This article was by written by journalists at USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin newspapers and reposted to this website for informative purposes only.

When Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin volunteers Don Schumann and Joe Talamanco arrive at the nonprofit organization’s Appleton warehouse, 2911 W. Evergreen Drive, they’re never sure what exact route of deliveries the day has in store for them.

For the last 10 years, Schumann has volunteered his time with Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin in several different ways, but the food deliveries, he says, are his favorite.

During his time dropping off large pallets of food at food pantries throughout the Fox Valley and beyond, Schumann said he has become more aware of the food insecurity in the area.

“Food insecurity, in a lot of ways, is silent,” Schumann said. “Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin has taught me that we really don’t know who is unsure of where their next meal is coming from.”

Talamanco, who is in his eighth year volunteering for Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, said he values the importance of the food deliveries.

“I don’t think people realize how many food pantries are actually in the area and how extensive the need is to get this food out to these pantries, who then get it out to the public,” Talamanco said.

The two have been doing food deliveries together since 2020 and they say their passion and dedication to their volunteer work has cemented their presence at Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin.

For two Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin volunteers, working with the organization has been an eye-opening experience

A typical delivery day for Schumann and Talamanco can start as early as 7 a.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, when they show up to learn which pantries they’ll visit.

The Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin truck is then loaded with the designated pantry’s order before the pair set out.

Talamanco said the pair usually deliver to two or three pantries in one day.

“I do my best to represent Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin when we go to the food pantries and we’ve become friends with many of the other volunteers,” Talamanco said. “Many of the pantries know us by name and invite us in to sit down, chat and even offer snacks.”

The two first started doing deliveries together around five years ago but have been volunteering with Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin alongside each other for much longer.

“They asked a few volunteers if we were willing to do some driving and delivering and Don and I said yes and teamed up,” Talamanco said. “At first we just had a commercial van that only held three pallets of food. It was loaded into the van with a pallet jack but then it all had to be taken off by hand.”

About two years ago, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin was able to purchase a number of non-CDL trucks that held more inventory, also allowing more volunteers to assist with deliveries.

“Don and I stayed as partners and continued to do deliveries,” Talamanco said. “We’ve made a real genuine connection through our work and we’re actually the only team that still drives together.”

For both Schumann and Talamanco, volunteering for Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is more than just something to do after retirement.

“We both have the same values, the same compassion for the mission of Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin,” Schumann said. “(Joe) has the same commitment that I have to doing all we can for the organization.”

This duo often makes deliveries to pantries like Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry in Little Chute and Apostolic Truth Church in Appleton, but deliveries can go as far north as Green Bay at times.

Schumann said during his time as a volunteer, he has had several encounters that have helped reinforce his decision to continue.

He recalled a time when he was assisting a pantry with food distribution and would often run into a community member who would get food from the pantry to pass out to people in need.

“One day when she arrived, I looked behind her seat and noticed she had pillows and blankets in it and I just asked her ‘Are you living out of your car?’,” Schumann said. “She got teary eyed and said ‘yes, right now I am, but please don’t tell anybody.’ That really stuck with me because that woman had nothing but her car and she still had compassion to help other people.”

Both Schumann and Talamanco said they plan to continue volunteering and delivering for Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin until they no longer can.

“I’m not sure what I like more, actually volunteering or working alongside the other Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin volunteers and employees,” Talamanco said. “I think they’re the greatest and I love donating my time.”

How does Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin service so many food pantries in the area?

One common misconception about food pantries is that they might only get their inventory from donations collected from the community.

However, pantries that are partnered with Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin have the opportunity to place orders for specific products through the organization.

Alex Olp, operations manager for Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, said a majority of the product comes from food banks donating large amounts of product, which then is broken down into smaller bags to be distributed.

“A lot of our product looks like that, whether its bulk pasta, rice or cereal,” Alex said. “Our other products, a lot of those come from manufacturers throughout the state.”

Companies like Nestle often donate every week, Alex said, alongside smaller companies like Bell Brand in Little Chute.

The warehouse also gets its inventory by purchasing in bulk for discounted prices and help from government programs like TFAP and CSFP.

“TFAP is a more general program for our food pantries,” Alex said. “It essentially ensures that they have a good baseline of food every month. CSFP is geared more towards seniors.”

The Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin delivery truck can fit around seven to eight full pallets of food for each pantry, but each delivery depends on what’s ordered.

“We have an online ordering system that looks and functions very much like if you logged into Amazon or something similar,” Alex said. “We do set different limits depending on pantry sizes to ensure that both the small and large partners have access to a meaningful amount of food for them.”

Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is currently the largest hunger relief organization in the state, with operations in Milwaukee and Appleton. The organization’s inventory is distributed to nearly 600 hunger relief partners and trusted community-based programs across 35 Eastern Wisconsin counties.