Response to Food Insecurity

At 27 days into the current government shutdown, I learnt from my local radio station that, in a weeks’ time, funding for SNAP benefits will run out. Over 40 million Americans throughout the country rely on these food stamps. Millions will face heightened levels of food insecurity in the coming weeks, and so, I just wanted to share some things I've been doing to contribute to my community, which have, hopefully, positively impacted those who need aid. 

As a co-leader of my school’s Service Club, I’m in charge of coordinating student-made nutritious meals for LifeMoves Mountain View, a local transitional housing program serving 75+ residents. I communicate with the site, club members, and the school administration, ensuring a date is settled, fundraisers correlating to the meal are occurring, and interested students know all the details and what they’re tasked with doing. Yesterday, the club visited the site and served a hearty lunch: chicken wings, roasted potatoes, butternut squash soup, roasted broccoli, cherry tomatoes, carrots, sliced cucumber, sliced bell peppers, and pumpkin pie. While that seems like a lot, only five people prepared all that food, each reporting it took a max of four hours to cook! 

Here are some photos I took during our meal service. In this photo, we were preparing to-go boxes for those that weren't at the site during lunch time, ensuring they were still able to have a nutritious lunch. Also, additional tin foil trays were located in a food warmer besides our serving station, so the food in the photos does not represent all the food we served that day.

Here’s my charge to you. If you want to create an immediate, positive impact on those in your community, find a local homeless shelter or food bank, and sign up for a slot serving lunches. Gather your friends, buy the food (the total for the above was $250 at Costco for 60 people), and prep the meals. Serve the food, interact with your community as you do so. By the time you’re done, you’ll have given a healthy meal to those in need, alleviating one task from their to do list.