Volunteer of the Month: Debbie White, Dessa White and Tamara Birchmeyer

By Mel Rubenstein

The previous Volunteer of the Month columns have featured individuals and their efforts in volunteering. This column features three women, and how they work together as a team, as the volunteer coordinators of the Dewitt Food Pantry.

Debbie White is a Syracuse native, attended Bryant and Stratton College, and then worked for Modern Bakery and ARCOM Cable Company. For the next 31 years, Debbie and her husband, Bill, lived and worked in Springfield Gardens. Debbie worked in the rental office and Bill served as the complex superintendent. When Bill passed away in 2013, the Dewitt Food Pantry was opened in his honor. Debbie was retired at the time the food pantry opened, and it soon became her fulltime volunteer commitment.

The mission of the DeWitt Food Pantry is to provide emergency food supplies to families in Springfield Gardens and the surrounding neighborhood. This effort is supported by its board, the volunteer coordinators, and the community. When the pantry opened on July 3, 2013, it was expected to serve 60 to 70 people per month. It now serves over 300 people, or approximately 2,700 meals per month!

The Dewitt Food Pantry is one of over 200 emergency food assistance programs in an 11 county area, all of which are under the umbrella of the Food Bank of Central New York. The pantry has a board of directors that develops a budget and raises funds. The pantry staff is entirely volunteer and consists of residents or former residents of Springfield Gardens. Debbie and her volunteer team order, stock, and distribute food from the CNY Food Bank, which is located at 7066 Interstate Island Rd, Syracuse.

MJ MacKenzie, who has been on the board for the past six years and is currently serving as president, explained, “The board is primarily responsible for fundraising. We have different backgrounds and professions, but our common link is that we all live in the Jamesville-DeWitt area. Our fundraising is very grass roots;  we do an annual appeal to our friends and neighbors, organize school and neighborhood food drives, and apply for grants. We are also very fortunate to have our space donated by Green Springfield Garden Apartments, LLC.”

Debbie White is the coordinator, orders food, supervises the sign in forms of the families that use the Dewitt Food Pantry, and sends in a monthly report to the CNY Food Bank. She explains; “Beneficiaries of our food pantry must live in the Town of Dewitt, provide picture ID, and provide documentation that the children are part of the family. Each family may visit the pantry once a month and receives three days of meals for each member of the family.”

Debbie explained that they are a “choice” pantry which allows patrons to pick out their own food, rather than giving them a prepackaged bag of food which might contain items that they and their family do not eat. Patrons choose their food by using a point system that guides them to select nutritional and balanced meals. They are given a certain number of points for each food group, based on their family size. They select from grains, proteins, dairy, fruits and vegetables. She said, “A staff member always accompanies the patrons so that they understand where things are and how to use the point system.”

Dessa, Debbie White’s daughter, was born in Syracuse and spent 25 years in Maine where she went to South Maine Community College. She then worked for the Maine Medical Center Food Service before moving back home where she joined her mother as a volunteer at the Dewitt Food Pantry.

One of Dessa’s jobs is to guide the patrons thru the pantry. She said; “Although people must live in Dewitt, once in a while someone shows up by accident, so we let them select one day’s worth of meals.”

Tamara Birchmeyer came to volunteer at the Dewitt Food Pantry because of her friendship with Debbie. Tamara was born in Syracuse and graduated from Onondaga Community College, specializing in human services. She then worked at Crouse Hospital where she was a certified nurse assistant. She also became involved in environmental services and then became a pharmacy technician.

While sitting in the office at the pantry, I noticed bins of large fresh red apples. Tamara told me they were some of the free items they get from the food bank on occasion. She said; “There are other ways we get free items that supplement our purchases at the food bank. Each week, we pick up a large load of donated food and flowers from Trader Joe’s. Also, organizations and schools have food drives that add to our stock of food items.” Debbie jumped in and said; “Let’s not forget the free USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) items that often come with our order from the food bank. We are also very grateful to an 81 year old Cuban man who lives in the area and helps us unload these deliveries. He doesn’t speak much English, but is strong and in great shape for a man his age.” Speaking of English, as I toured the various rooms in the Dewitt Food Pantry, I noticed that there were signs in several languages explaining what the food items were.

MacKenzie enthusiastically added; “We could not operate the pantry without our wonderful volunteers who reside in Springfield Gardens and come in twice a week when the pantry is open and several other times during the week to stock, clean and order. This is a wonderful model of neighbors serving neighbors. They are not just handing out food, they are building community.”

MJ MacKenzie explained that the pantry does not only provide food. She said; “We are always accepting donations for hygiene supplies, books and clothing. Thanks to our friends at the CNY Diaper Bank, we also give out over 1,000 free diapers each month.”

People who come into the pantry on Saturdays can meet with a representative from United Health Care once a month who explains about the coverage available, and helps sign them up.

As this interview was winding down, Tamara looked up and said; “We see the same people often, and really get to know each other. It feels like family, and that’s what makes this all worth the effort.”

All donations to the pantry are tax deductible and are used to buy food, as it is entirely volunteer run and the space is donated.  You can make an online donation at dewittfoodpantry.org.

For donations by check, send to: Dewitt Food Pantry, c/o 712 Scott Ave., Syracuse, NY 13224.  For information about donating food or hygiene items to the Pantry, or having a food drive, contact MJ MacKenzie at: 315-382-0906.

To recommend someone with a stellar record of volunteering to be featured in this column contact Mel Rubenstein: [email protected] or 315-682-7162.