Summer-Feeding Program Reflection

The non-profit organization that I chose for the semester project is Feeding America, a non-profit organization that consists of a network of food banks assisting food insecure people throughout the nation. What does a food insecure family look like in the United States? It is parents going without food in order to feed their children, it is families rationing food and skipping meals.

It has been really interesting to learn what it takes to keep the program running and finding different ways for funding. And even though the program has begun to gain community support, my supervisor has

Hunger is a big social issue facing America today. According to (“Do Something.com”) 1 out of 6 people face hunger in the US. Also 49 Million Americans Struggle to put food on the table. America is the best country in world, we shouldn’t have so many people hungry. Many people have thought of fixing this problem but one company has found a way to help fix this problem, this company is Feeding America. They have been giving people food since 1979. They’ve helped out 46 million Americans. ( feedingamerica.org )

I continued to gain experience in health care. I worked at the student health center, creating and distributing relevant health related information, on campus and I worked as a home health aid. These college experiences enhanced my insight into the world of health care and provided me with greater excitement about becoming a health care provider.

Throughout this experience i learned more about myself than i thought possible. But during the volunteer hours that i performed, i completely broke out of my quiet shell. When i started my journey off at a children's sports and adventure camp, it helped me to become a leader, as well as a facilitator. I had to organize, and instruct activities daily. This helped me to become a problem solver as well as a communicator beause of the fact that in dealing with children, youll always run into some delema that youll have to deal with.

The first place I volunteered at was Feed My Starving Children. Feed My Starving Children is an organization that makes nutritional meals for malnourished children. The meals are called MannaPacks and they are packed with rice, soy, dried vegetables, and flavoring. Each station has to measure the ingredients into the bags, weight the bag, then seal the bag. My role was sealing the bags and putting them in a box; and I did that for two hours. My volunteering and the volunteering of others really helped out because 27,000 meals were packed in our shift, which feeds 74 kids for a year. The other two hours that I did, I helped the staff clean up and take everything down. I benefited from this experience because I actually felt like I somewhat

It was my first time ever volunteering for something. I believe I was more nervous because I didn’t know exactly what I was going to be doing and I didn’t want anything going wrong my first time. When I showed up to the mobile pantry it was completely different. Everyone volunteering was very friendly and helpful. They all work together as a community which is admirable. I was a stocker at the event. A stocker is one who is in charge of stacking tables with produce and disposes of empty boxes or makes them available to participants. I definitely enjoyed this because it opened my eyes of how many families out there are in need. Sometimes we take for granted what we have while other people wished they had what we do. I believe the Denton Hunger Coalition is a great organization that has many goals they want to accomplish and will continue to grow. One of the weaknesses the organization has is getting more people to come out to the food pantry. Since they are just starting some of the agencies out there maybe forget to promote them which is why many people don’t know about the pantry. Although, one of their strengths is that Denton community comes together as one in order to help others. I believe my volunteer time was of value to the agency because they were able to work faster with an extra pair of hands. I enjoyed volunteering and helping others

Calories, obesity, epidemic―these words flash through daily conversion like wildfire. The American public today is severely concerned with the nation’s growing health problem, as they should be. Recently, the nation’s school lunches have had major renovations due to the alarming increase in childhood obesity. The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) has set out to fix the problems concerning nutrition in school lunches. Because the National School Lunch Program is required to follow the most current version of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), school lunches are undergoing massive reform at the cost of students.

Me and my good friends Josh and Daniel volunteered at Salvation Army. Salvation Army is a place that people who don't have houses and can’t afford food or other essentials. They provide homes for homeless people and food for people who have a home but cannot afford food because of house taxes. They also have apartments connected to the food building. We did lots of different things at Salvation Army like we prepared and served meals, washed dishes, mopped the dining room and also cleaned up food. And all the other things we did are on the paper. We actually did everything on the list! The experience there was amazing knowing that I am making a difference in people's lives by serving food and helping clean up around the place, and we also got an opportunity to talk the some of the people around the

As I look around the cafeteria the happy students of cherokee peacefully enjoy their only true break they have from the various stresses of school in their day. Suddenly the 5 minute bell runs through the halls at 10:56 completely and utterly shattering the false illusion of happiness that lunch has created. A intense panic erupts, countless students simultaneously start shoving the large remainder of their lunch down their throats. Smiles turn into tears as students who lab day it is must leave their friends, their food, and their time for only relaxation in between the times of 7.35 to 2:26. At the same a whole separate panic occurs. Students who have lab first half of lunch face the problem of trying to find their friends eat their lunch and somehow make it to their next class all within

My primary non-academic activities and interests lie in the health and wellness area. I had the opportunity to work in a Co-Operatively Owned Natural Grocery during a summer, and that was what really gave me a passion in the field. I was able to see a whole different side of food’s effects on our bodies. The others who were working in the store had so much knowledge and experience with organic and natural foods. They were so passionate about educating others that they didn’t hesitate to teach and explain to me the importance of it all. Since then, I have become a dual degree student in both Management through the Kelley School of Business and Dietetics through the School of Public Health. With these degrees, I hope to work on the business side

What practical experience did you have while you were going to school? Did you volunteer at all?

Recently, parents began to swap out sugary cereals for ones that claimed to “contain less sugar” and filled their pantries with snacks that had “less artificial additives” (Kellogg Company). What parents may not know is that some of these substitute foods, like Welch’s reduced sugar fruit snacks, and fat-free turkey, are not nutritious and actually contain more sodium than the daily requirement, are highly processed, loaded with even more sugars, fats, and chemicals like diacetyl than the original product. (Jacques). It is no secret that processed foods are harmful and unhealthy for us, nevertheless, processed products dominate natural food in America’s kitchens and cafeterias. Our country needs to see strict regulations for school lunches that are FDA

I would have to say what I liked least about the volunteer project was the labor, in and of itself. It was a lot to manage at once and it was especially difficult considering the weight of many of the boxes. There were also the many broken packages that made it much more difficult to maneuver the loads. For example, it was difficult to properly pick up

In reflection of the assignment and hours spent shadowing and working with the 9-12 Administration, there are a lot of insight I gained about the administrative process and creating a new initiative.