For the past 5 years, Mary Ellen has devoted her time and efforts to helping run the St Joseph Hospital Employee Food Pantry. The pantry is a unique organizational program designed to help 1,500+ employees, volunteers, and Saint Joseph School of Nursing students. There are between 250-300 visitors per year to the pantry, and since opening its doors in 2012, have had 3,300+ visits. Mary Ellen helps with the daily operations, stocking, inventory, and most importantly building relationships with visitors. During the pandemic, the volunteer program was suspended, but Mary Ellen constantly checked-in to see how the pantry was doing and if there was anything she could do to help. She was one of the first volunteers to return in January 2021, and her support has made hundreds of lives better. Prior to her retirement, Mary Ellen was a social worker for many years. She has a passion for social justice and understands that an individual’s current circumstances do not define them. Because of this previous work, she sees each individual as an equal and strives to do whatever is needed to improve the lives of others.