Meet Deb Dolson | Director of Outreach, Coconut Grove Crisis Food Pantry

We had the good fortune of connecting with Deb Dolson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Deb, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
Every week in Coconut Grove, 230 homes open their doors to find groceries waiting. No store run. No checkout line. No choice between rent and food. How does a neighborhood operation pull this off? It starts with a team that knows kale from spinach—and why it matters.
Founded 42 years ago at Christ Episcopal Church, the Coconut Grove Crisis Food Pantry operates like many other businesses except in one critical way. In most operations, more clients naturally mean more income. When our client list grows, we have to go out and encourage more donations, get more creative on purchasing, and stretch our supply chain further. We adapt to the natural cycles Miami living brings, but like all businesses, unexpected circumstances can shake us badly. Crises like SNAP cuts mean more people need what we provide, and we must hope, and work, to encourage more support from donors. Being a community charity, every new person we serve requires someone, somewhere, to step forward to help.
The Pantry started as a small neighborhood pantry where nearby residents could pick up groceries in person. Since then, the organization has continually evolved to meet the community’s changing needs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the mission took on new urgency. Faced with mandatory closures, a core group of volunteers quickly designed an emergency response that required rapid growth and adaptation. They made the bold decision to shift to home delivery, allowing them to safely serve neighbors without bringing crowds into the Pantry. In just a few weeks, volunteers recruited new team members, built delivery routes, and reorganized operations. What began as a crisis response soon revealed a lasting silver lining: delivery made it possible to reach far more households, especially older adults and neighbors with limited mobility. Today, that model serves anyone living in Coconut Grove’s 33133 ZIP code.
At the center of this weekly operation is an amazing team of more than 60 volunteers who help keep every moving part connected. They maintain the systems, accountability, and operational rigor of any for-profit business. Each week, volunteers handle food purchasing and sourcing, receiving, inventory control, food safety, quality control, packing, logistics, and delivery. They also recruit and train volunteers, manage budgets, do the financial record-keeping, community communications, and long-term planning.
What looks like a simple weekly delivery actually unfolds over three busy days, beginning with volunteers driving to grocery store partners, coordinated through Food Rescue US South Florida, to collect the Pantry’s weekly food share. Before shelves and refrigerators are restocked, every item is checked for quality and sell-by dates, and spoiled produce is removed.
Then retail purchasing is done to balance the inventory needed for the week. There is always a focus on proteins and fresh produce. On delivery day, teams pack, load, and head out across the Grove, turning crates of donated food into hundreds of doorstep grocery deliveries. In addition to all this is the work for the free on-site community dinners that are hosted weekly on Monday nights. The Pantry won’t change the world; it will just make it a much nicer place for many of our neighbors. By helping households stretch grocery budgets and making food access easier for seniors and residents with limited mobility, the Pantry offers steady, practical support that fits into everyday life. After more than four decades of service, that quiet consistency remains at the heart of its work: showing up each week and helping the community take care of one another.
The Coconut Grove Crisis Food Pantry goes beyond simply providing food—it delivers hope, nourishment, and a sense of community to friends and neighbors in Coconut Grove.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Lessons learned from a food pantry volunteer:
• Food is a basic human right, not a privilege or reward.
• Food insecurity affects every community.
• Everyone has a story.
• Preserving the dignity of recipients is paramount.
• Collaborating with volunteers, donors, and recipients is essential.
• Working in a pantry demands strict time management, careful organization, and diligent inventory control.
• In the words of Mother Teresa, “If you can’t feed 100 people then feed just one”.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Dedicated with honor to our valued clients, generous donors and faithful volunteers

Website: https://coconutgrovecrisisfoodpantry.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coconutgrovecrisisfoodpantry/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoconutGroveCrisisFoodPantry

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@coconutgrovecrisisfoodpantry