This article is part of a series of Durham community leader profiles.
A request kicks off a quest to feed neighbors
I went to see Theresia McGee to learn about the pantry program she started. I left with an appreciation of her longtime community work, some wise parenting advice, and six pounds of ham.
McGee is one of those people with multiple projects going all the time. The kind of person people turn to get things done. At one time she worked full-time at Veteran Affairs while also providing family care to teens and running a senior living facility.
Once she retired, her pastor at Greater Orange Grove asked her to think about what more they could do to serve the community. Today, McGee, 77, runs a dynamic food distribution organization and innovative extension called Youth Supporting Roots.
I met with McGee in her headquarters, a converted dining room in her home punctuated with inspiration posters “for the kids when they come to the training.” Our conversation was peppered with calls from volunteers and family members along with a visit from her granddaughter.
McGee gets things cooking to help those in need
In November 2016, McGee and others at her church began providing hot meals during lunchtime five days a week, Monday through Friday. They also gave each attendant a sandwich, a fruit, a dessert, and water or juice. What started with service for ten to fifteen people swelled, as did the services, such as providing clothes.
After about five years, the growing operation, known as Hannah’s Community Kitchen, became a safety hazard, so the group shifted from cooking onsite to handing out food staples. With the need for more outdoor space to support their drive-through distributions, McGee worked out an agreement with neighboring Christian Assembly Church so cars could drive through their lot to Hannah’s Community Kitchen without disrupting traffic in Durham.
McGee coordinates her team’s food distributions so they are well spaced in relation to the other pantries’ schedules. She explained they distribute “three days, three times a month. So, we give it out on the 1st Tuesday, [and the] 2nd and 4th Wednesday at 9:30 until the food runs out” while “Christian Assembly gives theirs out every… 2nd and 4th Thursday. And so we didn’t want to conflict with them.”
When asked when they typically run out of food, McGee quickly replied, “Within an hour after we start.” She explained that because some people can’t make it to the distributions and the initial operation had no place to store food, she “started, with the blessings of the missionary president, a food pantry at 6611 Guess Road ”where they can store food and we purchased a freezer.”
McGee also frequently directs people to the EndDurhamHunger site if they need immediate assistance between these distributions. Her involvement in the broader food security network led her to connect with Duke for support with her newest program.
A creative idea is born: intergenerational teams
McGee said the majority of pantry volunteers are ages 60 and up. They have a will to serve but maybe can’t physically do the work they once could. (One of the phone calls during our meeting involved ten-pound bags of potatoes.) McGee started an intergenerational program that teams teen volunteers willing to learn with senior volunteers who serve as mentors. Each student-chaperone pair volunteered together with the students taking on more of the physical work, while the seniors showed them the ropes.
One of the participating partners was the Church of Philadelphia which includes the Serenity Community Garden. Edwina Gabriel, the church pastor and a former nurse, shared their student volunteer “learned how to harvest from the garden. He would help unload the food we pick up every week, and he and the chaperone would help sort and remove any expired food. And, once the student was confident, he would also help take the boxes out to the customers.”
The pairs worked at ten area pantries that signed up to participate in the program. Feedback from the site teams has been positive.
Gabriel said their student “was a sweetheart to work with. He was really enthusiastic. He loved what he was doing. And the chaperone was very professional.”
“Youth Supporting Roots was a very good experience for us.”
EDWINA GABRIEL, PASTOR AT CHURCH OF PHILADELPHIA
The chaperones were also enthusiastic. According to McGee,“One of the chaperones that I had this year said she worked with food pantries all year long, but she liked working on this team better than anything she’s done.”
Pay recognizes participants’ major commitments
While this is a volunteer program, it is a significant commitment. Participants must attend required training, work shifts six days a week — including one Sunday — during the summer, and adhere to a set of guidelines that ensure the safety and positive impact of all involved.
McGee felt that paying participants was important for a few reasons. One is that the program demanded them to work some specific hours. “You don’t want to work on a Sunday. You don’t want to do it on the Saturday. But that’s sometimes the only time that people can get their food,” she explained.
She also feels that payment may make the program more attractive to adult mentors who are in the under-60 range. “If it’s paid, you would have maybe 35 to 55 doing the work. It can be a job.”
The student received a stipend. “What it does, it’s just helped the family. These 14-year-olds, are bringing a little bit of income into the house; even if they don’t use it for the house, they can use it for their books. They can use it for some socialization that they want to do.”
Funding helped meet unexpected demand
Theresia was able to bring Youth Supporting Roots to life with financial support from the Duke Doing Good employee giving campaign.
It came just in time, Elizabeth Shamblin, a volunteer who helps McGee with marketing and technology, explained: “She did have a lot of responses after I got the website up, but it was almost too much response. So then she had to rush to find funding because I advertised it on all the local sites, thinking that, you know, we’d maybe get three or four people…I was a little afraid when people started writing in and she didn’t know what funding was coming. I’m like, I can’t help you with that. She would have paid for them all herself…That’s how devoted she is.”
Collaboration creates stronger communities
Youth Supporting Roots was one of varied food security organizations that received Doing Good grants this past year. Scott Brummel, Assistant Director for Food and Nutrition Security at Duke Community Affairs, who oversaw the grants, prioritized projects that created new capacity through community collaboration and Youth Supporting Roots fit right in.
Even how McGee learned of the opportunity reinforces this approach: “I have been going to Durham Congregations in Action coalition meetings for about ten years. I’ve been on Zoom meetings with Scott for End Hunger Durham. I am always taking notes. I thought about him at the last minute for this program, and I sent him a message, and he said I think we can help, I’ll let you know. So he did. I was so happy.”
Shamblin was not surprised McGee’s connections saved the day.
McGee’s “at the heart of the things and, like the circulatory system, she keeps all these good things running.”
ELIZABETH SHAMBLIN, VOLUNTEER
McGee’s “Take it if you need it” philosophy goes beyond any one program
McGee’s efforts to creatively evolve to meet neighbors’ needs aren’t confined to her formal roles. A 20-year-long resident of Trinity Park, McGee is able to give the rundown on every home on her street and then some. These include longtime residences, major rebuilds with new residents, and apartments, including one used as an Airbnb. While some might expect a short-term rental to be met with resistance, McGee’s perspective is quite the opposite.
She said: “Whoever is there is there because of an issue with their life. I’ll get their attention, and I’ll say, ‘Is there anything I can do to help you?’ and they’ll share their story with me and sometimes I can help them. Like, once [a family] was just moving in and … I said, ‘Could I get you some food from somewhere?’ And they said [they would] like a pizza. So I ordered the pizza and had them delivered there. I used to keep gift cards in my house, so I would give those to a family. One lady and her husband had moved up here from Georgia because their house had burned down and they was getting a new house and they had to be here for a week [before they could move in]. Sometime immigrant families come and they stay 3 or 4 days until they can get a place. Sometimes I can’t understand what they saying; they can’t understand what I’m saying. But I still say, ‘Hi, come in, and I have something here…You can take it if you need it.’”
Speaking of that, she insisted I take two hams from the refrigerator since they couldn’t be used at her latest distribution. I tried to decline, but it was no use. I had been recruited into McGee’s efforts and soon delivered them to a local community refrigerator.
Photos by Jacob Whatley ‘25/Office of Communications and Marketing, Duke University (unless otherwise noted).
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