Foods & Friends

Growing up I always knew that 6:00pm was dinner time. Me and my brother would run into the dining room after a long day of working on homework and playing games to find a nutritious hot meal on the table. We wouldn't think twice about how fortunate we were to have that food, or the time that went into preparing it, before chowing down on the feast in front of us. This past weekend I was fortunate enough to participate in a service immersion trip to Washington DC focusing on food insecurity.

Food insecurity is a problem that far too many American citizens have to deal with on a daily basis. The root of the problem comes from the fact that nutritious food is more expensive, and many people can not afford that premium price. To save money they will go with the more processed and unhealthy option. While on this service trip, one organization that we worked closely with was called Food & Friends. This organization works to deliver daily nutritious meals that are customized to each of their clients individual health related needs (diabetic, heart healthy, pureed, etc). All of their clients either have AIDS, cancer, or are receiving hospice care, and all must also have a compromised nutritional status and a limited ability to prepare their own meals. Our job was to go out into the community and deliver these meals to the client's home.

Over the course of our time spent with this organization, we got to individually deliver almost thirty meals to these clients. Volunteering at Food & Friends was an incredibly humbling experience because it showed me how fortunate I am not only to have my health, but to also be in a stable enough financial position where I have never had to compromise on my food options. If it weren't for us delivering these meals, the people we served would be forced to push their health requirements aside in order to just get the cheapest meal they could afford. Even now as I am finishing up my senior year in college, I still cannot even comprehend what it must feel like not to be able to have fresh and healthy food at your disposal. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to learn more about food insecurity over the course of our service immersion trip, and I plan on continuing to work with organizations that help the community overcome this issue.