Hunger vs. Hunger

By Ali Brooks

Hairnet and all, she walks speedily down the hall, purpose driven. Taking a

break from making 99 meals, the executive direct of Stillwater Mobile Meals turns to

face me.

Her name is Carolyn Hunger. “Go figure,” she says.

Hunger, dedicated to her clients and volunteers, wakes up early in the

morning to make sure that the mobile routes are filled daily, menus are up to date,

and that the food is cooked according to specific diets her clients need.

As meals are being prepared in the basement of Stillwater Medical Center,

170 volunteers gather daily, Hunger being the leader of the pack. Her office, located

across the hall from the Medical Center’s kitchen, is petite, simple, organized,

looking as if she spends most of her time outside of the office.

Hunger took the executive directing position after working for First United

Methodist Church Early Childhood Center for a little over 10 years. Having a job that

already involved community service in some way, the previous executive director

told Hunger that she would be a great candidate for the opening position. She began

to think if she could ever leave her “2-year-old hugs” Hunger said, and thought

about declining the offer. Yet after a while of processing the idea, she came to the

realization that it would be another great way to give back to the Stillwater

community. She accepted the offer.

Hunger’s goal in life is to give anything and everything she can back to her

community. “I’ll never have another job in my lifetime that doesn’t give back to the

community in some way,” Hunger said.

Being the driven, passionate person Hunger is, she even put myself to work

almost immediately.

An assembly line started. Hunger, putting herself smack dab in the middle of

it. Peas and carrots are scooped into a Styrofoam container, spaghetti-chicken

casserole to follow shortly behind.

She looks over in my direction with a big grin on her face “Now this is the fun

part,” Hunger said. One by one she scoops the delicious looking casserole into the

containers. “She does much more than what her actual job description implies,”

Sarah Wilburn, an Oklahoma State University student and Mobile Meals volunteer,

says.

“She does everything and remembers everything about everyone in the

organization,” Dave Harnly, a five year volunteer at Stillwater Mobile Meals, stated.

Though Hunger did not personally go to Oklahoma State University, she has

many ties to it. Her husband, being a Plant Pathology professor, has been helping

with the Mobile Meals program for 28 years. She also has many volunteers who are

professors at OSU, along with many student volunteers.

“I am surrounded by 170 volunteers. Which, volunteers are people

who have kind hearts and giving spirits. I can’t work with anything better than that.”

Hunger’s heart is in Stillwater, and Stillwater is where it will stay. “Someday I

will retire, maybe,” Hunger chuckles. “Hopefully I’ll still be directing at a very old

age, maybe with my own mobile meal right in front of me.”

Stillwater Mobile Meals is lucky to have such a dedicated woman in their

midst. Someone who will go above and beyond what her job requires of her.

Source List:

1. Carolyn Hunger, executive director of Stillwater Mobile Meals 405-372-1480

2. Sarah Wilburn, volunteer at Stillwater Mobile Meals 405-742-5765 (Stillwater

Mobile Meals number)

3. Dave Harnly, volunteer at Stillwater Mobile Meals 405-742-5765 (Stillwater

Mobile Meals number)

Stillwater Medical Center’s basement is the headquarters for Stillwater Mobile Meals. PHOTO BY ALI BROOKS