Second Harvest Food Bank: PACT Blog #2

Lee Fisher
February 21st, 2016, 9-12pm (6th visit)
Second Harvest Food Bank

After six visits to Second Harvest Food Bank in San Carlos, I have finally completed my PACT project. The most recent visit (February 21, 2016) was my last visit, although I definitely hope to return to the food bank over the course of my high school career. My final six visits to the food bank were definitely the best: I was experienced, knowledgable, and I even took some friends to volunteer with me. That definitely made the environment more fun (the three hours flew by!) and I know that the extra people made a different on those days in terms of the amount of food we were able to sort.

Over the course of the past year or so, I have visited the food bank six times. Each time, I helped with food sorting. During my visits, I helped with inspecting and packing bread into boxes, inspecting cans and other food items, labeling cans, making and filling boxes, and sorting different types of food. In only six visits, I was able to do every single type of food sorting at SHFB. This gave me an extremely diverse experience and helped me appreciate the type of work that the food bank does each day in order to deliver millions of pounds of food to consumers in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.

Now that I have completed my PACT project with SHFB, I am incredibly appreciative of everything that I have. I am so lucky to be able to buy my own food and eat a home cooked meal every day. I am incredibly fortunate because I am able to afford good food for myself and my family. I am also fortunate to live in a community that cares about everybody in it.  Unlike other cities and towns, I am living in a place that sees problems and creates solutions. I am now aware that not every area has a place like SHFP, and I am so thankful for the food bank. The organization feeds thousands of people each month, which is not a small feat, and it certainly makes an incredible difference in people's lives. I am extremely grateful to have been a part of such a efficient, effective, vital, and fun organization.

Second Harvest Food Bank: PACT Blog #1

Lee Fisher
June 24th, 2015, 6-8pm (3rd visit)
Second Harvest Food Bank

For my PACT project, I chose to work with Second Harvest Food Bank. I have worked with this organization before, so I knew exactly what to expect. SHFB serves food to people throughout the Bay Area on a weekly basis. I specifically helped with food sorting.

So far, I have visited the organization three times. Each time I have visited over the course of the past three months, I have worked two hour shifts in the warehouse sorting food. Last Wednesday (June 24th, 2015), I visited SHFB's San Mateo warehouse for the third time and sorted more food.

However, what I personally did at SHFB is not what really matters. What matters is the thousands of people who are fed every day because of volunteers like me. What matters is the children and seniors who did not starve this week. What matters is the parents who are able to feed their families nutritious meals every day instead of McDonald's McNuggets.

Without the 50+ volunteers working each shift, the bread and rolls would not have been packed, the expiration dates would not have been checked, and food would not have been packed into boxes and delivered. Without the volunteers, SHFB would not be able to do what it does. It relies heavily on the help of the wonderful people who volunteer there every week, and for three weeks, I was one of those volunteers.

I definitely discovered a lot about myself, my family, and my community through working with SHFB I am now much more aware about the struggles of people around me, especially those who rely on Second Harvest so heavily that they would go hungry without it. This was a huge wake-up call for me, because I haven't really been exposed to that kind of thing before. I am glad I chose SHFB to work with for my PACT.