Gloria Loureiro is a board member of Shepherd’s Pantry and her son, Brandon, is a former volunteer. Around thirty years ago, Gloria joined Shepherd’s Pantry and initially volunteered to help with the annual donations, such as bringing Thanksgiving donations. When her son went to school, Gloria became a weekly volunteer and was offered additional roles and responsibilities by Sue Kling. Her husband, Manny, would also help with his truck behind the scenes. Around twenty years ago Gloria became a board member and continues to be involved with Shepherd’s Pantry.
Brandon Loureiro is a former Shepherd’s Pantry volunteer and would help while on vacation after school on and off for about 10-15 years. He fondly remembers Shepherd’s Pantry as something good that brings people together. Growing up with the food pantry brings back many memories with his mom. After all, if he wished to be with his mom on a Monday holiday, he joined her at the pantry! In fact, he even had his first cup of coffee at the pantry; kindly provided by a fellow volunteer, Mary Gagliardi.
Shepherd’s Pantry once offered Toys for Tots during the Christmas holiday and Brandon was in charge of organizing and sorting the donation for the children. Brandon was able to see first hand the amount of preparation that goes into such a thoughtful event such as; the timing of the donation, how to sort them, etc. Helping with this donation every year gave Brandon real responsibility and experience that other teens may not have. In fact, today Brandon is involved in event and film production and credits his volunteer work with Shepherd’s Pantry as a source of inspiration. When preparing for events, there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes preparation that goes into it. Shepherd’s Pantry is open for food distribution to clients every Monday for 2 hours; however, it takes 7 days of preparation to be open for those 2 hours.
Shepherd’s Pantry is a “great way to get back to [his] roots and a great way to have a sense of community”. (Brandon Loureiro)
