HOUSEKEEPING NOTES
1. Pop Quiz Answer: Really depends on how much you want to annoy Pete Jeffrey.
On balance though, the satisfaction derived from annoying Pete is not worth chucking the boxes away. These boxes make organization of random items from food rescues and elsewhere easier to sort, store and transport on the carts. Let the boxes live!
2A. Newsletter: The more sharp-eyed of you may have noticed a small change to the Newsletter masthead - this issue covers two months, June and July. I'm not sure whether this will be a permanent change, but at least it will give your inbox a respite over the summer. I do like putting the Newsletter together but, like my non-functional Dualit toaster repurposed for more whimsical duties, sometimes I think the utility/affection ratio may have gotten out of whack.
2B. Also Newsletter: I am conscious that if you click on every item, that's a lot of me. If you would like to join the editorial team, or just have something you'd like to say about anything Pantry or food insecurity-related that could be included in the Newsletter, let me know.
3. Dumpster Trampolining: I recognize this activity to tamp down the contents of the recycling container is very popular, but please, take your turn. Otherwise, we will have a repeat of this unedifying image, where Parking Tsarina Jane Alexander and I fight for the right to bounce. (On reflection, it was Jane's turn, so once again my bad.) More seriously, please take care if engaging in this sometimes vital task. It keeps me awake at night worrying about the newspaper headlines if someone kills themselves.
4. Using the Sign-In App. By and large, using the iPad Pro for signing in and out has worked very well. It allows for much greater accuracy in tracking who has been in the Pantry - still important for COVID-19 safety - and also provides great data to track volunteer hours (important for recognition and grant-writing purposes). Some wrinkles though:
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Except perhaps for the very first time you volunteer, your name is in the system. Typing the first few letters of your name (first name first) brings up all matches in the system. PICK YOUR NAME before you hit "Continue". Otherwise, you will be entered in the system multiple times (if you typed your full name) or it will add you to the system as just the letters you did type before hitting Continue. Not a big deal, I can nearly always tell who it is, but not really optimal usage.
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If you can, remember to sign out. Again, not a big deal, I can usually make a pretty good guess when anyone has left (and you are signed out automatically after six hours), but it would be better to do a proper sign-out.
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If your name does not appear when you come to sign out, don't blame the system - it is because you have not followed the procedure in the first bullet. You can only sign out if you are properly signed in
5. Key to the Church Hall: Except under truly exceptional circumstances, do not take the key with you into the Hall. Even if you remember to bring it out, you may have caused untold consternation in the meantime as people frantically look for it in order to visit the bathroom or whatever. Use the "buddy system" to unlock the Hall door, then hand it to the buddy to place back in the drawer. Your key buddy does not have to be an actual buddy. Use your worst enemy if you have to.
