Seven-day story planner

Larkfield Food Rescue. One story every morning for seven days, then one a week. Every story is a short first-person note from one named staff member (here, Maya Okafor, route coordinator), signed with her name and role. Fill one row per day before you write a word of email.

Day Story angle Whose voice Ask the field team for Target length Subject line
Day 0 The 6 a.m. pickup. What Hillcrest Market set aside overnight, what would have hit the dumpster by seven, and which pantry had it on the shelf by 7:30. Maya, first person, from the driver's seat One photo of the loaded van at the dock. Two lines Maya wrote down on the dock. One number: pounds logged that morning (212). 90 to 120 words Your first story from the field
Day 1 Ana's first shift at the Hollis Park pantry as Maya saw it: the sorting table, the first family through the door, what surprised Ana. Maya, first person, about Ana (first-time volunteer) One photo of the sorting table (hands and crates, no faces without consent). Two quotes from Ana, in Ana's words. One number: families served during her shift (63). 90 to 120 words Day 1: Ana's first shift
Day 2 Denise's Thursday. Night-shift hours cut in March, eight weeks of fresh food from the pantry, what her kids noticed. Maya writes what Denise told her. Maya, first person, about Denise (pantry guest, Bramble Creek) One photo of a packed bag on the counter (no faces). Two quotes from Denise, with signed consent. One number: weeks the pantry carried the family (8). 90 to 120 words Day 2: Denise's Thursday
Day 3 The grocer partner. Why Raymond sets food aside instead of tossing it, and what changed on his loading dock since Maya's first pickup there. Maya, first person, about Raymond (store manager, Hillcrest Market) One photo of the set-aside cart in the back room. Two quotes from Raymond. One number: pounds diverted from this one store per week (1,400). 90 to 120 words Day 3: Why Hillcrest sets it aside
Day 4 The numbers day. One month of routes in one figure, and the one thing about it Maya did not expect. Maya, first person, from her own route log The monthly pounds-by-category log. Two lines from Maya about what the number hides. One chart-worthy number: 41,600 pounds recovered last month, 62% of it fresh produce. 70 to 100 words plus one chart Day 4: The month in one number
Day 5 Maya's worst weather day. The ice storm in February, four routes, one detour, and the pantry that opened anyway. Maya, first person, from the driver's seat One photo of the van in weather (from the log, or reshoot the next storm). Two lines Maya wrote that night. One number: routes completed that day (4 of 4). 90 to 120 words Day 5: The ice storm route
Day 6 The close. What the seven days added up to, what week two looks like (one note a week, same morning), and how to reply to Maya. Maya, first person, to the reader One photo of the team at the depot. Two lines from Maya on what she hopes the reader took from the week. One number: meals recovered across the seven days (about 2,800). 70 to 100 words Day 6: What comes next

How to collect all seven stories in one afternoon

  1. Block one afternoon and have your one named writer ride a full route. Bring a notebook, a phone, and the consent form below, printed six times.
  2. Ask every person the same three questions: what happened this morning, what would have happened without it, and what it felt like. Write the answers down in their words, not yours.
  3. Take one photo per story, landscape, in daylight. Hands, crates, vans, and shelves need no consent. Faces do.
  4. Get one number per story from a log, a scale, or a sign-in sheet before you leave the site. Never from memory.
  5. Draft each story at 90 to 120 words that evening while it is fresh, in the first person, in the writer's own voice. Read it aloud once. Cut anything you would not say to a friend.
  6. Send each draft to the person quoted and wait for a yes before it goes in the queue. A yes by text message is enough if you keep it.

The consent line

Read this aloud to anyone you quote or photograph, then have them sign or reply yes in writing:

“May Larkfield Food Rescue share your first name, the town you live in, your words as I have written them here, and this photo in our emails and on our website? You can say no to any part of that, and you can change your mind later by contacting us at [contact_email].”

Consent is never a condition of receiving food, volunteering, or partnering with us. A guest who says no gets the same service as a guest who says yes, and the story uses a different voice.