Lee Fisher
February 21st, 2016, 9-12pm (6th visit)
Second Harvest Food Bank
After six visits to Second Harvest Food Bank in San Carlos, I have finally completed my PACT project. The most recent visit (February 21, 2016) was my last visit, although I definitely hope to return to the food bank over the course of my high school career. My final six visits to the food bank were definitely the best: I was experienced, knowledgable, and I even took some friends to volunteer with me. That definitely made the environment more fun (the three hours flew by!) and I know that the extra people made a different on those days in terms of the amount of food we were able to sort.
Over the course of the past year or so, I have visited the food bank six times. Each time, I helped with food sorting. During my visits, I helped with inspecting and packing bread into boxes, inspecting cans and other food items, labeling cans, making and filling boxes, and sorting different types of food. In only six visits, I was able to do every single type of food sorting at SHFB. This gave me an extremely diverse experience and helped me appreciate the type of work that the food bank does each day in order to deliver millions of pounds of food to consumers in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.
Now that I have completed my PACT project with SHFB, I am incredibly appreciative of everything that I have. I am so lucky to be able to buy my own food and eat a home cooked meal every day. I am incredibly fortunate because I am able to afford good food for myself and my family. I am also fortunate to live in a community that cares about everybody in it. Unlike other cities and towns, I am living in a place that sees problems and creates solutions. I am now aware that not every area has a place like SHFP, and I am so thankful for the food bank. The organization feeds thousands of people each month, which is not a small feat, and it certainly makes an incredible difference in people's lives. I am extremely grateful to have been a part of such a efficient, effective, vital, and fun organization.
