In which volunteering bums me out.

[sonoranrn]

So as some of you know, I've been volunteering at least once a week at one of the local food banks. Up until today it's been a very zen kind of thing for me. I go in, sort donations, restock shelves, generally make order out of chaos. This makes the OCD, stereotypical Virgo in me very happy. My brain quiets down and I just *do* while, at the same time, helping the community. Win-win, and all that good stuff.

I have proven that I have a brain, understand how things work there, have the ability to look around and see what needs to be done, and actually do it. Consequently, I am one of the few volunteers allowed to come and go as I please (instead of scheduling myself ahead of time) and to assign myself a task instead of having one given to me. Today, though, I was pulled from my self-appointed task and asked to do something new for me -- make up what they call "power packs". These are packages of food that are given, every Friday, to elementary school children who are on the free lunch program and the idea is that the package supplements the food they get from home over the weekend. It has become rather accepted, though, that, in many cases, that is the only food those kids eat all weekend. So, right, important things to get made up. Got it.

So I made countless bags and by the time I left I was utterly depressed. Why? Because all this food fit into a single one-gallon Ziploc bag. Each one consisted of 2 drinks, 4 lunch/dinner "entrees", 2 breakfast items, and 2 snacks. The average one I made up included (all single-serving size): a juice box, one shelf-safe milk, one mac-n-cheese, three Chef-Boyardee meals, one box cold cereal, one package instant oatmeal, one applesauce, and one granola bar. That's it. That's the grand total of food for one elementary school child for the weekend. I live in the third wealthiest county in the US and there are kids here that would go hungry over the weekend if it wasn't for that one Ziploc bag of food. And I knew that. I mean, I know that one in four kids in America go to bed hungry. But I guess it's one thing to know it and another to get slapped in the face with it.

Comments

[onlyonechoice.livejournal.com]

I read someone's tweet where some schools are going to be instituting caloric limits (and only fat-free milk, etc.) on school lunches to "combat childhood obesity". All I could thing of was the kids on the free lunch program who are likely eating their only meal of the day and not getting the extra calories/fats they need to actually THRIVE.

Poor kids.

[justus-outlaw.livejournal.com]

It is utterly, utterly depressing, and Thank God, they have you.

[edda.livejournal.com]

Seconded.