3-21-2021
Today we went to a local soup kitchen to volunteer. We arrived around 11. The soup kitchen was a simple brown brick building behind the church that operated it. Multiple churches in the area rotate who runs it each week. When the organizer for this week arrived, he let us in along with another person who was volunteering as well. Since it was our first time there, the leader gave us a little tour of the place. The kitchen and storage places were in a sort of basement, so when you entered you would go down a set of stairs to get whatever we needed. The organizer showed us around so that we could find things such as utensils and condiments if we happened to need them. Then we got to work.
Due to to COVID, the kitchen is serving food outside of the building instead of inside like usual, so we set up a canopy tent out front. We put a couple tables underneath the tent for the food and drinks we were serving. Then we prepared drinks. Jewel and Justine filled bowls with ice to put water bottles and cans of coke in. Jackson and I helped make the coffee. We also wheeled out a couple of small crates of donuts. Once we set up everything, we were ready to go.
A few of us stayed up with the table to serve the people coming and going, while the others stayed downstairs doing more work. When the people showed up, we served them coffee and offered them the donuts. We let them know that the main meal was coming soon, and they could wait if they wanted. Some of them sat down to wait, others left then came back later.
As we got nearer to 12:00, we started preparing the main meal since that is when were serving it. We made Gatorade and chatted with the organizer. After we got the Gatorade onto the table, half of us went to make meals while the other half went downstairs to start making the meals. We were serving hamburgers, coleslaw, baked beans and cookies.
I started out serving food at the table outside with my mom and the other volunteer. The people who showed up were all very kind and patient while waiting for their food. It was very humbling to see how kind these people were even if it might have been a low point in their lives. We continued serving the coffee, Gatorade and donuts as we waited for the meals, and once they arrived, we handed them out. Then we switched and I went down to prepare meals.
The meals were made in an assembly line 
Justine and Allison working
The meals were prepared in to-go boxes to reduce COVID risks. We did it in an assembly line. It was kind of a calming task because it was repetitive. It felt good to know I was preparing a meal for someone who really needed it and I was helping them out. Once we had made the amount of meals that we had estimated that we would require in order to provide for everyone showing up, we all headed upstairs to help at the serving table.
After meal-serving time was over, we started cleaning up. We washed all the containers, like the Gatorade dispenser and the pot the baked beans were in.
Washing the dishes 
Drying and putting away the dishes
I did a lot of reflecting after the volunteering experience and did some thinking. Although many people were wearing masks, the gratitude on their faces was still visible, and it was very rewarding to see how happy they were when they got the food. One man in particular stood out to me. He opened his meal and was very excited to see what the food was, saying, “I love hamburgers!” which made me smile. It was so inspirational that no matter how hard things might have been for him, he could still get so happy over something as small as a hamburger. When everyone said ‘thank you’ for their meals, I could tell they really meant it. It made me feel really good that I was able to change their lives even it was as small of a thing as one meal. Overall, this was a very good experience and I hope we volunteer at this soup kitchen many more times in the future.
-Allison Hu, Secretary
