Blog 2 Post D

Service Project 

          I completed my service project at Lakeview Pantry. I volunteered there from October 24th to November 25th. I very much enjoyed being given the oppurtunity to explore the many roles in the agency. 

My first day I volunteered alongside two of my classmates, Ali and Mike. Mike and I were assigned to sort out flower bouquets. We found this detail very heart warming. Clients utilizing the food pantry were able to pick up fresh flowers as well! 

I was then transferred over to the produce department in which I would be packaging and providing fresh fruits and vegetables for the qualifying clients. Produce was available for pick up to clients once a week. I was astounded by the quality of the produce. Almost all of it was organic and fresh with a variety of fruits ranging from mangoes, berries, pomegranates etc. This I found to be my favorite as I was able to assist clients and was able to provide a little more options than the rest of the food categories. 

My second day volunteering I was assigned my own counter. This entailed I waited for instructions from the intake coordinator, they would provide me the number of people in the household and I would gather all their juice, milk, grains, etc. The interesting part of this role was the pantry accomadated those that were homeless by providing a sector of food labeled "outside no-cook". This meant they were homeless with no access to a stove. There was a large bin of premade meals and the clients in this category were able to take unlimited amounts as well as fresh fruits and vegetables! The pantry had a secondary sector labeled inside no-cook. This catered to those "couch surfing" with no access to stoves. I was glad to see an agency cater to different clients with different difficult situations. 

On another occassion Mike and I were assigned the role of sorting meat and bread. This was one of the least enjoyable. Many packages of meat were ripped causing liquids to spill and such. We were instructed to dispose of any packages with tears. I found a concerning issue during the meat sorting process. There were boxes with meat that had unfrozen through out the process of shipping and delivering. We were then instructed to put all the thawed out meat into seperate boxes then they were put in freezer to refreeze. To my understand this can cause sickness.

Mike and I were assigned hygene packages during one occassion. There were boxes of toiletries such as toothbrushes, toothpastes, shampoo, soap etc. We created kits out of these materials. 

I was also given the oppurtunity to manage the carts of the clients. Their system worked wonderfully. As the clients would enter the pantry with their carts they would check them in with me. I would provide them a card and the matching card would be attached to the cart. When they were called up to their counter I would bring out the cart for them to load their groceries. This was done to maximize the space the pantry. 

One of the most impacting duties I was given was assisting the blind and disabled clients. I would walk them to their designated counter where there food had been arranged by another volunteer, for the blind, I would verbally describe each food item for their approval or if they would like a substitute. For the disabled we would do the same process and Mike and I would take their groceries to their designated bus stop. 

It was a great learning experience, and one I believe every individual at least once in their life should experience!