“The world is too small for what I intend to do,” said St. Frances Cabrini, an Italian nun who arrived in New York City in 1889, at the request of Pope Leo XIII, to minister to primarily Italian immigrants.

The quote also summarizes the mission of Mother Cabrini Food Pantry, which is named in her honor and is based at St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Parish in Lorain. It is also on a T-shirt and bracelet often worn by Michelle Richards, the panty director.

And it inspires the volunteers who staff the pantry three Saturday mornings each month, as they work from a large garage on the church property.

“We’re proud to be continuing Mother Cabrini’s mission to serve those who need food,” said Michelle. Each pantry day, more than 200 cars line up in the church parking lot — sometimes hours before it opens — as they patiently wait their turn.

One group of volunteers meets on Mondays to fill boxes with non-perishable items like peanut butter, pasta, cereal, spaghetti sauce, pancake mix and syrup. Pantry day volunteers begin arriving about 7:30 a.m. to bag the produce.

“I’m not a morning person, but I have no problem getting up at 6 a.m. on pantry days,” Michelle quipped.

At the pantry, volunteers pause for a short prayer service and some remarks from Michelle before they finish packing the boxes and serving those waiting in the parking lot.

“We pray for all of us that we can bring the light into this world by serving in the name of God and Mother Cabrini. We also pray for those we serve,” Michelle said, recalling a few times when she was asked to pray with someone in a car.

“One woman who recently lost her mother came to the pantry the Saturday before Mother’s Day and I prayed with her because she was having a difficult time. Others will tell us, ‘God bless you. I’ve stayed away from church for some time, but because of what you’re doing, I might be coming back to the Church,’” Michelle said. “The same thing has happened with some volunteers.” In fact, she said that day there was a volunteer who hadn’t been to church in years. But since he started volunteering, it was bringing him closer to God.

“God works in mysterious ways,” Michelle said.

The Saturday crew adds the perishable items: produce, bread, meat and bakery items, which vary from week to week. On a recent pantry day, there were grapes, cabbage, potatoes, green peppers, zucchini, squash and corn on the cob, obtained with a produce grant from Second Harvest of North Central Ohio. The produce comes from local farmers, Michelle said.

Using an assembly line approach, volunteers prepare the boxes and load them into grocery carts, which they take to the cars as they drive up.

While the cars wait in the parking lot, volunteers stop by and collect driver’s licenses or IDs from those receiving food. Using laptops, volunteers enter the information into a database. The car windshield is marked with the number of people receiving food and, as the car pulls up, volunteers load the food into each vehicle. Many people are what the volunteers call “regulars,” so they engage in banter asking about their families.

Often people inquire about Osvaldo “Papi” Figueroa, a longtime pantry volunteer. Papi, who turned 96 recently, waves as the cars drive through. His daughter, Millie Torres, and great-granddaughter, 12-year-old Melia Shawver, are regular volunteers, also.

Papi adds frozen items like meat to the boxes as they’re taken to the cars for distribution, and when needed, also adds other food items. Millie and Melia do a variety of tasks, including recording the food recipients’ information in the computer, filling boxes, loading them into cars and guiding vehicles through the lines. All three said they enjoy the volunteer work and consider it a way of giving back.

“Papi definitely represents the values of the Hispanic community,” Michelle said. “Lorain is known as the international city for a reason. We have a number of Hispanics here, and he gives back to those in need. At one time, he needed some help — like a lot of us — and there were people to help. Now we’re paying it forward.”

She estimates at least 50% of the pantry’s clients are from the Hispanic community.  

The pantry was awarded a $15,000 grant from the Women’s Giving Circle of the Catholic Community Foundation, which is being used to help expand the pantry’s outreach.

“We purchased a trailer that allows us to take food to other sites in the community,” Michelle said. After the pantry closes at the parish, the trailer visits the International Plaza apartments in Lorain and Albright Terrace in Amherst. Michelle also makes additional stops at a nearby apartment building and a mobile home park.

“We’re trying to spread the word so we can help others who have food instability,” Michelle said. Some of those receiving food share the pantry contact information with others. Michelle said they also distribute fliers to stores and other locations to reach more people in need.

“We’d been trying for a long time to get something to help our residents with food,” said Diamaris “Dee” Rosario, resident services coordinator at Albright Terrace. Fliers are distributed in the building to alert residents about the food, which volunteers bring monthly. Members of the Resident Council help unload the trailer and take the food to the community room for distribution.

Many food recipients are elderly, some have disabilities, and all are on a fixed income.

Michelle said Mother Cabrini continues to have an impact today, more than a century after her death. A recent movie, “Cabrini,” told her life story.

“If anyone hasn’t seen the movie, I highly encourage them to see it,” Michelle said. “I saw it and was so moved by it.  I wanted to be just like her. She was feisty, she wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer and she put the needs of others in front of her own.”

Michelle, who runs her own business, Coding & Compliance Experts, was approached by Father Neil Walters, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini and St. Vincent de Paul (Elyria) pastor, and asked if she’d be interested in running the food pantry since the previous director was ill. “My husband wanted to know how I could fit it in. I prayed about it and decided to do it.” she said.

The position was paid, but she refused the salary, insisting that it be used for the pantry. “If everyone else can volunteer their time, so can I,” she said. At that time, Joseph Faga was able to be co-director and also helped tremendously, she said. In November, he had to step down.

“People say they have become closer to God through service. People really understand the work we’re doing,” Michelle added.  

As pantry volunteers loaded boxes of food into the trunk of her car, one recipient said, “God is here in this place and he is helping us get more food.”