How can stepping into a room sized freezer chilled to arctic temperatures immediately infuse the body with a warm rush? It's not alternative science or fake science, it actually happened not long ago as Bernice stepped over the threshold of a new stainless ice box built in situ for Family Table - the food distribution arm of Jewish Family & Children's Service (JF&CS).
Bernice is Director of this Waltham based program. From its hub and two satellite outposts, Family Table's network covers over 100 Massachusetts towns providing food to more than 500 families of all denominations including 350 who lack transportation. And Family Table volunteer teams do it every week of every month. Distributions not only nourish bodies of clients, they nurture their souls by empowering them to choose from among the specific healthy food offerings which fit their needs. Knowing that can certainly warm your heart.
But it's not enough.
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Cars lined up to receive clients' shopping bags of selected foods.
During the pandemic rather than having food choices
made in-person inside the Family Table Marketplace,
families pre-order.
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Shopping bags are then custom packed and labeled...
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| ... and placed directly into clients' vehicles by volunteers. |
Food insecurity was a big problem pre-pandemic; now it's much worse. Family Table needed to expand operations to meet the demand. Key to this enhanced capability was The Big Chill, a tripling of freezer and refrigeration space. The existing cold storage area was already stacked to the brim, its aisles full with barely any room to maneuver.
So, a master plan was drawn up and contractors hired. Carpenters, electricians, and other tradespeople then tooled away for five weeks to enlarge Family Table's footprint within JF&CS' HQ building.
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| Laying out the space for the new freezer |
For refrigeration, a 'special ops' team, Royal Cooling Corp, dropped in and built a giant new freezer to accomplish The Big Chill.
This is Royal's story.
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| Daniel, head of the Royal team, studies installation schematics. |
In an earlier life the Royal guys must have enjoyed and been good at painting-by-the-number kits and working with Lego blocks. Why? Because when stacks and stacks of freezer components were delivered, each of the larger than life sized panels had to first be meticulously numbered and labeled for proper orientation before initiating assembly.
Then the work began.
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| Wheeling in the super-sized insulated freezer panels |
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| Installation starts from the bottom, beginning with the floor sections |
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| Corner pieces are next |
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| Walls slide in and are locked in place |
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| The door is added |
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| Floor sections are sealed |
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| Daniel makes the electrical hookup and charges the unit |
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| The Big Chill |
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| Steve takes a final peek; the unit is ready to load |
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| Royal's mission is accomplished - job well done |
The expansion project affords Family Table the opportunity to increase its impact every month. Even with the enhanced space it can't finish the overarching mission of eliminating food insecurity, but the program did take a big step forward in the right direction.
Now that's heartwarming.
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images ©David Greenfield 2021
The full story of Family Table's Expansion can be seen here.
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