A candy man he is not. No, he does not ply the streets of Minneapolis looking for children with “sweet tooths.” His customers are mostly homeless folks with real hunger pangs. He is Allan Law. They call him the sandwich man. You may have heard of him on national news programs or in the Minneapolis StarTribune (whence I obtained these details in an April 14, 2018 article by Kelly Smith).
Last year the 73-year-old retired elementary teacher distributed over 800,000 sandwiches. His goal this year is 1 million. After two decades of doling out these slabs of nutrition, you might say he’s got his routine down pat. Never getting a full eight hours of sleep, he arises at 3:30 each morning, and begins his day’s work. Climbing in and out of his donated van is not as easy as it once was for the gray-haired man. On occasion, he has even fallen asleep at a red traffic light. But tirelessly, he forges on, having taken off only three days in the last five decades of helping his fellow man.
The sandwiches are assembled by volunteers at corporations such as Target and Hormel, as well as at many churches (my church participated in such an endeavor). The process is quite simple, as (unlike the picture above) there are no worries about other trimmings such as lettuce, tomato, or pickles to make them more appetizing. A simple slice of luncheon meat, cheese, and two slabs of plain white bread make the process go quite quickly.
The sandwiches are stored in seventeen freezers that Allan Law has in his apartment, as well as in other donated freezers around the Twin Cities holding 20,000 sandwiches. The cost of the ingredients is covered mostly by donations ($130,000 last year).
More than a sandwich man, Allan Law finds himself often interacting with his customers, handing out bus tokens or offering news on prospective job leads. His goal is not just to feed people, but to bring about life changes. The side of his gray van proclaims his mission to be: “Love One Another.” Indeed, his many years of tireless work are a shining example of Love Lived Large. Thank you, Allan Law.