EAST CHICAGO – Volunteers are vital to many ministries and nonprofit organizations. They provide essential support filling gaps in services, making communities stronger, more connected and more resilient by addressing needs. It's no surprise then that the volunteers at the Catholic Charities Food Pantry’s play a critical role in feeding the hungry of Northwest Indiana.
The Catholic Charities Food Pantry has one full-time and two part-time employees. Without volunteers it would need to cut what it does down to 30%, according to Tina Gunnum, food pantry manager. That means the program would go from feeding 35,000 people to a little over 10,000 people a year. It also would not be able to offer clothing and other household items as well gifts for the elderly and children at Christmas time.
Gunnum said the volunteers love what Catholic Charities does for the communities in the Diocese of Gary. She cited 93-year-old volunteer John “Jack” Halton, who goes with her every year to feed the migrant farm workers because he loves seeing their grateful faces.
“This means so much to him.,” Gunnum said. “The volunteers I have now went from six hours a week to over 20 hours a week because they believe we are making a difference in people’s lives.”
Halton, a Highland resident, was honored as the Volunteer of the Year by Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) in 2024. When he first began volunteering at Catholic Charities, it was distributing 50 bags of food each week. Now, that number has increased to 500 bags weekly.
Halton continues to work at the pantry several days a week. He has seen the pantry grow from a program that only operated a few hours a week to a ministry that runs five days a week. The pantry has expanded to provide some clothing to its recipients and now uses a truck as part of a mobile pantry to reach all four counties of the Diocese of Gary.
Halton acknowledged the physical constraints of the food pantry location on Fir Street. It has outgrown the building’s space, and the limited storage can make it difficult for volunteers to move around comfortably. He also noted the work is not always easy. Heavy lifting is required often. But while volunteers are sure to remain “busy busy,” Halton shared the effort is worth it.
“It's doing good,” he said. “You're doing something for your community. People should at least give it a try. All the hard work that you put into it just makes so many people happy.”
David Halton started volunteering at the food pantry with his dad and continues to help the pantry five days a week.
“They're glad I'm there every day,” he said. “I open and lift all the heavy boxes up. I fill the bags up and make the deliveries to places. Then I come back and start preparing for the next day.”
David Halton said it's evident that there are quite a few people in the community who need groceries, and he's happy he can help them, sometimes going the extra mile to carry the bags of food to their car for them.
“Some of them even ask, ‘Could you come home with me and put it away?’ or when we do deliveries they ask, ‘Can you put it away now?’” he said.
Ruthie Polito, another resident of Highland and parishioner of St. James the Less, began volunteering at Catholic Charities around the same time as the Haltons.
“Jack and David are wonderful to work with,” she said. “Everybody that has come there to help out for a short time, for a long time or has been employed are just really great people. I don't think anybody's had an argument or disagreement since we've been there.”
Polito said with the prices of items in the stores, she has witnessed firsthand the increase in families and retirees needing assistance, stating that “the need is there.”
“It's a lot of work, but it's the most rewarding work you'll ever find,” she said “And you're working with the finest people that you'll ever know. You'll make wonderful friendships at the same time you're helping those that really need it.”
Whatever amount of time someone can give to the pantry, Polito said, “means so much to others, but you get more from it than you give.” She encourages anyone who might be interested to come to the pantry and volunteer for a week or a day and see how it works.
“If you like it, you stay. If you don't, you don't have to. That's the nice thing about volunteering,” she said. “But I think if you get there you’ll see the camaraderie and how we support each other and how we enjoy being together. There's a lot of laughter. There's a lot of kidding. It's not all serious. We just enjoy being there and doing what we do. And it's doing God's work.”
Gunnum feels that part of the reason the volunteers keep coming back is “to see what the Lord has next for us to do.”
“They know I am committed to feeding the least of these and I do not let evil seeds grow,” she said.
When Gunnum first started, she noticed some of the volunteers would become upset if someone who was asking for food had a nice car or their nails and hair done. But, she quickly reminded them that Jesus charges his people with feeding the hungry.
“If they are hungry and ask us for food, we will give it,” Gunnum said. “If they are doing something they shouldn’t be doing, that is up to Christ to judge them, not us. I think it helps the volunteers to know I will not allow them to work harder than my employees or myself.”
Volunteers are needed to answer the telephone, schedule homebound deliveries and take food to the homebound. They bag groceries, take inventory, label food, take groceries to cars on Friday, make bags of frozen food according to house size. Volunteers assist with weighing incoming food donations, cleaning appliances, vacuuming, sweeping and mopping. There is also a need for them to help with organizing household items and clothing in the “Free Shop” in the front of the building.
“Bottom line is if you have the heart to want to serve God’s people, I can find something for you to do, and I promise not to hold you hostage,” Gunnum said. “I will warn you though, once you come to volunteer here, you will find yourself not wanting to leave.”
Those interested in learning more about volunteer opportunities can contact Gunnum at (219) 397-5803 ext. 205 or email her at tgunnum@catholic-charities.org.
