A Tireless Advocate for Food Security in Her Maine Community

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Mary Fernandez. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light. 

Since June 2022, Mary Fernandez has been a vital volunteer at the Good Shepherd Food Bank warehouse in her Maine community, devoting over 270 hours to ensuring that food reaches those who need it. At Good Shepherd Food Bank, Mary’s efforts are focused on packing boxes for the Community Health and Hunger Program and the Commodities Supplemental Food Program. She works closely with employees to stock shelves with products that she and other volunteers pack.  

Mary also assists special needs volunteers, providing them with the help they need to contribute effectively. Additionally, she sorts produce, ensuring that those in good condition are packed into boxes for food pantries while the rest are sent to pig farmers. Mary’s commitment extends further through her participation in the Feed Maine Telethon, where she takes calls from donors eager to support the cause. She dedicates her Fridays to this work, spending two-hour blocks of time each week at the warehouse. 

Mary also volunteers at the Caring Community Cupboard, her local food pantry. As the assistant to the president of the pantry, she handles the ordering and receiving of products. Mary is also the Program Coordinator for the Adopt-A-Shelf program, managing contact with donors, clerical duties and shopping for the program. 

 Her involvement doesn’t stop there; she serves on the Board of Directors, attends meetings every four months and tends to three community gardens she planted for the pantry. Mary stocks shelves, acts as a shopping buddy for patrons, assists with fundraisers and sorts and shelves donations. Her time commitment to the pantry is approximately 50 hours per month, with additional hours spent on special events and activities to ensure the pantry operates smoothly and effectively. 

Read on to find out why Mary is so passionate about food security and what drives her to keep volunteering. 

Tell us about your volunteer role. 

I first began volunteering at the Good Shepard Food Bank in June of 2022, where I immediately knew I had found my niche. I really enjoy interacting with the other volunteers and employees. We all work well together stocking shelves, and packing boxes and bags. We do this for a couple of programs. One is called the Commodities Supplemental Food Program and the other is the Community Health and Hunger Program. We fill those boxes with much needed food for those experiencing food insecurity. We also cull fresh produce which we share with other local food pantries. 

Caring Community Cupboard is the second location I volunteer with, and it’s a food pantry in my community. I’ve been there since March of 2023, and again, we have a wonderful group of volunteers who show up Mondays and Tuesdays. On Tuesdays, we welcome our regular patrons to the pantry. Each patron has a shopping buddy and we help them shop, we share recipes, we’re eager to explain how to cook fresh veggies they may not have had before and maybe welcome them with the only smiling face they’ve encountered that day. We provide a welcoming atmosphere to everyone who comes in with absolutely no judgment. 

What’s interesting is getting to see both sides of this. At Good Shephard, I’m packing boxes and bags that go out to food pantries and medical facilities. But then I get to interact with patrons receiving the food at Caring Community Cupboard. I’m so appreciative of the opportunity to help supplement their food needs. 

Why is this food security so important to you? 

I have really enjoyed watching strangers from very different backgrounds come together as a team around a common cause, which is to help with the food insecurity issue so many people in our state are living with. I really appreciate all that Good Shephard does for our state, and what the Caring Community Cupboard does for our community. I feel blessed to be part of these causes. 

What inspired you to get started with this initiative? 

When I first retired, I was looking for opportunities I might like to pursue during retirement. I was working at the School of Food and Agriculture at the University of Maine and I was aware of the food insecurity issues all around us. I decided to look for food-related volunteer opportunities around me, and I knew a little bit about Good Shephard because they were always in the news! 

What are your long-term plans or goals for the organization? 

For the Caring Community Cupboard, I’m very excited for an ongoing expansion of the food pantry. It will provide a bigger space for our patrons and volunteers that may allow us to do other activities with them. That’s in the very beginning stages; the other part will start next week, and I’m really excited about that. 

What’s been the most rewarding part of your work? 

For me, part of it is getting involved. It’s such an eye-opener when I see so many patrons come to a food pantry for a variety of reasons, to get food that is necessary to supplement their food needs. But it also reminds us how lucky we are when we can simply go home and sit down to a meal, and how lucky we are to live in communities with these types of supports when we’re in harder times. Sometimes it’s taken for granted. As basic as it sounds, food is not readily available to everyone. Without the help of food banks, food pantries and food volunteers, the food insecurity issue would be worse, and we need to remember that no one should go hungry.

What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer? 

I can see firsthand how bad the food insecurity issue is, and how a community of volunteers can make such a difference to so many people – it’s such an awesome feeling. 

Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about? 

For me personally, I’d said I wanted to do something related to food, and I found that. But it wasn’t until I started volunteering that I realized how bad the issues really were, and just how many people were affected. Volunteering doesn’t necessarily have to take a lot of time. You can help with a fundraiser for a day, or volunteer for a couple of hours in the evening. It can be as much or as little time as you have to give. I want to believe that everyone has some time in their week or month to contribute to whatever interest suits them. 

What do you want people to learn from your story? 

During one of our fundraisers, which was a cereal drive, we filled my vehicle! I saw so many generous people from the community come forward to contribute box after box of cereal to help the food pantry provide a very important staple to our patrons.  

At the pantry, we have a local store that donates to us regularly and then we have individuals stop in regularly to donate. We have both, and for that we’re so lucky. We do a number of fundraisers throughout the year, and we do pretty well! Right now, we are serving about 200 families every Tuesday. And each family is made up of several people. We have very committed volunteers who enjoy coming in to volunteer, and everyone is so pleasant and welcoming and inviting to our patrons. 

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Mary? Find local volunteer opportunities.