Working at Seva Food bank
Truth be told food bank was always a pretty unfamiliar place to me as it
is mostly for people that are living in poverty and can't afford to buy
food. During our time in Canada never have we felt that we needed to go
to the food bank because we had no trouble buying food so it is no
question why I wasn’t familiar with the concept of a food bank.
In Canada every high school student needs 40 hours of volunteer time
to graduate from high school and as a grade nine I think it's better to
start off early and get those hours ready. I started doing my research
and finding the places where I could go for volunteer hours. When I
searched it up on the internet the most recommended place was food
bank. I wasn't familiar with a food bank but I choose it anyways because
I thought to myself why not? Cause even if I didn't know too much about
food bank I could learn about it along the way. So with that thought in
mind I googled the nearest food bank to me and choose a highly rated
food bank called Seva Food Bank. It was a food bank very close to me
and it was highly rated food bank being 4.4/5 stars. So I applied for it
and got a request for a interview at this lovely food bank.
I was very excited before the interview and I was also quite nervous but I
managed to calm down and get myself together for the interview. When I
got there for the interview they called me in a small room and they let
me sit down and asked if I wanted any water or something to drink. I
said no because I wasn't thirsty and the person who asked me if I
wanted any water smiled and said “Don't be too nervous.” and left.
Around 10 seconds after she left the person who is interviewing me
came in. She was this kind looking lady that looks like she is in her 50’s,
She sat down right in front of me and handed me and my mom a both a
sheet of paper. One for me one for my mom and then she told me that
this interview is about telling us what food bank is all about and what we
expect from you and what's special about this job. The sheet was simple
it was just a bunch of questions and asking for your phone numbers and
email and emergency contact information (even though I don't see
myself getting hurt at a food bank). The lady then told us about what
makes a food bank special. This was very inspirational for me as I think
she made a lot of good points and taught me a lot of new things. She
said “A food bank is a place where people who have financial issues can
get food and feed themselves, It is a very kind and welcoming place
where people
who have financial issues can come here and feel as they are
welcomed.” “When you are hungry you can’t think straight but you can
if you have food, so the main point of a food bank is too let the people
focus on their financial and not worry about food.” “Just the other day I
saw a woman in front of our doors that looked very hesitated, I
welcomed her in and she asked me do I belong here?” “I told her that
anyone that has financial problems is welcomed to the food bank and
there is no such thing as belong or not belong to a place.”
I was very shocked to hear this because from my knowledge I thought
everyone was completely fine of going to the food bank but now I found
out that I guessed wrong, well after this story she told me that I was in
and I could order my shift on online on their website. Me and my mom
said thank you and we left the place, on my way back I thought this is
going to be hell of a experience for me.
Well this is my first client ever, That's what I thought to myself when the
people there told me to take a client by myself, I had already saw how to
take a client to shop but I was still nervous when they asked me to do it
by myself but I managed to hold myself together. My first client was a
black lady, she carried a purse and a baby and she looks like that she is
in her 30’s. The manager told her that she can't have her baby in here
but the lady said she doesn't feel safe leaving her baby outside alone so
the manager agreed to her taking her baby with her, I was told to take
her to shop and believe it or not I was extremely calm when I saw the
lady walked in. I took her to where the shopping car was and told her
that I would be her personal shopper for today, I asked her how many
family member she had because the quantity of food you are allowed to
take depends on how many people you have in your family. She said
she have only 2 members in her family including her baby, I smiled and
said okay then I took the shopping car and started getting the food for
her. There were different sections of food Snacks, Can food, Oil, Salt,
Surgur, and etc…… I asked her on every section if she wanted to take it
or not and to be honest I had to keep a eye on her because I was taught
that some customers do try to take more than they are allowed even
though I trust that she won’t but still it's better if I keep a eye on her, But
it turns out my worries are completely false as she turned out to be a
very kind and loving lady and she loves to joke around and you know
what that was really good for me as since its my first time she gave me a
really easy time and she taught me that people that are not having the
best time of their lives can still be kind and loving.
At the end of the sections I told her that she was my first ever client and
she told me “I am honored.” then I helped her pack her food and stuff
and I carried it on to
her car and it was heavy, but when I saw her smile I thought to myself
this is all worth it.
This first experience lead me to believe that this food bank is a very
sacred place as because of this place many people don't have to starve.
I remembered what the lady said about people not able to think straight
when they are hungry and almost every person that comes to this food
bank looks like that they are starving and rarely with they ever smile.
This first experience taught me that food bank is truly a amazing place
as it can help other people so much and no matter how tired you are the
smile of the people that you helped always tells you “It's worth it!”
We not all customers are good and nice some of them can be a little
buggy at times like this one that I am about to tell you guys about.
So it was a regular shift day and the manager called me over to take a
lady to shop. it was a muslim lady and the manager told me that she has
a family of 6. So I took her with me and got her shopping cart ready and
told her with a smile that I am her personal shopper for today. Normally
people like their personal shopper to have a smile on their face as then
they seem more friendly. But she ignored my smile and took the cart
from me and started pushing it away without even looking at me. I was a
little shocked as I didn't think anyone would do that but however I didn't
get mad and I went with her to the food sections. At the first section was
canned pasta and I asked her do you want any canned pastas and she
said yes. I then took her the quantity that she needed and put it in the
car, But then she screamed and said STOP! My mind went blank for a
second and I asked her carefully what's wrong? She then stared at me
and said I am also shopping for my brother and my brother has a family
member of 6 as well so why did you only take my quantity? I was pretty
close to getting mad there because she didn't mention that she was
shopping for her brother but I came up with a smile and said sorry i’ll
get your brothers quantity right away. she didn't even say anything and
she just turned away from me and didn't say a word. So I just took her
brothers quantity and her quantity on every section and by the last
section she had a full cart and she told me that she came in with her
brother and that her brother will help her carry these to the car and I
didn’t need to help her. I said yes and after helping her pack all of her
stuff I put the cart back and sat down to take a little break because these
groceries are pretty damn heavy. When I was chillin out of nowhere the
manager popped out and said “Jerry can you come with me for a
second?” I said “Sure.” the manager pulled me away and told me that
the
lady is actually lying and she doesn't actually have a brother and she
actually came in with her sister. I was pretty shocked because I have
never seen any one lie about their family member before. So pretty
much the lady took double of what she needs and got away with it. this
was quite the experience as I have never had a client that took double of
what she needs.
This taught me that there is a reason why some people remain to be
poor. The scary thing about poverty is it changes you mind. When you
are in poverty your goals change dramatically you no longer have any
other goals other than the basic ones like eating, buying new clothes
and pretty much no other. She lied only to get more food which in my
opinion is pretty scary.
This customer that I am about to talk to you about now is the best
customer I have had yet. She is this 40ish looking lady. I took her for
shopping not too long ago and I gotta say she was very very nice and
she was somehow very talkative which is pretty rare for the people that
visit our food bank. when I got her cart for her she said “Wow you are
very gentle aren’t you normally I get them myself but thank you!” This
immediately got me to like her and she also knew this place very well
and she is also friends with all the staff that work here. She loves to
make jokes and she really treated me like a friend instead of a staff. and
most important of all she always have a smile on her face and she never
looked sad. Her attitude was like no matter how hard life is I will never
change for the worse and I will not lose myself in struggles in life. This
made me think that I was lucky to be the personal shopper of such a
person. When she got her stuff and left she said that nice to meet you
Jerry my name is Samantha I hope i’ll see you next time! I said me too.
So over the 3 months I have had a lot of customers and I have
mentioned to you 3 that are the most important to me and what they
taught me. So in conclusion I think people sometimes lose themselves
in the struggles in life which is normal considering people change for
the better or for the worse. But what I think is the most important is no
matter what happens don't lose yourself the people that remain poor is
often the type of people that gave up on all of their dreams and beliefs
and they have no more motivation to get out of their current situation as
time has consumed their faith leaving them faithless and hopeless. But
some people still are trying like Samantha she isn’t in a good situation
but she never lose herself to this situation and she remained to be
happy and cheerful. So my end conclusion is even in poverty people can
still change for the better.