Day 4- The Source

We went to the Greater Chicago Food Depository yesterday. We aptly named it, "The Source." This is where millions upon millions of pounds of food ship from every year to the many food pantries, shelters and other organizations in Cook County, IL. The volunteer coordinator said that over 1 million pounds of food goes out a month and that it takes over 90,000 volunteer hours and over 150 full-time employees to coordinate efforts to get that done. Without volunteers they would have to hire over 40 more full-time employees and spends hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in salaries and benefits. Instead, that money can go to the hungry.

Today we repackaged 10 lb bags of oranges from large 1000 lb slats into 60 lb boxes to be shipped to organizations across the county. Luckily, a group of high school baseball players was next to us and we took it upon ourselves to use them as a little friendly competition to see who could pack the most oranges in the allotted time. As expected, we packed more than double their total. In total, both groups and a smaller church organization packed over 24,000 lbs of oranges to be distributed across the county. It was a great feeling, fun and everybody bonded over it.

There was a downside in that we had to identify oranges that were moldy or rotten because the Greater Chicago Food Depository takes great care in ensuring that all food that leaves the depository is high quality. In total, we had to set aside approx. 1500 lbs of oranges. They have to be weighed and separated and hopefully GCFD will get a refund. We were also thinking about how Marillac had very little fruit and how the clients there put on their surveys that they wished they had fruit. We wish we had more time to talk to the volunteer coordinators about how they distribute the fruit across the city. Cook County is huge, so it's natural that not everybody is going to get everything, but it'd be nice to know. We had a lot of time packing and bonding and competing, but also forgot to ask the important questions.

Lastly, it seems that everybody's mindset has changed rather dramatically. During each reflection, somebody comes in and says that today they looked at a homeless person differently, that they talked to them a bit more, offered them food or money, or just a handshake and smile. We talked about guilt and if we should be able to spend our own money on ourselves without feeling guilty about not giving it to a charity or person. We decided that it was okay as long as you give something of yourself. It could be time or money. It doesn't have to be your own possessions to make a difference. As long as intention is good, than you are good.