Blame it on the Thanksgiving holiday two years ago. That’s when Bob and Mary Hayward first started volunteering at Food Lifeline in Shoreline.
And they haven’t been able to stop. Every Monday morning, the couple arrives at the volunteer repack center shortly after 8 a.m. to sort and inspect food for about three hours.
“We realized, hey, maybe they need help over there,” said Bob, 81. “So that was when we started.”
Food Lifeline is not a food bank where needy people pick up food. Rather, it’s where food is gathered, inspected and delivered to food banks in Western Washington. Last year, 22 million pounds of food was distributed.
The food comes mostly from food retailers as well as excess from kitchens at the University of Washington and Microsoft. Volunteers, such as the Haywards, do much of the sorting and inspecting of food before it’s sent out to food banks.
“Bob and I work together, it’s a teamwork thing,” said Mary, 78. The couple has been married 30 years.
Every Monday morning, the Haywards empty large boxes full of donated food. They pull items out, inspect them, and sort them into different categories, such as canned food and dry goods.
For the Haywards, volunteering isn’t just something they do during the holidays. They volunteer year-round with a variety of organizations.
Mary also volunteers at Calvin Presbyterian Church and at King’s Schools. And Bob volunteers at a nonprofit organization where he helps keep sailboats and rowboats in good condition so they can be rented.
In the past, Bob also volunteered at public schools, reading with fifth and sixth grade boys.
“It was very satisfying for me; some boys don’t have any father in the house,” said Bob. “Sometimes we didn’t even open a book, the kids just want to talk.”
Their volunteerism has enabled the couple to meet new people. Often, while they are sorting food at Food Lifeline, they meet other volunteers who are completing community service.
“We are there, we talk to them and smile at them,” said Bob. The couple resides at Cristwood, a senior community run by CRISTA Ministries.
The volunteer repack center gets more than 300 volunteers per month, said volunteer resources developer Nikki Russell. Food Lifeline also has another warehouse in Shoreline.
Many volunteers commit monthly and corporate groups often commit to volunteering once a month; there’s also a community volunteer night once a month. The retention rate of volunteers, such as the Haywards, is considerably high, said Russell.
“The Haywards are pretty unique; we would like to see more Haywards,” said Russell. “We hope they will inspire others to come on board.”
While many people chose to volunteer during the holiday season, the summer months are when there’s often a shortage of volunteers, she said.
“We ask people to think about the hungry the rest of the year,” said Russell. “They’re not just hungry during the holidays.”
The Haywards hope their volunteerism may inspire others to consider donating their time year-round also. The nice thing, they say, is that with volunteer work a person can work as frequently or infrequently as they desire.
“We volunteer because we can only read so many books and then we get bored,” Bob said. “There is a great joy in volunteering.”
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