The Sharing Place Food Centre's warehouse is uncluttered, well organized; you could probably eat off the floor.
There are grey plastic food storage bins on racks of shelves extending high toward the ceiling. All the bins are meticulously labelled with the contents. The floor is tidy and the table tops are clean.
And in the middle of it is a senior who takes her volunteer work seriously.
Cathy MacMillan volunteers for the food bank daily, Monday to Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., more around Christmas. It's her 20th year of volunteering for the busy Dufferin Street food bank.
MacMillan started volunteering after she retired from Zellers after working 40 years in the stock room and on the sales floor.
"I've got a lot of stockroom, shipping and receiving knowledge," MacMillan said.
In the midst of an interview, a truck came in with donations from local grocery stores. MacMillan and other volunteers got to work emptying boxes and bags, checking food for expiry dates and sealed packaging and then sorting items into their labelled bins such as soup or pasta.
Kelly Allen, development manager for the Sharing Place, is very appreciative of MacMillan's efforts.
"Cathy is the most committed person at The Sharing Place," said Allen. "She is here everyday, Monday to Friday. She keeps it very organized and very tidy.
"She does the lion's share of the warehouse work. When Cathy goes away, we bring in a whole team," Allen joked.
MacMillan said she didn't initially intend to volunteer this long, but she enjoys it.
"It's a good group to work with. We have a lot of fun around here. We're like one big family back here. We look out for each other," she said, her dark eyes twinkling.
MacMillan likes to contribute to and help people in the community.
"We like to give them whatever we can give and brighten up their days."
She plans on continuing to volunteer for as long as she can.
Amy Fournier, the volunteer and communications coordinator, said The Sharing Place has a healthy team of 160 volunteers now, but more are needed for certain areas of work.
Receiving volunteers are needed to unload donations.
Drivers are needed on Saturday for two to four house for the food recovery program, whereby volunteers pick up perishable food from local grocery stores and bring it to the Sharing Place at 95 Dufferin St..
Volunteers are also needed Monday, Wednesday and Friday to stock the front shop when the food bank is open.
"There is a never ending search for high energy people who are able to lift heavy things," Allen said.
For more information visit the organizations website: sharingplaceorillia.org.
