PICTURES!
St Marys Food Bank, Knights Location !
EXPLANATION OF THE FUN!
I worked at St. Marys Food Bank Alliance for two days for a total of 9.25 hours. There are several St. Marys Food Bank locations and I choose the Knights Location located directly after 31st and Thomas. The Knights Location is a bit different than the others in that I got to work directly with the people that the donated food was benefiting. From my understanding the other locations were packing and delivery stations, while the Knights is considered a transportation center. At the Knights center, I participated in a "runner line" which consisted of taking donated shopping carts, proceceding through the 'warehouse' and filling it with either a "TFAP" assorted bundle of food, or a 'specialty cart' bundle of food which was either a a "2", a "4" or a "6". A "TFAP" was a basic overnight assortion of common foods including anything from loaves of bread, produce, cakes, crackers, water bottles, frozen chickens, etc. A "2" specialty cart had a larger assortment of food, a "4" specialty cart was a senior citizen based selection of food (more protien etc), while a "6" specialty cart included a larger box of food and was usually alotted to larger families in greater need. After proceeding through the warehouse, you entered a "runner line" in which you waited to be called up and follow the person recieving the food out to their car and assist them in loading the food into their vehicle. Somehow on the first day I was reassigned up to the table where you take the request forms for food and call out what kind of cart is needed per person (see first picture). I also participated in the runner line in the beginning of both days.
CIVIC DUTY
Civic Duty is simply defined as the responsibilities of a citizen (Webster). These responsibilites include caring for and making a concious effort to better society as an individual. Americans in particular are extremly opinionated about civic duty, and do that part through civil service, defined as pertaining to civic life and affairs, in distinction from military, ecclesiastical, or official state (Webster). As Americans, we consider civil service to be anything that benefits society as a whole and usually pertains to a non-profit organization. This can include anything from picking up garbage on the side of the road, to feeding the homeless, or to helping out at an animal shelter.
Civic Duty, although started by Romans, really transformed into its current definition in America during the 1930s and 1940s when citizens , "undertook projects to benefit the public, as opposed to the high-minded, virtuous and leisure activities of gentlemen" (Boyte and Kari), of the time. Civil service increased dramatically as the twentieth century progressed and citizens went through the Civil Rights Movement, the hippie/grassroots movements, and other reforms. Unfortunatly, civil service has reduced dramatically in recent years and many organizations see the majority of volunteers court ordered.
Irregardless if volunteers are court ordered or partaking in their civic duty, civil services such as St. Mary's food bank are imperative for a democratic society to flourish. In order to pride ourselves on being a humane and generous American society, we must ensure those who cannot help themselves are being cared for. Many non-profit organizations including St. Marys whos goal is to "allieviate hunger" (firstfoodbank.org), have volunteers who particpate and donate time, upholding civic duty in a time of crucial need.
Works Cited:
Boye, Harry and Nancy N. Kari. "Renewing the Democratic Spirit in American Colleges and Universities: Higher Education as Public Work". Higher Education and Civic Responsibility. Web. 28th Nov. 2010.
<http://www.publicwork.org/pdf/workingpapers/renewing.pdf>
Self, Jennifer. “Civic Responsibility.” Learning to Give.Org. (2010). Web. <http://learningtogive.org/papers/paper11.html>
<http://www.firstfoodbank.org/about.html>
MY EXPERIANCE
The experiance I had at St Marys Food Bank was an incredible one. Although I've done volunteer work before, never had I walked away with such an accomplished and rewarding feeling that I'd spent my time really assisting those in less fortunate situations. Contrary to popular belief, only a small majority of the people I aided with food were homeless or in their current situation because of drugs or other bad choices. Many were simply regular Americans like you and I who have hit an extremely rough patch in this economy and were not lucky enough to have either back up finances or family to rely on.
One of the many instructions at the Knight Location were to "transport" the food to the cars in carts in a quick and efficent manner. Although I did deliver food and assist the families successfully, I failed miserbly at the other half of the instructions, to accomplish it quickly. This wasn't because I couldn't move fast enough but rather I couldn't help but get myself into these lengthly conversations with the people I was helping. When I first thought of completing my hours at a food bank I expected to feel no connection to "these" people in "these" situations. After walking and talking with different people, I found many of them to be more genuine and kind than those you'd encounter walking around your beloved Anthem. The amount of gratitude and thanks I recieved from them was more than enough. This isint to say they were all saints, some were rude and yes, some were ingrateful ("ew can I get some more bread and not this crap?"), but the majority appreciated your service and that made up for the few bad apples.
Aside from enjoying the experiance I had with the people we helped, my next favorite part was interacting with the other volunteers. Yes, some were also trying to fill a log hour sheet as well or finish community serivce hours for court, but more than half were true and honest volunteers who took time out of their day to fulfill their civic duty. My favorite volunteer was an old man who I conversed with on both days I went to St Marys. He lived farther south of the location (even farther than Grand), which was an even more poor-income housing area. I met him on my first day and I asked him what group he came with to volunteer? His reply, he came by himself for four hours everyday because he simply, "had nothing better to do since he retired". If I wasn't convinced before to try and volunteer at St. Marys on a personal and regular basis, you better believe this old man convinced me.
Everyday at St. Marys just in Arizona alone 300,000 meals a day are provided for those less fortunate. This incredible number would not be possible without those who excel at their civic duty and donate an incomprehensible amount of time and energy to volunteer work. Although American's activity in civic services has declined in recent years, as long as their are good samaritans and the foundation of America's principals haven't changed, organizations like St. Mary's will continue to flourish and assist those in need. My first two days at St. Marys were spent in order to fill a log sheet for a Government Class, the next ones will be on my own accord and my own furfillment of civic duty.
