we recently conducted. The survey was conducted in June and July, with questions and outreach done by the Boulevard team. We received responses from 68 volunteers, or over half of our roster, who answered 15 questions.
“No organization gets better by standing idle,” says Matt Hayes, pantry director and a volunteer. “In fall 2023 our board members—who are also uncompensated volunteers—began a process to get a better understanding of the pantry as an organization and its impact within the community. It was decided that our dedicated volunteers can give us hands-on insight as to what’s going right—and what can be better.”
Due to the stress of the pandemic and ongoing inflation, the pantry has never been as busy in its history in terms of client households served. But while providing emergency food assistance defines our mission statement, it is not the only reason shoppers from five zip codes come through our drive-through (on Wednesdays) and doors (Thursday and Saturday). It’s the dignified atmosphere we strive to maintain.
We have three results that show that, while not perfect, our volunteers are living up to that Gold Standard of customer service.
- When asked if the statement “Our shoppers have a positive experience at the pantry” is true, with 5 being the highest, 44 respondents gave that statement a top mark of “5” and 17 gave it a nearly top mark of 4. (Seven respondents abstained since they don’t interact with shoppers.)
- When asked if, “Our shoppers are treated with respect” was true. 55 respondents gave that statement a top mark of “5” and 7 gave it a nearly top mark of 4. (Seven respondents abstained since they don’t interact with shoppers.)
- When asked if, “Our shoppers express gratitude for the service we provide,” 29 respondents gave that statement a top mark of “5” and 27 gave it a nearly top mark of 4.
Volunteers also perceive that client frustration is relatively small, which is amazing given the restrictions such as our item-limit point system and wait times during peak shopping hours.
Amy Taylor, longtime volunteer coordinator, said the results of the survey are designed “to help make our pantry the best it can be.”
For example, volunteers gave us insights on everything from shopping carts to hand sanitizer to labeling food on shelves. The survey also provided an inclusive snapshot of the demographics of our volunteers, 59% of whom are retirees but 28% have full-time employment.
- 63% have been volunteering for at least three years
- 85% provide direct client assistance and 75% work shifts on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday
The pantry allowed volunteers to discuss how the volunteer experience could be better, how the shopping experience could be better and what is the best part of the volunteer experience overall.
Said one anonymous volunteer in the survey that seemed representative of the whole group, “Clients are treated with respect, friendliness, patience, compassion, and consideration. Examples: volunteers helping clients create nutritious meal plans using the current inventory of items in the pantry; volunteers calmly explaining pantry policies, which can sometimes be confusing to new clients; volunteers using humor and/or cheerfulness to try to defuse situations (regarding pantry policies, for example) that clients might find frustrating.”
September is volunteer appreciation month at the Pantry. The volunteer-focused survey is an outgrowth of the Pantry’s SWOT analysis, also conducted in 2023.
