Service Learning Number 3

Hey everyone! I feel like it’s been a while since the last time I posted anything. Today I’m excited to tell you that I finally got a chance to help out at Meals on Wheels right here in Asheville. With my school and work schedules the way they are I didn’t think I was going to be able to get over there but turns out Tuesday mornings is where I can make it happen. I want to give you a little background though into why I chose to help at Meals on Wheels.

I have some fond memories of when I was younger and driving around with my grandpa making deliveries for meals on wheels. I remember the excitement in their eyes when they opened the door to me carrying a nice big box of food to help hold them over for the next week or so. It was a great way to give back to the community that gave me so much growing up. A part of me believes that I left that area better than it was and I’m hoping to do the same with Asheville. This doesn’t mean I’m saying Asheville is a bad place by any means but it doesn’t hurt to try to improve wherever I am.

So today I actually got to help out in the kitchen which is something I never got to do before. I worked with three other guys who have been at MoW for over a decade. I could tell that they smelled the fresh meat. They gave me the once-over to make sure I was competent enough to take instructions. I got into the groove of things and eventually ended up making over 400 pudding and cranberry cups. You could call us the snack pack factory. 

This is going to sound a little redundant if you’ve read my previous posts on service learning but I learned about how much work and the amount of people that goes into making food available for more people in any given area. While I was just working with a few other people there was at least a couple dozen more running routes and organizing the food for logistical support. It was really amazing to see everyone working together. It showed me that Asheville really does care about each other because all of these people are volunteers. I want to help there as much as I can so I will definitely be showing up Tuesday mornings with how much schedule is right now.

Grow Some Stuff

Ron Finley gave a great TED talk where he talks about how he is making a difference in his community. I think it's awesome that he's turning unsightly and unused areas into flourishing gardens where people can help each other grow their own food. I lived in Detroit up until I was 20 and never saw anyone doing this with the abandoned lots and overgrown parkways. I see it in my imagination how amazing it could look if everyone came together to make something like that happen. This is only two cities, imagine if every city caught on and began cultivating unused plots of land to help feed the people of the surrounding area. This is a huge movement that could change the way the world looks at food. People would come closer to their produce and have a healthier diet by eating fresh fruits and vegetables.

The article about biotech not being key to solving the world's food security issue brings up both the problem and the possible solution. There is plenty of food in the world that can feed most people but the problem is what we're doing with that food before it's used to become our food. Like the author said about the way crops are used to grow animals so we can eat them, I think we could use that food instead to feed people and let the animals do what they need to do naturally. This means getting the animals out of factories and allowing them to forage for themselves instead of wasting our own resources on them.

Another article on organic food supporting the world brings up a few key points. The amount of calories people consume needs to be evaluated. If people took the time to look at the food they consume and consciously think,"Does my body really need all this food right now?", then there would be more food to go around. There is a growing trend of over-sized meal plans that is obviously leading to weight and other health issues. Sure we can keep blaming industries for producing this stuff but without the demand there wouldn't be supply. Of course there is a constant supply so at first there would end up being a surplus but eventually those corporations won't have a leg to stand on if people stop purchasing their goods. As consumers we need to take a step back and look at the choices we make and how making a change in those choices can make a change in our life.