The responsibilities of this role are ensuring that the pantry environment is safe and that any needs or concerns of the people waiting for the panty can be listened to and hopefully addressed. This role may not be at every pantry location and can be very similar to Pantry Tabler but the focus of the greeter should be on the people who are waiting for the pantry.

Remember

These are your neighbors. They are cold, hungry, afraid. Be patient with them. They have great stories, warm personalities, and big hearts. Focus on connecting, listening and being fair.

Summary

• say "Hi" to people who are waiting at the location
• give them numbers so there is a clear order (they do not like standing in one place line, and not having a clear system can cause disagreements)
• do your best to keep everyone a ~6ft apart distance
• listen to any complaints/issues/complements they have
• let them come to the table 1 at a time when the tablers are ready

Details

Pre Table Setup

• [ ] talk to the people who are waiting, this can be as simple as just saying "Hi" to having a full conversation
• [ ] get a sense for who was there first; be on the lookout for any problems, listen to anyone who comes to you with a problem or complaint then clearly explain how you plan to resolve handle it
• [ ] ask everyone to form a clear line; give them time to do so, make sure they spread out so it is clear who is in front/behind each other; it will probably take a bit of repeating to get everyone organized (DO NOT SKIP THIS — this step helps resolve many of the issues that will arise)
• [ ] give out numbers in the order that people have lined up (you may not need to use numbers; but handing out numbers helps settle disputes on order/who was there first; and allows people to spread out and move around a bit more; i write my numbers in marker on a cut-up cereal box)
  • [ ] NOTE: As of June 2021, Woodside Houses uses a lottery system for line management

Table Setup

• [ ] if the line is calm and you're not in the middle of a conversation or handing out numbers - feel free to help the other pantry tablers setup the the table (see the Pantry Tabler description); otherwise, focus on being with your neighbors on line
• [ ] give the tablers a count of how many people are there - more people will come throughout your shift but this is a good way to estimate how much you can give to each person (usually, you'll have 2 to 3 times the number of starting people at the pantry)
• [ ] get a sense of how much of each thing we have to give out; look through the binder at the items counts and estimate how much produce we have

Distribution