I am interning at a local food bank.\u00a0 This organization doesn’t directly distribute food to the homeless, instead they\u00a0 collect food donations from a variety of sources and distributes the items to local charities. The charities they are associated with are the ones who get the food into the hands of those who need it.\u00a0 This organization was established in the 1980\u2019s.<\/p>\n
The food items that are donated come from the local community. They also highlight the fact that they have access to nationally donated food (for example, manufacturers such as Kraft of Kellogg’s items). Most of the items are things that cannot be sold. Some examples of reasons why an item cannot be sold includes dented cans, ripped packaging, or mislabeled products.\u00a0 Grocery stores and farmers\u00a0 donate their surplus items as well as those that are nearing their expiration. Even though they cannot be sold by retailers, all of the products are still safe for consumption.<\/p>\n
Preparing the product is the main activity volunteers assist with. There is a vague assembly line type set up. There are people who sort the product, people who tape up the final boxes and people who transfer the final boxes to the pallets. The organization has different categories for their products.Food is packed according to different categories which include snacks, complete meals, fresh produce, condiments, cereal, meat\/dairy, and other.\u00a0 While packing boxes, it’s important to keep in mind that it must meet a certain weight requirement.\u00a0 The required weight is dependent on which category the box falls under. It’s also important that the boxes have a variety of food items in them. They want to avoid situations where ,for example, an organization gets multiple 19 pound boxes full of chocolate bars.<\/p>\n
While I didn\u2019t sort any products that fall into the \u2018other\u2019 category, sometimes they do receive items that are not food. There were toiletries and Nair products being unloaded at one point. One of the staff members told me Target donated about a dozen bicycles a few days before.<\/p>\n
The staff are the one who keep the floor organized and productive. Since most of the time there is at least one new volunteer, they help get people get familiar with the process. While talking with the staff, there is a pattern of short employment with the organization and revolving staff members. People don\u2019t stay as staff for too long, the majority had been there for a few months. There are also staff in the offices that handle communication and paperwork side of the organization.\u00a0 This organization seems to attract an array of age groups for volunteers.\u00a0 You have to be at least 18 years old to volunteer but other than that, there are no other requirements. The influx of volunteers are heavily relied on as they have low numbers of staff.<\/p>\n
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I am interning at a local food bank.\u00a0 This organization doesn’t directly distribute food to the homeless, instead they\u00a0 collect food donations from a variety of sources and distributes the items to local charities. The charities they are associated with are the ones who get the food into the hands of those who need it.\u00a0 … Continue reading Progress at Internship<\/span>