So, I was going to just make a different blog for things I find to be awesome/inspiring/cool, and keep this one for just positive things in my life, but instead I decided to lump together all of it because it just works better that way, and I'm not cluttering up the infinite area of cyberspace with all my scattered ponderings. So, this one will be a wee bit different, but the beginning of a new era I hope you guys will appreciate. You guys being whoever actually happens to stumble across this.
That being said, this first one is about Food Banks. In a world wrought with such intense diversity, such painful difference in wealth, in financial stability even, it's always encouraging to realize that there are also people out there who realize how painful emotionally it is to be in such a stressful situation for long periods of time. People who can't afford food are not just limited to “welfare losers with too many kids” or the homeless. I've been a resident of the lower middle class.. Well, alright, I'll be honest with myself, I've been below poverty level all my life. Except when I worked at Wal-mart, but that's a totally different story.
At any rate, all kinds of people need food. I've been the sole provider for myself and two other people who were unemployed and essentially living off my wages.. and I wasn't aware that food banks are for people like that. I thought food banks are just for the elderly who are living off Social Security, or for the homeless, or people that close to poverty. Not me. I wasn't doing that bad! I was just having a bit of a tough time. It hadn't occurred to me at that point that for most of my childhood and adolescence as well as my adulthood, I was eligible for food banks. I mean, I was a kid for the most of that time anyway, so it didn't occur to me too much, beyond the times when I would go for weeks living on just walmart burritos and ramen noodles, or the giant pot of spaghetti that my dad made for the week, complete with meatballs.
I miss that spaghetti. He used a bit too much oregano, but it was delicious all the same.
Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is more people than we realize need food assistance. A lot of people are eligible or really should be on food stamps but don't know it or refuse to do it because of pride. I don't understand that, myself, putting pride before having a full stomach, and it makes me sad for the kids that affects. Malnutrition is not good at all. Take it from someone who knows.
I recently filled out an application to be a “paid volunteer” for this place, Northwest Portland Ministries. I really was looking forward to the interview because I have for a long time wanted to learn about how to hold food drives, and how to start up and run a food bank, etc. I'm really looking forward to helping them as much as I can and learning the intricate details of how running a place like that works.
They have a lot of different progams they run. A regular food cupboard, in the basement of this church, where you can go and essentially go shopping for free/with a voucher I think? I don't know the details of that yet. I got to see the place where they pack up the food boxes, they deliver about 10 a day, to about 80 people all together. (10 at a time, really, is how they do it apparently.) She really is hoping that with my help in making the system run better, they can raise the amount of people they deliver food boxes to to at least 100, if not more. That's per month. That's 80-100 people/households or whatever that are given assistance per month based on the goodness of people's hearts. 80-100 people's lives made better.
Then there's this really awesome program that I am just in awe of. It's called uhh... Food for Kids Backpacks or something. I don't remember specifics at the moment, this is all off the top of my head, forgive me.. Anyway what they do is they fill the backpack up with food and the kid takes it home. It helps people who can't afford food for the whole month. I was one of those kids who got free lunches for most of my schooling. I bet it would have helped me too, but my dad never asked for help.
That just made me so happy, so amazed and full of respect for the people who donate, or donate their time to help. I really can't wait to be able to help. I type at least 80 wpm, more like 85, 90 if I really try. I want to help them fix their system, and help them with the phones and with the organization of the food cupboard. (They already mentioned all that). I can't wait to start volunteering afterward too. (Note, I'm a paid volunteer through a program called PAVE, which helps homeless youths get job readiness training, and all kinds of awesome stuff. I'm getting paid for 75 hours of work over the course of 5-6 weeks, and it'll be helping me out too.
Anyway, food banks are amazing. I'm looking forward to learning how to do food drives for down the road.
That being said, this first one is about Food Banks. In a world wrought with such intense diversity, such painful difference in wealth, in financial stability even, it's always encouraging to realize that there are also people out there who realize how painful emotionally it is to be in such a stressful situation for long periods of time. People who can't afford food are not just limited to “welfare losers with too many kids” or the homeless. I've been a resident of the lower middle class.. Well, alright, I'll be honest with myself, I've been below poverty level all my life. Except when I worked at Wal-mart, but that's a totally different story.
At any rate, all kinds of people need food. I've been the sole provider for myself and two other people who were unemployed and essentially living off my wages.. and I wasn't aware that food banks are for people like that. I thought food banks are just for the elderly who are living off Social Security, or for the homeless, or people that close to poverty. Not me. I wasn't doing that bad! I was just having a bit of a tough time. It hadn't occurred to me at that point that for most of my childhood and adolescence as well as my adulthood, I was eligible for food banks. I mean, I was a kid for the most of that time anyway, so it didn't occur to me too much, beyond the times when I would go for weeks living on just walmart burritos and ramen noodles, or the giant pot of spaghetti that my dad made for the week, complete with meatballs.
I miss that spaghetti. He used a bit too much oregano, but it was delicious all the same.
Anyway, I guess what I'm saying is more people than we realize need food assistance. A lot of people are eligible or really should be on food stamps but don't know it or refuse to do it because of pride. I don't understand that, myself, putting pride before having a full stomach, and it makes me sad for the kids that affects. Malnutrition is not good at all. Take it from someone who knows.
I recently filled out an application to be a “paid volunteer” for this place, Northwest Portland Ministries. I really was looking forward to the interview because I have for a long time wanted to learn about how to hold food drives, and how to start up and run a food bank, etc. I'm really looking forward to helping them as much as I can and learning the intricate details of how running a place like that works.
They have a lot of different progams they run. A regular food cupboard, in the basement of this church, where you can go and essentially go shopping for free/with a voucher I think? I don't know the details of that yet. I got to see the place where they pack up the food boxes, they deliver about 10 a day, to about 80 people all together. (10 at a time, really, is how they do it apparently.) She really is hoping that with my help in making the system run better, they can raise the amount of people they deliver food boxes to to at least 100, if not more. That's per month. That's 80-100 people/households or whatever that are given assistance per month based on the goodness of people's hearts. 80-100 people's lives made better.
Then there's this really awesome program that I am just in awe of. It's called uhh... Food for Kids Backpacks or something. I don't remember specifics at the moment, this is all off the top of my head, forgive me.. Anyway what they do is they fill the backpack up with food and the kid takes it home. It helps people who can't afford food for the whole month. I was one of those kids who got free lunches for most of my schooling. I bet it would have helped me too, but my dad never asked for help.
That just made me so happy, so amazed and full of respect for the people who donate, or donate their time to help. I really can't wait to be able to help. I type at least 80 wpm, more like 85, 90 if I really try. I want to help them fix their system, and help them with the phones and with the organization of the food cupboard. (They already mentioned all that). I can't wait to start volunteering afterward too. (Note, I'm a paid volunteer through a program called PAVE, which helps homeless youths get job readiness training, and all kinds of awesome stuff. I'm getting paid for 75 hours of work over the course of 5-6 weeks, and it'll be helping me out too.
Anyway, food banks are amazing. I'm looking forward to learning how to do food drives for down the road.
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