6/5/21
1 in 7 people in Indiana face hunger. Gleaners Food Bank, a member of Feeding America, is working to change that. Gleaners works to provide food and other important items to people in need. This is done through home deliveries, an on-site food pantry, and mobile pantries. The event we were volunteering at was one of the mobile pantries, where we used a high school parking lot as a distribution site.
Pulling into the parking lot, the first thing we saw was a huge truck, which held all the boxes filled with various foods, packages of ham and hygiene items.
After parking, we went over to the canopy tent with a table underneath to sign in. We waited a little while for everyone to show up, and once all the volunteers were there, jobs were assigned. There were many different jobs, including directing traffic and supply distribution. Our entire group, which consisted of the Unum Mundum team and all of our parents (8 people in total), worked in the drive-through pickup lane loading items into people’s cars.
When the cars entered the parking lot, they followed the cones and went through a big circle, which came around to our stop where they received their food. Because we served two cars at a time, we split into teams to increase our efficiency. Each team was in charge of one of the supplies. The dads and Jackson worked on the boxes of food, which were very heavy. Later on, some firefighters from the Indianapolis Fire Department came to help out. Jewel, Justine and I worked on passing out the hygiene items. Meanwhile, the moms were in charge of the packages of ham.
As we loaded their cars, I caught a glimpse into their lives: boxes overflowing with clothes, children’s toys, dogs, and whole families squeezed together. Other cars were spotless and empty. Everyone who came through was very polite and kind.
With 15% of Hoosiers being food insecure, we weren’t surprised to encounter people who spoke other languages. Luckily, another volunteer, one of the firefighters, spoke fluent Spanish.
By the time our pick-up window was over, we had used up all the supplies we were passing out. We served about 600 families in total. Volunteering for Gleaners was a very good experience, and I would definitely love to do it again.
Want to help out Gleaners? You can donate, volunteer, or visit the Give page to learn more ways to help.
