Presets: Reading — Josh K's Demo Site

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Reading · Column

A comfortable reading column.

For our first eight years, every new guest filled out a two-page intake form. In 2017 we threw it away.

The form asked for income, household size, and a utility bill. We told ourselves it helped us plan. What it really did was make people prove they were poor before we'd hand them a bag of rice.

We weren't losing food to people who didn't need it. We were losing people who did.

What changed

Now we ask one question: how many people are you shopping for? Visits went up 40% in the first year. Our shelves didn't empty. Our volunteer list grew, because many of those new guests started signing up for shifts.

Average check-in time dropped from 9 minutes to under 2.
First-time guests who came back within a month rose from 31% to 68%.
We saved about 300 volunteer hours a year on paperwork.

If you run a pantry and want to try it, our volunteer handbook walks through exactly how we made the switch.

Long guide with an automatic, sticky table of contents built from the heading 2s.

Who we serve

About 3,000 households a year shop our pantry. Most live within a mile of Alder Street. Many are working families whose paycheck runs out before the month does. Others are seniors on fixed incomes, students, and neighbors between jobs.

You won't be able to tell who's who, and that's the point. Everyone gets the same welcome.

Your first shift

Arrive fifteen minutes early and check in with the shift lead at the front desk. You'll get an apron, a name tag, and a buddy who has worked at least ten shifts.

Bring closed-toe shoes, a water bottle, and your appetite. Volunteers eat lunch together after every Saturday shift.

Food safety basics

Wash your hands when you arrive and after every break. Gloves go on for anything unpackaged. Check dates on dairy and meat before shelving, and set aside anything that looks off. When in doubt, ask Grace.

Talking with guests

Say hello and introduce yourself. Ask what they're cooking this week, not what they need. Never ask why someone is here. If a guest shares something hard, listen first, then let the shift lead know so we can follow up.

Centered column with a drop cap and a big pull quote.

The first Thursday dinner fed eleven people. Pastor June made chili in a borrowed slow cooker, and half the guests were volunteers who'd been told there would be food. Nobody minded. They pushed two folding tables together and stayed until the church janitor turned off the lights.

Today the kitchen runs on a commercial range donated by a restaurant that closed during the pandemic, and it feeds two hundred people every week. The folding tables are still there. There are just forty of them now.

Head cook Denise Mbeki plans each menu on Wednesday night, after she sees what the garden and the food bank truck brought in.

I never know what I'm cooking until the day before. That's the fun part.

Her rule is simple: cook it like it's for your own family, because some weeks it is.

Policies and legal pages. The first quote becomes a plain-language summary box.

Last updated September 1, 2026.

The short version: we only collect what we need to serve you and send receipts, we never sell or share your information, and you can ask us to delete it at any time.

1. What we collect

Your name and email when you volunteer or give, and your household size when you shop the pantry. Nothing else is required.

2. How we use it

To schedule shifts, send tax receipts, and plan how much food to order. We report totals to funders, never names.

3. Who we share it with

Only our payment processor and email service, under agreements that keep your data private.

4. Your choices

Email privacy@commontable.org to see, correct, or delete anything we hold about you. We reply within ten days.

Two columns: the first paragraph becomes a large lede on the left, the rest of the body reads on the right. Use for an about page or a story opener. Needs a strong first paragraph (1–3 sentences) and 2–5 more paragraphs; set width Wide.

Common Table began as a Thursday dinner for eleven people in a church basement. Nine years later it's a pantry, a garden, a kitchen, and a market stand, all run by the neighbors who use them.

Pastor June Alvarez made the first chili in a borrowed slow cooker. Half the guests were volunteers who'd been told there would be food. Nobody minded. They pushed two folding tables together and stayed until the lights went off.

The next week there were twenty-two people. By winter, a restaurant that was closing gave us its range, and the Thursday dinner became a real kitchen with a real schedule.

We still work the same way: ask what neighbors need, then build it with them. No forms at the door, no proof of need, and a seat for anyone who walks in.

Centered, large display paragraphs separated by small marks, like a statement of beliefs. Use for a mission, values, or a founding statement. Needs 3–5 short paragraphs (one or two sentences each); bold words are highlighted.

Everyone eats. No one should have to prove they're hungry.

A pantry should feel like a corner store, not a waiting room.

The people who use a program should help run it.

We cook it like it's for our own family, because some weeks it is.

A numbered list in the body becomes big-numeral principles in a two-column grid. Use for values, commitments, or house rules where each item stands alone. Needs one numbered list of 4–6 items, each starting with a bold short title; an optional intro paragraph goes first.

Every volunteer learns these on their first shift. They're short on purpose.

Dignity first. Neighbors shop the shelves and choose their own food. No pre-packed boxes.
No paperwork on day one. Your first visit needs only your first name.
Fresh beats fancy. Half of what we give away was grown or picked this week.
Neighbors lead. Six of our nine board members have used the pantry.
Every dollar is counted. We publish our budget each spring, line by line.
Leave room at the table. There's always one more chair on Thursday.

The first heading 3 in the body becomes one giant figure on the left, the paragraph right after it becomes its caption, and the rest of the prose reads on the right. Use when one number carries the story (an annual report, an impact note). Start the body with a heading 3 like "41,000", then a one-line caption, then 2–4 paragraphs.

41,000

pounds of fresh produce from our garden and partner farms

That's more than twice what we grew in 2023. Most of it came from the Alder Street garden, where 86 families now keep a plot and share the harvest with the pantry.

The rest came from three farms in the valley that sell us their seconds at cost. A dented squash cooks the same as a perfect one, and neighbors get to take home food that was in the ground two days earlier.

Next year we're adding a second walk-in cooler so nothing we grow goes to waste.

Read the full report

A reading column where quotes become side notes in the right margin on desktop (inline boxes on phones). Use for guides, histories, or explainers that need asides and definitions. Needs several paragraphs with 1–3 short quotes; put each quote right before the paragraph it comments on (the note lines up with that paragraph). Set width Wide.

Shifts run three hours. You'll spend the first fifteen minutes with a shift lead, who walks you through the day's stock and where you're needed. Most people start on the shelves.

Client choice means neighbors pick their own food, like a store. We don't hand out boxes.

Stocking is simple: oldest in front, newest behind, labels facing out. When a shelf runs low, pull from the back room and tell the lead so we can track what goes fastest.

At the door

Some neighbors bring their own bags. Keep a stack of spares by the door for everyone else.

Greeters welcome neighbors, offer a cart, and explain how the shelves work. You don't check anything. If someone asks for help with forms or benefits, walk them to the resource table.

At the end of the shift, wipe down the carts, break down boxes, and write one line in the shift log about anything the next team should know.

A personal letter on a paper sheet in a warm serif, signed with the action note. Use for a message from a founder, pastor, or director. The headline is the greeting ("Dear neighbors,"), the body is 3–5 paragraphs, and the action note is the signature ("June Alvarez, Executive Director"); one optional action.

Nine years ago I made a pot of chili and hoped a few people would come. Eleven did. I still remember every one of them, and four are still here, now as volunteers.

This fall has been our busiest yet. More families are coming on Saturdays, and our shelves empty faster than they used to. I won't pretend that's easy. But every week I watch this neighborhood show up for itself, and it gives me more hope than any number in our report.

If you've given, cooked, driven, planted, or simply sat down with us on a Thursday, thank you. This table is yours.

Join us Thursday

June Alvarez, Executive Director

Reading · Column

Why we stopped asking for proof of need

What changed

Reading · Guide

Everything you need for your first shift

Who we serve

Your first shift

Food safety basics

Talking with guests

Reading · Feature story

The kitchen at 418 Alder

Reading · Policy

Privacy policy

1. What we collect

2. How we use it

3. Who we share it with

4. Your choices

Reading · Lede and body

It started with one pot of chili.

Reading · Manifesto

Food is how neighbors meet.

Reading · Numbered principles

Six promises we keep.

Reading · Figure and prose

A year of full shelves.

41,000

Reading · Margin notes

How a pantry shift works.

At the door

Reading · Letter

Dear neighbors,