This past Saturday, some members from our grant writing class had the opportunity to volunteer with the San Antonio Food Bank. I have been to the SAFB before to work service events through Alpha Phi Omega (the co-ed service fraternity on campus), but each time is a brand new experience! This past visit we were charged with labeling and sorting cans of spinach or tomatoes and making sure each box had the appropriate number of cans to them. As with every time I volunteer in the community, I learn more about myself as an individual. After this particular trip, I was reminded that I am a very number oriented person and found myself counting and re-counting the cans of spinach or tomatoes we were working with. But that tidbit of information is besides the point. I found it very interesting the certain qualifications that the SAFB had when it came to sorting cans between good and bad. What seemed to me to be the smallest affliction to the can actually condemned it from being stored for future distribution. With that new-found knowledge of what a "good" can looked like, I found myself very surprised at the sheer number of cans that seemed to go to waste because of their damages. It was also amazing at how many of the cans were severely damaged--I don't think I've seen that many exploded cans of tomatoes in my life!
I love giving back to the community through service so I would of course recommend working with the SAFB to anyone who asked me about it. It is a lovely facility that has clean accommodations for volunteers and the labor that is required of you is not physically demanding. I think it is a perfect facility to bring the whole family to enjoy giving back, no matter their age or ability. The family friendly environment, state of the space and the high standards to which the SAFB keep their donations are all valuable pieces of information that I believe all donors should be aware of. I had fun being able to do service and get to know my classmates better during this field trip!!
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