Forget second nature.

To Walter Jones and Elana Anderson, sharing what you’ve got with those who have less is their first nature. Neither has ever known any differently.

“I came from a family that was always helping folks,” says Jones, 79. “There was always a place to stay at our house and always something to eat if you needed it.”

The same is true for Anderson, who notes, “We were brought up to help.”

Which is a big reason the two are the right fit to run the food pantry at Greater Victory Temple in Seaside. Jones has been in charge of the pantry about 14 years; Anderson’s been on the job about 12.

On a recent Friday afternoon, the dining hall tables at the church are laden with cereal, canned goods, bakery items, pasta, bread, eggs, fruits and vegetables getting set up for the next morning’s line of people to pick up. Cardboard boxes and paper bags are ready to be filled.

Anderson, 77, a semi-retired private-duty nurse’s aide, directs the unloading of the food that the church van picked up earlier at The Food Bank for Monterey County in Salinas. The church pays 18 cents a pound for staples, and gets produce, dairy items and breads for free.

Anderson surveys a table of pies, croissants and other breads, noting some of the loaves could look better.

“I don’t want squashed bread,” she says under her breath. “But beggars can’t be choosers… ”

Anderson estimates the church usually serves 60-70 families every second and fourth Saturday– though lately it has been closer to 100– handing out 40-50 pounds of food to each family. People must sign in, but otherwise, no questions are asked. If someone says they need food, they get it.

In recent months, both Anderson and Jones say, more young families have been taking advantage of the church’s offerings, just so they can get by. “We definitely get people who break your heart,” Anderson says.

Jones’ philosophy of sharing came into play in a big way some years back when his daughter was having drug problems. Then, he organized block parties for ex-drug users, and would do massive barbecues, feeding whoever came by. Everybody on the block got involved, he says.

At the church, pastor Bishop W.W. Hamilton pretty much gives Jones and Anderson free rein. Jones says he did not want to have to make people uncomfortable seeking food by taking names or asking for proof of need.

“Our job is to supplement whatever you’ve got just to make your life a little easier,” Jones says.

Anderson and Jones both spent part of their early years in small, all-black towns in Oklahoma– Anderson in Boley, Jones in Taft– where everybody looked out for one another. Their upbringing laid a strong foundation for how the two conduct their lives.

Jones, a retired chef, lived with his grandmother, who instilled the giving spirit in him, he says. Anderson’s home was where everyone flocked after church on Sundays because her mother always had a pot of food on the stove and there was always something to eat.

The two met when both were living in Seaside; Jones is married to Anderson’s cousin, Ruby.

Jones looks at his and Anderson’s giving natures pretty simply.

“You see a need, if you can fill it, you fill it,” Jones says. “If not, you pray for it.”

The Greater Victory Temple food pantry is open 9-10am the second and fourth Saturday of every month, 1620 Broadway Ave., Seaside. Information, www.greatervictorytemple.org.