Helping Hands is a limited series highlighting local nonprofit organizations and the people behind their efforts to make a difference in our communities. We'd like to thank our Community Partner, McLane Middleton, for supporting this series. The organizations and stories featured are selected independently by our newsroom and are not influenced by our Community Partner.
I met Laura Russell on my second day working for the Monitor, which was also my fourth day in New Hampshire. It was my first assignment outside of the office. All I can say: thank god she was nice to me.
Going in nervous, I quickly saw how the people at the Warner Food Pantry can put anyone at ease. We started with a tour of the pantry: Russell showed me both the main grocery-store-esque space and the behind-the-scenes storage in the back room.
As she meticulously hand-wrote the daily produce selection on a white board, I interrupted her with questions about the criteria people had to meet to use the pantry, whether she had any good stories from over the years and hell, while we’re at it, did she know any fun things to do on the weekend around here?
She met every single interruption with a gracious smile and a patient answer. As someone who asks about as many questions as the average middle schooler does, I could tell she must have made a magnificent teacher.
In fact, she taught me a thing or two. In the storage room, she modeled how to assemble the snack bags for kids: two juice boxes, four bags of fruit gummies, one miniature sleeve of Oreos, all in a plastic grocery bag, double knotted. We worked in tandem at first, but then she stepped back.
When another volunteer came into the storage room, Russell introduced me as a “reporter” — not an intern — from the Monitor. That felt like the big leagues.
“She’s shadowing me. Since I’m a control freak, it’s been hard for her to break in, but I’m letting her do this,” she said to him.
If that’s true, I hadn’t noticed. Just a bit earlier, she taught me how to process the donations from the bin outside the pantry: first, check the expiration date. Then, use a marker to scribble over the bar code so that the item can’t be resold. Finally, put the item on the appropriate shelf — and she could always point me in the right direction.
All the while, we spoke about the larger ideas that drove her work at the pantry. She lit up when I brought up food deserts — something I learned from my ninth-grade geography teacher. We connected over Maslow’s theory, which I learned about in 11th-grade English. Her motivation to serve the community is steeped in academic concepts, but more than that, empathy.
When Russell talked about the clients of the pantry, her tone became gentle. She’s very sensitive to the circumstances that may lead people to their front door: unemployment, disability, old age or simply “hard times,” as she put it. She was careful to protect her clients’ privacy and ensure their comfort – as a result, I was not present for the pantry’s distribution hours.
In all, I count myself very lucky to have been welcomed to New Hampshire by the Warner Food Pantry. Not a bad first assignment.
