A Day At The Food Bank

A Day At The Food Bank

By Andy Nguyen

Have you ever been to a food bank, or even volunteered? Well, I have volunteered at the Oregon Food bank. Here's my experience: 

"To eliminate hunger and its root causes.. Because no one should be hungry."

When I was in high school, my youth group had a volunteer day at the Oregon Food Bank. On a cloudy November Saturday morning, our group checked in and was prepared to serve. It was a short two hour trip, but it was worthwhile. I've made trips back to the Oregon Food Bank and other food pantries since then. 

The first hour of our trip was a tour of the food bank. If you ever have a chance to visit, bring a jacket, be aware that it's pretty chilly. It's basically a giant refrigerator! There's a lot of food there that's for those in need, so nobody wants to see that go to waste. In addition, the Oregon Food Bank is huge! To put into comparison, the Oregon Food Bank is like a Winco or Costco. In retrospective, I understand why there was so much food. We learned during our tour that hunger is a big issue in Oregon. Here's some alarming reports I heard during my visit.

Did you know? 

- 1 in 7 neighbors are facing food insecurity

- Over half, 58%, of Oregon Households benefit from SNAP benefits

-  Approximately, 552,900 Oregonians are food insecure, of those 194,070 are children

The second half of the trip was actually helping at the food bank. During our group's visit, we were tasked with packaging corn, rice, and macaroni. At first glance, you might be confused. Asking yourself: What kind of meal is this? After the food is packaged individually, it then gets placed into meal boxes with other items. After the hour of packaging food, the Oregon Food Bank even gives you a number of how many meals your group helped prepare. Unfortunately, I can not remember the number from my first trip. However, it's a very rewarding thing to hear at the end of your visit!

Since my first trip to the Oregon Food Bank, I have made multiple visits. In addition, I've also helped at other food banks, and small local food pantries well. These food banks and pantries need the manpower to accomplish their mission to end hunger in Oregon. I implore you to take action and join the mission. Most volunteer opportunities are only a short two to three hours with no regular commitment necessarily.

Check out the Oregon Food Bank's website and learn about volunteer opportunities below!

Oregon Food Bank

Oregon Food Bank Volunteer Page

Oregon Food Bank Volunteer Video