"Service Learning" Food Bank: Produce Distributor- Alyssa Rendon

Title: Food Bank at MC Community Church 
Hours Volunteered: 2 hours 
Organizer: Linda Pazevic
Email: lpazevic@comcast.net

Goals of Event: The Mill Creek Community Church Food Bank is solely run by the active volunteers. The food bank runs every Thursday from 3:30pm-7:30pm. The main purpose of this organization is to provide low income families, homeless families, and any family in need will nutritious foods. 

Duties at Event: My duties at this specific event was working outside in a tent covered area with three other ladies and one fellow. We each had our own area to work out of where we distributed food. The area had the produce section (me), the fruit section, dairy section, carb (bread) section and poultry section. I was told to ask the person  how many persons were in their house hold and distribute food accordingly. I did give out more food when individuals asked for a bit more when denying other items. After all was done we all took the tent down, put away bins, chairs, and tables. 

Reflection: I wasn't sure what to expect upon participation at the event. I had always thought about volunteering but never took the initiative mostly out of not know anything about this aspect. After taking to Linda and how quickly things fell into place I was really excited to be apart of helping others. I love food and I myself have had to get help with food since being on my own at 18, so being able to help others who are in a situation I had been in before was the most fulfilling part. Seeing the families come in super appreciative of the food we gave them was also great to see. Everyone always said thank you and were super polite. The entire experiment for me was great. Even working with the other ladies there was fun. We all talked about the food, and helping everyone. At the end we all got to take some left over stuff home which was nice. I remember taking home some bear claws, which i've never had and a few bananas. It was amazing seeing everyone work together and then be able to enjoy a snack at the end. 

Connection:  

Food plays one of the most important roles on the planet. Without food (calories) nothing would exist on the planet. Food equals calories, calories equal energy, energy equals sustainability for all living things on the planet. The is the main connection between food and human beings in my opinion. Food banks provide the energy (food) needed for an individual to keep existing. Without soup kitchens, food banks, or food assistance an individual would become malnourished which can lead to sickness, diseases, and even death. I think having people who care about people in need is very important in our society. Without volunteers at these specific organizations a lot of people would go hungry which could lead to a series of problems. Even minor problems can occur from not having the proper foods which could affect normal life task. Hunger is a huge issue on the planet and every volunteer helps change that just a little bit which is better than nothing at all.  

One explicit connection between the food bank and biology can be made with the food bank and the persons receiving foods that are rich in calcium. The biology aspect of this connection are calcium ions in the blood and homeostatic regulation. The people coming into the food bank are most likely not very well nourished. The produce, fruit, carb and dairy section all provide foods that contain calcium. Calcium is a very important mineral in the body and plays several roles to keep the body functioning properly.  Some foods that contain calcium are milk, yogurt, certain breads, veggies (potatoes, onions, cabbage), fruits (banana, apples). Once theses food are ingested it will provide the individual with the calcium needed to keep the blood calcium levels at a hemostatic level. Without this accessible opportunity of calcium rich foods these individuals  would lack the calcium needed to keep the body from constantly signaling the parathyroid glad to secret the parathyroid hormone which then uses calcium stores within the bone to make up for the decrease in calcium. When this constantly happens with a very low calcium rich diet the bones eventually become brittle which can lead to other issues in the long run. 

Questions: 

1. As a community are we really doing enough?
2. Which other ways can I provide help for people in need? 
3. Why can't the organizing get enough volunteers to sign up?
4. How are these families living conditions?