Jan Anderson at local food pantry
Some of Jan Anderson’s most cherished memories in life are around a table, sharing a home-cooked meal in the warm company of close friends and family.
Whether it’s for a birthday, for the holidays or for more than 50 of her son’s co-workers at company Christmas parties, Anderson truly trusts in the power of a home-cooked meal and good conversation.
“I love to cook, share time with family and friends and help out those in need,” Anderson says. “I’ve been blessed so much throughout my life.”
Anderson retired from a long and successful career with the U.S. Department of Defense back in 2005. While others may seek to celebrate their retirements with travels to exotic islands or traversing the globe, Anderson began spending her free time volunteering at the Franklin County Dog Shelter and serving as vice president of the Violet Township Dog Park from 2008-2011.
“At the same time, I was volunteering with the Pickerington food pantry. That was my opportunity to work to benefit people and not just their canine companions,” Anderson says. “It almost felt like having a new full-time job at times.”
As a volunteer at the PCMA Food Pantry of Pickerington, Anderson has held basically every
position imaginable. Starting out, she simply restocked client shelves one day a week when the pantry served fewer than 40 families. In 2012, she had the opportunity to develop floor plans for the pantry’s new location on Cross Street and, along with several other volunteers, build all of the wooden shelving units.
“As the client base grew and donations increased, I became the primary volunteer working at date checking and sorting donations several hours every week,” Anderson says.
2012 was also the year when Anderson became involved with the placing of orders from the Mid-Ohio Foodbank, requiring her to be up and online by 7 a.m. Monday through Friday each week to fulfill and research requests.
“I place these orders every morning, no matter where I am,” Anderson says. “Even while I spend three months out of the year in Florida.”
As a very dedicated pantry volunteer, she credits a great deal of the pantry’s success and growth to the work of Director of Operations Gessica Peraza.
“When I first got involved, I was volunteering without an acting director in place,” Anderson says. “When Gessica got involved a couple years ago, the pantry began growing so much. Her dedication is above and beyond the call of duty.”
Though Anderson will tell you that she believes she is getting “lazy” in her old age, she still manages to average more than 400 hours per year volunteering. She is even looking to expand her volunteering endeavors soon.
“I am now trying to find an opportunity to volunteer and go sit with folks in nursing homes for their meals, especially those confined to their rooms,” Anderson says. “I am driven by the belief that sharing meals together is much more than simply the food on the table; it’s the interactions and experiences around that table.”
Rocco Falleti is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
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