For many years, Tom Fenton has volunteered about 35 hours each week at Food at First. Born in 1933, he has slowed down to a couple of hours a day, but never stops.
Feeding people and preventing food waste are his passions. Fenton grew up on a farm in Illinois during the Great Depression. “I suppose we were poor, but we didn’t know it,” he said during a visit at Food at First.
Fenton, retired professor emeritus from the Iowa State University Department of Agronomy, has been a steadfast volunteer for Food at First since his retirement in 2004. He works on the crew that drives to local grocery stores to pick up donated food. There are seven primary sources of food donations, including Target, Walmart, Hy-Vee, Sam’s Club, Aldi, and Iowa State University.
“I do this because I believe in sharing food and not wasting it,” he said. “I guess that comes from growing up during the Great Depression.”
Reducing food waste is a top priority for Food at First. Even donated food that cannot be sold or used finds its way to a good place. Another regular task for Fenton is working with a local farmer who comes in two to three times a week to pick up food waste and unused bakery items.
“Any food that cannot be used is placed in a white five-gallon bucket and stored in the refrigerator until the farmer arrives,” Fenton said. “He picks up the buckets, takes them to his farm, and feeds his animals. It’s zero-waste.”
The people of Ames are aware of Food at First, Fenton believes, but not everyone has come inside. “I wish everyone would come and volunteer, at least once, to see the good work being done here,” he said.
“Tom is a hard worker, never complains, and does a lot of jobs around here,” said Food at First Executive Director Patty Yoder. “He delivers and picks up our laundry, he washes out those buckets as well as filing all of our online reporting. He also picks up food at other locations as needed, and probably a lot of things I don’t even know about. We cherish Tom and all of our volunteers.”