Volunteering at a local food bank: personal observations and impact

Community Observation

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A local food bank distributes much needed food in my local area. It is a not-for-profit organization which works with a national network of food banks. Through a very sophisticated food transportation and sharing system, this local food bank acts as a food bank for food donated both locally and throughout the U.S.

During the past year, the food bank distributed over ten million pounds of food through several hundred human service organizations including: other food banks, emergency food pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, child long-term care facilities, homes for foster children, shelters for homeless and for victims of domestic abuse, and day care centers for both young and old.

Observations

My experience was incredibly educational. I helped out with several facets of the food bank as a volunteer, including packaging food in boxes for delivery to food pantries around the community, and running a forklift to move big pallets of inventory and to unload semi-trailer trucks that delivered to the food bank. I also even supervised groups who volunteer to come in for a few hours to package bulk food and box it for delivery.

One of the more interesting things was to help with pick-ups of food from local groceries, bakery outlets, and other organizations who wanted to donate food to the needy.

The food bank has several trucks that they use to pick up food on several routes around the city.

Every morning they leave around 6:30 A.M. To start a pre-planned route and arrive back at the food bank by late morning loaded with everything imaginable in the way of consumable food, from milk to all kinds of bakery and breads to canned goods. It was all very organized.

What I Learned

One person really can make a difference. A small group of dedicated, generous, hard-working people can change a community. And all of us working together could change the world. I helped one mother put her groceries in her car, and she smiled at me and thanked me like I had saved her life. She even hugged me. I'll never forget it.

The people that do this work don't ask for thanks and they don't need pats on the back. They do it because they want to. Believe me they could get paid a lot more doing the same type of work for a grocery chain or a huge discount store.

I also learned that it really doesn't matter what one chooses to do to help at an organization like this...or any other volunteer function. The needs are great, and everything helps, because that little job you do, like sweeping a floor, or helping to box the food, or moving pallets around, is something that, ultimately, helps to get the "big" job done.