Feeding bodies -- and souls

As director of the Nativity Food Pantry and Food Bank, Pat LeJeune, 62, is gearing up for Saturday's fundraiser, Taste of 2003.

Her food pantry and food bank distributed more than 3-million pounds of food to the needy in 2002 and reached 1,500 families per week in East Hillsborough and parts of Pasco and Hernando counties.

Over lunch at Jesse's, we talked about helping the needy, her inspiration and her relationship with her 20-year-old daughter, Jackie, a student at the University of Tampa.

Pull up a chair and join us.

ERNEST: It must take a big heart to work with a charity.

PAT: Yes, but working with volunteers is fantastic. You see a side of people you don't see anywhere else. They don't work like you or I work where you have a day to put in; they work to get the job done. You just can't imagine it how much they give. Some of the guys in the warehouse are there five or six times a week. Between the food pantry and the food bank, it's 86 people we have involved to a lesser or greater degree.

How did your involvement with the food pantry come about?

My first interest was working with the mentally handicapped. I did that at the age of 40 until my last daughter was born and then I stayed home until she was in middle school. I started working part time with Sister Constance, who was running the food pantry. She was just a little dynamo, the one who started it. I enjoyed it. I figured it was time to get a full-time job, and I went back into working with the mentally handicapped. I went to work for McDonald Training Center and when Sister retired, she recommended that they approach me and offer me the job of handling the food bank.

What drew you to work with the handicapped?

I was brought up in a home with a mentally retarded brother -- profoundly retarded, never out of bed, never toilet-trained, never could feed himself -- and my parents gave 40 years of their lives to taking care of him and their marriage survived it. Some people can't tolerate it or can't deal with it, but if you grow up with it, you know you can.

When you're not working for, or planning for, or thinking about the pantry, what do you do?

Are you talking about in the middle of night? I'm the type of person, I do think about it all the time because it's a very diverse position. It's fundraising, dealing with the volunteers and getting the food and seeing the food go out. And we don't have maintenance, so I do whatever I expect the volunteers to do. Father (Ralph) Argentino is the sole person who is responsible for the whole Nativity parish, but when it comes to this little aspect of it, the buck stops with me.

So your job is heartwarming, but it's also pressure?

As the economy changes, you're always concerned with maintaining your donations. I'm a firm believer that the more responsible we are with what we get, the more that keeps coming in. We've kept a good reputation in that respect, but it's also meeting the needs.

What's the best part of your job?

It really makes me feel good. I'll give you a really good example. When Wal-Mart opened up with the Superstore down here, they had different agencies that they pick to give donations to. The reason that we were there was at the request of one of the people who was a food pantry recipient who had gotten a job at that Wal-Mart. She went to the manager and requested for us and they even let her personally come. That's tremendous.

Tell me about your daughter, Jackie?

I do enjoy spending time with my daughter. She and I have a nice friendship and I enjoy that.

What do you do when you spend time with her?

Talk and shop. (Laughs.) It's fascinating to me because you think about the generation span that my kids have been through. For me as a mother, what my boys who are at the ages of 35 and 32 and how their life has gone as opposed to what she's been exposed to. It's unbelievable. Life is so different out there. But I'm extremely proud of her.

How much of a role does faith play in your work?

A tremendous amount. I've always been open-minded as far as other faiths go, but I think what all of us who work at the warehouse are so excited about is the fact that when you look through that list of churches, it's every denomination. We have really gotten to know other denominations on a grass-roots level. My philosophy is not to use the food to convert anybody or evangelize in any way.

What else are you passionate about?

I guess it would be injustice. The people I'm serving, there are reasons they are in that position. We have this very wealthy country and we have people who, for whatever reason, can't make the grade. I think those people's plight is not just my responsibility or the church's responsibility, it's the whole country's responsibility -- just taking care of the lesser of us.

What do you say to people who insist poor people just need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and stop looking for handouts?

I don't believe that. The poor with us are our responsibility, and if we didn't have people to take care of, we would be less for that. You can't just throw it off on the government. There are a few people who are using us. There are people who don't even need the food and are coming to us. That's not our problem. Our problem is to do the best we can for them, and I don't think we can do it alone. Food is the first step. If you have enough food, chances are you're going to be able to hold on to your house.

Are people really conning you?

Sure. There are people who are going to take advantage, but I don't think that's the majority. And even if it were, you still have to look at it from the point of view, if they see our generosity maybe it will turn their heart around. There's always a justification for generosity.

DESSERT: A postscript from Ernest

Part of LeJeune's motivation comes from the fact that much of the food they collect might be thrown away if the food bank wasn't in place. Not surprisingly, when LeJeune couldn't finish her nacho salad, she asked for a box. She just can't throw food away.

-- For details about the Taste of 2003, see the RSVP listing on Page 4.

-- Ernest Hooper also writes a column for the Tampa & State section of the St. Petersburg Times. Lunch With Ernest is edited for brevity and clarity. To suggest lunch partners call Ernest at (813) 226-3406 or e-mail hooper@sptimes.com .