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?
Here we are at Washington D.C., my most anticipated day for this whole service trip. Amidst the news of Bucknell closing we go into the chaos that is Capitol Hill. From the frying pan into the fire as they say. We wake up early, zoom through preparing ourselves for presentation and the frustration of our roommate waking up early. Then to the bus, the train station and finally D.C.! We arrive at the building and my heart kinda stutters but then picks up, a common theme for the day. We’re put into this conference room with a representative of Bread for the World, Jacob, who walks us through the organization’s objectives. With a little foreground of what we’re advocating for, a pinky nail of the U.S.’s GDP ($50 Million), Chonya Johnson walks in.
The issue of food apartheid in Baltimore is not a result of organic processes but rather a product of intentional policies and structures. To this end, our meeting with Alice Huang, a food access planner at the Baltimore Food Policy Initiative, was particularly interesting since we were given a glimpse of how policies with the goal of combatting food insecurity operate.
When listening to Alice, it became apparent that you can’t discuss food without also discussing social groups and their respective dynamics. She introduced us to the concept of triangulation where two non-white groups fight each other for resources. One pertinent example includes the black population’s disapproval of immigrant-run corner stores. The divisions made amongst these groups is unproductive and leads to additional struggles when attempting to implement solutions since coalitions between those groups are unable to be made. In some ways, it becomes a drain on the effectiveness of a solution implemented since the groups are fighting the wrong enemy. Alice also highlighted that the food conversation, while being predominately white and black centric, leaves out minority groups like Asians and asks where those voices go.
This question, in particular, is something I grapple with often when thinking about how social justice and diversity initiatives are structured. When reflecting on all the visits and discussions of the week, it is absolutely clear to me that tackling the issue of food insecurity in Baltimore requires a multi-pronged approach. You know you are doing it right when you understand the history involved and prioritize the voices of the affected.
t’s day five at the Food inequality service trip in Baltimore, MD. As part of the Bucknell university course, Food, Faith and Justice, seven individuals including myself visited several religious institutions (Sikh Association of Baltimore, Islamic Society, Black Church Food Security Network), community farms (Little Portion Farm, Baltimore Farm Alliance) and a soup kitchen (Our Daily Bread). The object of this trip was to become accustomed to the many issues facing Baltimore – homelessness, the lasting effect of red lining and most of all, individuals struggling to obtain sufficient sustenance to go about their daily lives.
We initially met with Dr. Surinder Singh Gill to inquire about his project in helping immigrants and those in the Sikh community in having a stable community. In Sikhism he mentioned how when sharing meals, all individuals despite race, religion or socioeconomic status must sit in line side by side as a means of showcasing how all are equal. This similarity is also present in Islam as when Muslims come together to have their required prayers, all must prostrate in the presence of God; thus, further showing the equal nature of everyone despite their differences. Along with this concept I further learned of the concepts in these religious faiths: a) Baptized Sikhs must never cut any part of their body hair and must remain vegan b) Muslims must uphold the principles of their religion, many of which focus on the importance of society and the need to aid those less privileged.
