Food Pantry volunteers get praise at St. Peter’s in Medina

Robin Dubai has been key organizer for 30 years

Photos by Ginny Kropf: (Left) Sally Grimm, volunteer coordinator for St. Peter’s food pantry, introduces Robin Dubai, who was recognized for 30 years of service to the pantry. (Right) Jim Hancock, a volunteer at the food pantry at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, welcomes fellow volunteers to an appreciation luncheon on Wednesday noon. Seated at rear are Denny Dubai and Bob Hoffman. 

MEDINA – It could be said Robin Dubai has a lot of mouths to feed and it wouldn’t be far from the truth.

Dubai has been chief organizer of St. Peter’s Church food pantry for 30 years. At a luncheon for volunteers on Wednesday, she was recognized for her dedication to the project.

“She is truly the heart and soul of St. Peter’s food pantry,” said Sally Grimm, head of the Food Pantry committee. “She is totally committed to it. She is here behind the scenes all the time, ordering food, keeping inventory, stocking, sorting food and keeping the pantry certified.”

Grimm presented Dubai with a certificate, flowers and a card.

Many of the pantry’s 20 to 25 volunteers were treated to lunch at S. Peter’s, consisting of chicken salad from the Coffee Pot Café, cookies from Case-Nic Cookies and a giant cake.

Guests were welcomed by Jim Hancock, who has been a volunteer at the food pantry all 42 years of its existence. It has been a tough year, he said, with the loss of two volunteers – Pat Kennedy, who recently died and another who is having health problems.

Dubai said four children who come in every week to help pack bags of groceries is a huge help. They are Trisha and David Stacey’s grandchildren and Liz Allis’s two children. Their families are encouraging the children to do community service, Grimm said.

A lot of volunteers make the food pantry a success. This includes Bob Hoffman, who meets and unloads the Foodlink truck every week. This amounts to thousands of pounds of food, Dubai said.

Scott Grimm and John Harris are credited with going to Tops and picking up food there which is purchased to fill out the pantry’s needs.

The pantry is open two days a week and families in Medina can choose two pre-packaged bags each. If other food items are available, they can choose things from the shelf.

When Dubai is there, her husband Denny is right by her side to help however he can, Grimm said.

Two of the volunteers who enjoyed lunch were Janet Husung and Becky Fike. They are neighbors, and Husung started volunteering at the food pantry seven years ago, after she retired. After Fike’s husband died, Husung invited her to come along with her to the food pantry.

“It gave me something to occupy my time,” Fike said.

Dubai said they average about 20 families a week who come in for food.