Last Week

I continued to volunteer after my required hours but I won't be returning to the food bank until after Christmas, so I think now is a good time to have a last entry. I finally donated that turkey and believe or not I'm getting another one, so I'll probably donate that one too. My family isn't too fond of turkey, so I'm more than happy to give it away.
From blogging, I've actually learned quite a bit about the food bank and the needs of the community. The recession has made the food bank more popular than ever. It's really made me appreciate what I have; I'm lucky. In that aspect, I try to donate food and give my time because there might be a day where I need to use the food bank. It just makes me feel good to help someone with something as basic as food. Another thing I've noticed, a lot of the people (probably a bigger majority than total population) have just moved here from somewhere else, like immigrants. They're some of the nicest people but there's usually a language gap. I wish I could speak Spanish or Bosnian so I could be a better asset.
Overall, I'm going to miss the food bank for the few weeks I don't go. I enjoy the people I work with and that was unexpected for me. I really feel like I'm making a difference in the community and that's a rewarding feeling. I want to volunteer there as long as I can.

October 20th

This Wednesday was just awkward. There was almost no food; we ran out of tuna helper and jelly. That almost never happens. I think they were expecting a new shipment of food soon and that's why it was so low. On the other hand, we had more than enough fruits and veges. That's one thing I love about the Food Bank, people with gardens always donate the food they can't eat so we get organic fresh produce daily. A regular person would have to go to the market and pay top price for something we can give people to free.
I know in America so many people have to choose between expensive fruits and vegetables when they can get chips and soda for so much cheaper. It's leading to the obesity problem we have. Lower incomes typically don't have good nutrition due to those extra expenses. The Food Bank is changing that just by personal donations. I love to see the kindness in this town.
The decrease of food has me even more worried about the Thanksgiving baskets. It's about a month till then and we're nowhere near ready. I think, however, they might be moving the baskets from the Meridian Food Bank to the Idaho Food Bank. If that's true, then I'll feel better, but it’s just a rumor.
I enjoy the people I work with and I'm looking forward to next week.

October 13th

I looked at my service log sheet and I have 12 hours so far. That's only 3 hours left and this is only my fourth blog. I'm planning on volunteering even after I've completed my hours so I'm not worried.
We're starting to acquire more and more things for Holiday Baskets. It's mid-way through October and I don't know if we're going to get there. I looked and we only have about 10 cans of gravy, broth and cranberry sauce. If we're seriously going to hand these baskets out, we're going to need a lot more of everything very soon. I hope we have enough in time, or some people are going to go without a Thanksgiving meal. That really breaks my heart, and that's why I like helping there. Food is so basic and yet can be so emotional at the same time. We're not just giving these people food, we're giving them a reason to be happy and celebrate with food. Sometimes the answer is just that simple. I'm bringing in a turkey next week so hopefully that will help.
Towards the end of the shift a girl scout troop donated almost $200 to the food bank. It was a really sweet gesture. I miss those cookie-selling days...
Can't wait till next week.

October 6th

The first of the month is supposed to be one of our busiest days. However, it was one of the slowest volunteer days I've had. I talk to another volunteer, Amy, and she believes that most people get their food stamps on the first of the month so they don't need the food bank. It’s the end of the month when the stamps run out that people need assistance the most. Whatever the reason, I enjoyed it because I got to chat with my fellow volunteers and learn more about them.

We had a ton of donations. People came in about every half hour and donated vegetables, canned and dry food and dog food. We even got some toothpaste. I found this interesting because I thought that the food bank only accepted nonperishable items, but in reality they accept almost anything. The next time I have a lot of those plastic grocery bags, I'm going to donate them to the food bank. They accept those too.

September 29th 2010

Each week the amount of food we have varies. Last week we had tons of things to chose from and this week the miscellaneous shelf was almost empty. I never knew private donations made such a huge difference. I figured that corporations would sponsor the food bank and use it as a tax write-off. I do think that's a major factor, but I'm not completely sure.
Next week I'm going to bring in a turkey for the upcoming holiday season. They make turkey baskets with like stuffing mix and cranberries. It's really a nice touch for families that can't afford it. I also want to bring in some produce from my garden. I have an abundance of lemon cucumbers. We accept a lot of produce, which I didn't think about. I thought it was all cans or dried food. I think that's really cool considering how a diet of all prepackaged food isn't good for anyone.

Meridian Food Bank

I have worked here before signing up for a service learning program. There's something about it that I really enjoy and keep coming back to. Mostly, the job is passing out food to families. We give everyone a basket of dried goods, like cereal, macaroni and ramen noodles as well as a basket of canned goods, like vegetables, fruit and beans. Larger families with seven or more people get an entire extra basket. The majority of people we get are either big families and a person lost their job, immigrants and older people. A lot of the people are embarrassed about getting their food there, especially the people that were recently laid off. I feel for them, because I know that can't be easy. My family has never been put into a situation like that. I'm lucky, and I feel as though I should give back because of it. I know if I didn't have food, I would want people to support me. Overall, I just enjoy the food bank. It makes me feel like I've helped someone, and that feels good.