Wow, it’s been too long!!! How is everyone? Things have been so busy this week – and it’s only going to get crazier starting next month so blogging could get sporadic (we’ll see!). But I’m still keeping tabs on your lives, just not writing about my own! 
I really wanted to share with you what we got to do as a family yesterday. This is going to be long, but stick with me – it’s worth it, I promise.
A few weeks ago I received an email from the Cleveland Foodbank asking if I’d like an exclusive blogger tour of the facility (I’m kind of a big deal, you know – no, seriously, it just helps to know people!). I JUMPED at the chance – and my first question was if I could bring C. When they said yes, I knew this was going to be amazing experience for the family.
And since we were going to be there, I immediately asked if we could volunteer. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to teach C the importance of giving back to the community.
When we first entered the building, we were greeted with their impressive motto:
I love the message (it’s simple, yet effective).
The facility itself is, in one word, IMPRESSIVE (I even wish I could come up with a better word then this!).
My good friend, Katrina, first guided us through the volunteer repacking area, where the food is sorted and packed.
It is then moved to the ENORMOUS warehouse.
Katrina said that when she came for her interview, she was one foot into the warehouse and that was it. She was sold. She had to work here and for a company making such a difference (glad it worked out, girl!).
The warehouse has quite an organization system. I don’t know how they keep everything straight – but they do! The food is labeled, bar-coded, you name it. They have to be organized because the guys working the warehouse and gathering the food have to know where everything is. They zoom around on these ridiculously fast forklifts gathering the orders:
And then place them in the pick up area:
Depending on where the food is going, the order either gets picked up or delivered. If being picked up, they can also “shop” in the Market Place. This is where the food that is close to expiration or ripe produce is “sold”. While most of the food offered here is free, the food that needs to be purchased is (on average) 9 cents per pound!
How much would he cost? $7.11??? Sorry, not for sale.
From there Katrina took us into the FULL kitchen, which is one of the cleanest in the STATE. I didn’t even know they HAD a kitchen! Unbelievable.
Then it was time to say goodbye to my good friend….
……because we were off to VOLUNTEER!
The Foodbank had received 42 of these boxes of oranges.
The orange’s skins were either a little damaged, or they were over/under ripe, so they needed to be bagged, weighed, and boxed up to be moved to the warehouse.
They are still perfect for juicing!
I know it seems so minimal, but every little bit helps.
The Foodbank is always looking for for donations, but here’s a list of their “Super Six”:
Food Items:
- Soup
- Beef stew (still surprised about this one!)
- Peanut butter
- Tuna fish
- Cereal
- Canned veggies
Non-Food items:
- Toilet Paper
- Shampoo
- Toothpaste/Toothbrush
- Deodorant
- Laundry Detergent
- Soap
These are the items MOST requested and most often not in the warehouse because of the high demand!
The Foodbank has Family Night 2x a month, so we’re going to start volunteering our time more often. It’s 2 hours out of our day once or twice a month – that’s nothing. And, in addition to helping the community, we’re also working as a family and building our 9 yr old’s character and exposing him to what’s real in this country, and not just the luxuries he experiences every day.
Thank you to the Cleveland Foodbank (and Katrina!) for this amazing experience. We will definitely be back!
Have you ever volunteered? What do you do to give back to the community?
