Why We Volunteer
I’ve never had to worry about a meal before. All my life, I’ve had plenty of food and enough money.
Not everyone is as fortunate.
This is why my family volunteers with Feeding Charlotte.
In Mecklenburg County (where Charlotte is located), there are over 140,000 people (roughly 12% to 15% of households) who experience hunger or food scarcity every day. Stretch that out nationally, and that number grows to 48 million, including roughly 14 million children.
Sadly, 40% of all food waste ends up in a landfill.
We need to find better ways to preserve food. We need to understand how precious each meal is.
Three years ago, I was looking for a kid-friendly volunteer opportunity for my oldest daughter and me, at the time only 3 years old. We came across Feeding Charlotte’s annual event, where volunteers box 5,000 meals for people in our community. The food for the boxes is mostly donated from partners—food that otherwise would have been wasted and ended up in the landfill.
This opportunity resonated for several reasons. First, Stella could participate. All she would need to do is stand next to me and put a banana in the box.
Second, since I moved out of my parents’ house, I have always tried my best to ration and preserve all of my food. I have not been perfect. I have contributed my part to the landfills. But I’m always conscious of food — how it’s stored, when it’s eaten, and how to lessen food waste — every day.
Food waste and preservation became even more top of mind when the girls were born. They are typical picky children who sometimes eat, sometimes don’t. But all the food we give them is properly prepared and nutritious. The thought of it going to waste simply drives me crazy.
My kids know that, to get new food, the current food they have has to be eaten. Don’t confuse or conflate that with overeating and forcing food. I make it very clear that they can leave food if they are not hungry. But that meal will not be forgotten, and most importantly, it won’t be thrown away.
As a 3-year-old, Stella’s first volunteer event went about as expected: a range of emotions from pure excitement (over doing something new) to dread of having to stand and work. But she saw me working. She saw the others working.
Last year, we went back. One year older, she made friends with the (mostly) adult crowd and became a “runner,” helping with bananas and gathering empty storage boxes to fill with meal boxes. There was still some whining, but it was nice to see her get more involved.
Before this year’s event, our best friends in Charlotte asked if they could volunteer, too. No prompting, they just saw us doing it and thought it would be a good opportunity for them, too.
So in early May, the five of us (3 kids, 2 adults) went to the annual boxing event and helped pack 5,000 more meals. That’s 15,000 meals now for Stella and me, and 5,000 and counting for Arya and our friends.
On the way home from this year’s event, Stella, again unprompted, asked me what happens to the people who get the meals after they’ve eaten the food. My best guess was that they don’t know where their next meal comes from. Stella took this in for a minute and then simply asked: What else can we do?
Feeding Charlotte has a food-rescue driver service for volunteers who want to help more regularly. It’s a super simple sign-up. Once in the system, you see the daily schedule from community partners: where food needs to be picked up, and where it needs to be delivered to — soup kitchens, churches, etc.
We signed up and are planning to try to deliver one meal per week. Again, we are not only fortunate to know where our next meal is coming from, but we have a reliable vehicle to help deliver food to others. Our first rescue is this Friday after Stella’s last day of school!
We volunteer to keep perspective. We volunteer because we can help. We volunteer to fight food hunger and prevent food waste.
Perhaps most importantly, we volunteer so that our children, at the youngest conscious age, learn that giving when you can is better than taking.
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What is a cause you are passionate about? Drop it in the comments below, and let me know how I can support you and/or the organization.
Until next time, take it easy.
- Colin
Kudos to you, sir. It's a good reminder that I should do more of these things. It can be hard sometimes, when getting you and yours by is enough of a struggle, to think beyond ourselves. But when you're in a better spot, as I am now, it's good to be able to give other people a boost when they need it.