When you think of a drive-through, you usually think of fast-food restaurants, or picking up your mid-day coffee, right? Our Helping Ninjas’ volunteer experience gave the typical drive thru a much different setting: a fast-moving, high-energy hub of community connection built on curbside kindness.
Each week, local Hamilton County families in-need, can use a “drive-through food and supply pantry” at the Merciful Help Center in Carmel Indiana.
The Ultimate Drive-Through: Serving Families on the Front Line
The pantry relies on volunteers to operate, so our crew of Helping Ninjas stepped up to support the Merciful Help Center’s weekly drive-through pantry.
How the Pantry Works: Shoppers & Loaders
The system is set up like a well-oiled machine. Inside the pantry, a dedicated team of volunteers acts as personal shoppers. As neighbors pull up in their cars, they share their specific grocery and supply needs. The volunteers inside are busy prepping bags of pre-donated goods that will then be shopped and loaded.
The indoor volunteer shoppers quickly navigate the shelves, filling grocery carts to with donated goods such as fresh food, baking items and fresh baked goods, and non-perishable food items and essential supplies -all items that were all donated by community members.
Upon arrival the Helping Ninjas began packing bags with house hold goods and hygiene products. Other volunteers worked to pack different color bags. Blue contained frozen meat, green contained fresh produce, yellow was fresh cheese and dairy, also eggs, milk and a teal bag with cleaning supplies & hygiene items & diapers.
Once the drive thru pantry officially opened, the ninjas’ jobs were to be stationed and ready at the exit doors, confirm all items were in the bag and take the fully loaded carts from the shoppers, and roll them out to the loading zone.
Helping Ninjas packed trunks and backseats with fresh bags of produce, such as apples, potatoes, fresh onions, cucumbers and squash, fresh bread, and fresh bakery items as well as boxed goods and canned food.
Small Orders, Big Impact
Helping Ninjas loaded up cars, filling vehicles with food and supplies that they may otherwise not be able to afford; every car packed was a reminder of how simple it is to show up, share a smile, and support one another as a community.
Hunger doesn’t always look the way you expect it to, and poverty exists right here in our own neighborhoods. Volunteering at the drive-through pantry gave an inside look into what it means to serve in your community directly.
“Seeing the community come together—from the people donating food to the volunteers packing carts proves that no act of help is too small,” said Leo Berry, Helping Ninjas Founder. “It doesn’t take much to make a difference; it just takes a team willing to step up and prove that no act of help is too small when a community works together.
“Seeing the community come together—from the people donating food to the volunteers packing carts proves that no act of help is too small. It doesn’t take much to make a difference; it just takes a team willing to step up and prove that no act of help is too small when a community works together.” – Leo Berry, Helping Ninjas Founder
” Insert Quote” – Sidd Sharma, Helping Ninjas Leader
Being a Highly Skilled Helper
If you are looking for a way to make a real, tangible difference, we highly recommend signing up to volunteer at a local organization such as the Merciful Help Center. Whether you are shopping inside or loading cars on the front line, you are helping to fill both trunks and hearts.
We can help connect you so that you can also start helping your community; send us an email to help you, help others today. info@helpingninjas.com
Highly Skilled at Helping
At Helping Ninjas, our mission is inspire others to become highly skilled at helping the world. Are you ready to become a Helping Ninja? Check out our website to learn how you can join our missions, share your own acts of kindness, and help make the world a better place!
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