Getting the chance to visit Baltimore for this trip has been an eye opening experience for me so far. Being a Baltimore native, it is nice to be able to come back to my hometown and participate in various volunteer opportunities. It gave me the feeling that I was helping to restore my own community. Even though this was the case, I also realized that I was not aware of organizations such as the Black Church Food Security Network and the Strength II Love Farm. These organizations work diligently to positively impact the Baltimore community, and having the opportunity to connect and work with them directly was a very empowering experience. It was very rewarding to see that people in Baltimore have and share a deep passion for addressing food insecurity in Baltimore, making a huge difference.
Today we drove all the way to Washington D.C. and had a discussion with staff members from Bread for the World. We spoke with them about this organization and how us, college students, have the ability to make a positive impact. One thing that stuck out to me was Stephanie’s conversation. She graduated with a communications degree from college and discussed the importance of social media. This was particularly interesting because individuals generally complain about the negative effects of social media, however, Stephanie highlighted the many benefits social media can bring to organizations. She educated us about the different strategies we can use to promote social media accounts and the significance behind each.
I experienced riding a D.C. metro for the first time. As a Floridian, I rarely have the opportunity to go underground. The moment we entered the underground tunnel, I felt like I was in a completely different country. I was a foreigner- I did not know which card to purchase or how to read the colorful maps. Luckily, a stranger randomly appeared and offered us his swipes. This simple act of kindness definitely made my day! Riding the metro felt like a roller coaster ride at an amusement park. We took two metros and arrived at the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City. This mall was massive: it consists of 4 floors and contains 144 stores. It was nice to see a crowd of people again since there are no major shopping malls in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. We ate at a Chinese restaurant called Yong Kang Street. I ordered a Chinese dish, shrimp and beef wonton noodles, that I have not eaten in a while since coming to Bucknell. Our meals were delicious and we bought boba tea afterwards.
Currently, I’m sitting in the living room of our airbnb in Baltimore. From this spot I can smell the food a few friends are cooking in the kitchen, hear laughter coming from upstairs, and see the connections being made through conversation right beside me. Throughout our time here so far, our group of 14 has truly experienced what community is. Not only have we traveled to various locations to learn and connect with others, but we have been learning and connecting with each other as well. This group has become a new family to me.
Today six of us went to the Maryland Food Bank, where Paul, the volunteer coordinator, warmly welcomed us. After a brief tour of the food bank, he directed us to the kitchen, where we worked to help the head chef, Terrance, pack lunch for the school students. We were assigned in groups to pack ham salad in small containers and buns in a zip-lock bag. Some of us connected with the staff, who seemed to enjoy working with other staff members with good music in the kitchen. Working in the food bank and at the Daily Bread soup kitchen yesterday showed different modes of tackling food insecurity. Working in the soup kitchen provided a hands-on experience of serving and making hot lunch for walk-in people. The lunch includes a nutritious meal with dessert accompanied by sweet black tea, which all community members were very fond of. Working on packing lunch for school students left us with a sense of wonder about how these foods will be supplied, while appreciating the work and energy of other volunteers and staff put into serving the community.
Today was the fourth day we stayed in Baltimore. We had nice weather compared to the first day – there was a snowstorm. Today’s plan was to volunteer at the Maryland Food Bank this morning and visit the Islamic Society of Baltimore. I was very excited to go to the Maryland Food Bank because I will pack food bags for children. As a student majoring in Education and doing student teaching, I can relate to many food struggles children are facing. Due to the remodeling of the Maryland Food Bank, only half of our group had the opportunity to visit the food bank. I’m impressed by how big the storage was and how much food we packed while visiting. While packing hamburger buns in individual bags, a thought popped up in my mind; we are all humans, but we eat different food. I was wondering if I were volunteering in another country, what kind of food I would pack. Then one staff came over to us and brought water for us. My light bulb turned on. Yes! Water! We would eat different food, but we will drink water no matter where you are. This thought still stayed in my mind through the rest of the day.
This morning, some of us had the opportunity to serve at Our Daily Bread, a Catholic Charities Hot Meal Program. We arrived around 9 and began doing some of the prep work to have plates and to-go boxes ready and some tea bags tied together (so many tea bags!!). Right before beginning meal service, we did a small prayer and were all assigned tasks for the next two hours. As soon as the doors opened at 10:30, people came pouring in. I had done meal packaging before but serving was an entirely different experience. As I was serving, despite the rush of trying to make sure everyone got what they needed, it was so nice to be able to talk to people and see the looks on their faces when a plate of hot food was placed in front of them. We were only there for one day, but to see the connections employees and consistent volunteers had built with the people we were feeding was heart-warming and beautifully signified the community that can be built through food. While this is only one meal of the day, it is guaranteed food that is important to a lot of people, and I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of one day of that experience.
“Black Church Power”— 3 seemingly simple words, yet when put together demands respect, provides hope, and inspires communities. Pleasant Hope Baptist Church epitomizes this phrase in their service to their Baltimore community, where they engage with community members in the church itself for Sunday Service, uphold the names of the ancestors that helped establish and aid the church, and even go above and beyond the call of duty in their ongoing pursuit of food security for disenfranchised communities across the east coast and beyond of the “yet to be United States,” as Rev. Dr. Heber Brown III of the church often stated. The Black Church Food Security Network focuses to accomplish this daunting task, producing food in community gardens to supply to their community, as well as connecting with other Black churches to expand their chain of political protest, thus lifting up Black communities.
Today we visited Pleasant Hope Baptist Church where we had breakfast at 9 am and were pleasantly welcomed with open arms. It honestly felt like I was reconnecting with my lost cousins as they comfortably welcomed us without any hesitation. Everybody introduced themselves in passing along with taking the chance to get to know us. The day served as a follow-up to the previous day in which we had a warm introduction on the prevalence of anti-blackness and its connection to the environment, not quite getting to what this meant for the functionality of the Black Church Food Security Network.
After two years of pandemic, we’re headed back to Baltimore with a wonderful group of students and scholars this week. We’ll post regularly from our service-learning course experience here. Stay tuned!
What do we do now? Food insecurity is everywhere. Many people fail to acknowledge how it looks like or what it really means. We tend to ignore these issues and make several assumptions about them. This trip to Baltimore really opened my eyes even more to those food insecure and what they have to go through every day. From being volunteers at Our Daily Bread to getting to learn how different religions tackle the issue of food insecurity, it’s time we recognize what we can do to help.
I was able to have the wonderful opportunity to meet with several non-profit organizations and see their POV in all of this. As long as we work together and acknowledge that food insecurity is real, is when we can finally make a bigger change. All these non-profit organizations have done their part, and we should start doing our own. Whether it’s volunteering at a soup kitchen or donating food, we can all come together to make a greater change in this world regarding food insecurity. All it takes is the right motives to help and put forth the effort.
Team Empanada, coming through with dinner prep.
We want everyone to have the opportunity to have nutritious food and with doing so, helps them in the long run. Being on this trip has taught me to always help in ANY way you can. It has also taught me that the connections and relationships you build with other people really makes a difference to come together and tackle this issue. I was able to get to know my group a little bit better and in what ways they are involved with helping those food insecure, and I am grateful for that. I also wanted to say thank you to our Chaplain, Kurt Nelson, for giving us this great opportunity to build connections with others and learn the various ways people from different organizations have helped to minimize food insecurity. Unfortunately, we will not be able to meet face to face with our group for the remainder of the semester, but this trip definitely motivated us even more to help bring awareness of the truths of food insecurity to our own communities and make a difference. Now, I’ll ask you this. What will you do?
