Thursday 7/14 1-4 pm:
I spoke to a few people that I, unfortunately, don’t remember the names of. I portioned the fish into 5-ounce servings. I enjoyed the repetitiveness of the activity and the challenge of getting the scale to the exact right amount.
Thursday 7/21 1-4 pm:
Due to being a silly little goose, I mistakenly believed I had signed up for the 1-4 pm shift and thus I volunteered 1-4 pm. It came to my attention around halfway through my shift that I was supposed to be doing the 4-7 pm shift. Unfortunately, due to the heat and the running around and heavy lifting I did with Mr. Abernathy, I was unable to continue after 4. In a sense, I am grateful for my error in that it enabled me to meet Mr. Abernathy, with whom I had an absolute blast taking out the trash/recycling, unloading boxes full of food off of palettes and into the fridges or the storage pantry, and sweeping the floors. After he left, I took the labeling position, where I put stickers on the meals after they came out of the machine that sealed the containers shut, and I remained there until 4 pm. It was at this table that I met the employees of a biotech company. They were all super nice and talked to me about where I was going to school and what I was going to do after I graduated.
Wednesday 7/27 1-4 pm:
I put green beans and broccoli into meal trays and chatted with two other people also doing meal packaging.
Thursday 8/4 1-4 pm:
I put pork chop, polenta, and mashed potatoes into shallow trays. In scooping for 3 hours, I experienced hand pain from the repetitive motion.
Reflection:
Working with Community Servings has been an absolute pleasure. From meeting the staff and other volunteers to learning about the organization’s values and vision, this service-learning experience has been one of a kind. When I first started working with Community Servings, I was hesitant about the approach due to its similarities to food banks that typically alleviate the symptoms of food injustice while doing little to address the root causes of the flaws of the food system. Through working with the organization and speaking with staff, I was able to discover Community Serving’s vision of how the organization strives to shift responsibility to insurance to meet the needs currently met by the organization. Overall, this experience has been enlightening and gratifying and I will likely continue with them in the future.