COMMUNITY
Giving back to those who give After pandemic pause, Maricopa Pantry revives volunteer festival BY MONICA D. SPENCER
have 50 to 60 volunteers every single Saturday that come and help us. We’ve been wanting to do this for a long time, to thank these folks somehow. I’m glad we finally got it together.” Shoaf estimated about 240 people attended — a larger crowd compared to similar events pre-COVID — many of whom have spent weekends sorting donations, packing boxes and helping families in the community. And that is a sight to see. Volunteers arrive by 6:30 a.m. Saturday mornings to sort and load food boxes for upwards of 1,800 families. They move quickly and in tandem, a well-oiled machine even with newcomers. “To be able to have that many people in the community who come out on a weekend morning, no less. That’s what Maricopa Pantry is about,” Shoaf said. “It’s about giving to the community — but they give back to us. It just warms my heart.” The event also offered an early look at the pantry warehouse, where construction remains ongoing. Framing for offices, conference rooms and restrooms is already in place, with electrical work still ahead. Shoaf said the goal is to move distribution indoors before the peak summer heat.
Above: Maricopa Pantry volunteers gather for lunch at a volunteer appreciation festival inside the food bank’s new building. Left: A volunteer has her face painted.
F
OR MOST, VOLUNTEERING IS AN act of quiet giving. It’s the simple offering a few hours on a weekend; a willingness to lend a hand where
needed. At Maricopa Pantry, that spirit shows up week after week in the dozens of volunteers who offer their time, often without recognition. But on one breezy day in late March, the tables turned. The people who give their time were the ones being celebrated. Inside its new warehouse at 50881 W. Papago Road, Maricopa Pantry hosted its first volunteer appreciation festival in seven years. Food bank leaders converted the future distribution site into a gathering space filled with food, families and familiar faces. What organizers once imagined as a simple barbecue grew into a full event with face painting for kids, raffle prizes and silent auction items. But the focus remained on the volunteers. “This is a volunteer appreciation festival,” said co-founder and president Alice Shoaf. “We
“Here’s something that you could actually do. Donate your time and help somebody, do something good in the community,” he said. For the Burkharts, volunteering is also something they share. “This is something we can do together, and we enjoy it. I think you feel better because you don’t expect anything in return,” Michael Burkhart said.
For volunteers Jackie and Michael Burkhart of Thunderbird Farms, the work and the people are what keep them coming back. “I think I’ve been volunteering here about three years,” Jackie Burkhart said. “They’re just a really great group of caring, giving people.” Her husband added that getting involved was an easy decision for the couple, especially during retirement.
Above: Food bank volunteers serve themselves lunch at a volunteer appreciation festival. Top: Maricopa Pantry co-founder Alice Shoaf speaks with one of the honorees.
InMaricopa.com | May 2026
May 2026 | InMaricopa.com
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