New Work

Well, because I am one of the most flexible volunteers, I get passed around the various programs. I know that to some of you, me being the most flexible sounds a bit strange; let me say that it is by default. It is because my position as Steve's Assistant (with Enterprises) provides the least structured schedule - and in some ways the least need, in comparison to the shelter or other programs. That being said, I am now working at the Food Bank on Thursday and Friday afternoons from 1-4pm. I know very little about the food bank - how it is run/organized, how food is passed out, how we get food, etc. - but I will learn most of this as I work there. One of the exciting parts about working at the food bank is that I get to work with Rhonda again. Rhonda was the office manager that I had started working with here. I had my first day yesterday. I was given a brief run down on how to check people in on the computer. Then, a brief tour of the facility. Finally, it was time to begin working. I decided to head to the back of the building and sort through donation boxes. There have been a lot of food drives and financial contributions to the food bank recently because we are getting low on food and behind on the electric bill. So, I sorted boxes and boxes of mostly canned goods. I learned that (according to these donations) most people donate corn, green beans, peas, and mixed vegetables. In the fruit category, pears beat peaches out by a few cans with pineapple and cranberry sauce close runner-ups. In the tomato category, the winner was definitely the small cans of tomato sauce - which is strange because I seldom buy this myself; the runner up is diced tomatoes. In the meat category, tuna wins, but there was not a surplus. What we really need are "meals in a can" which we got very few of. These would be things like spagetti-0's, chef-boy-r-dee (sp), and other products in which someone would get many of the food groups in one can. The reality is either people don't realize this, or (and this would be the sadder alternative) these types of things are more expensive and people tend to donate the cheaper items. I remember one time when talking about food donations, and someone commented about people who donated generic brands. Their thought was, "if you wouldn't purchase the generic for yourself, why would you purchase it for someone else." It really made me think about my motives in giving sometimes - give, but don't give better quality/more expensive version. Don't get me wrong, any food is good; these are just thoughts and realizations for me.