On Tuesday, July 22nd, 9:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M., the Roslyn branch of AYLUS volunteered at NOSH Delivers!, a non-profit food pantry, which strives to reduce food insecurity throughout Long Island.
Once the volunteers arrived at the food pantry, we immediately began our work with restocking the pantry so the shoppers who came early could receive items that were part of the new delivery. Shortly after we finished our first task, we had a brief meeting with Courtney, the Director of NOSH Youth and Community Engagement. During the meeting, we discussed our branch’s involvement in NOSH’s youth programs and the online hub that Courtney wanted us to establish. She expressed her concerns with not being able to track the amount of KFIP bags produced, because we did not have a system to track the number of bags produced. We offered her solutions of what she could do to fix this issue, and soon after, the meeting ended shortly.
While a volunteer helped out in the farmers market offering different selections of produce and dairy, the rest of the volunteers restocked the shelves with KFIP bags so that children who came could enjoy a quick breakfast or lunch in a bag. After that, we folded up cardboard boxes to be brought to a recycling center. One of our last tasks would be to cut off the stems of beets, for NOSH bags or for the food pantry. Once we finished cutting the stems, we threw out the garbage and went back inside.
Finally, we finished off the day by decorating NOSH bags so that the kids who received the bags could choose their favorite design. When Courtney looked at our decorated bags she praised us and told us we were “truly wonderful” because of all the work we had accomplished today. Volunteering at NOSH has truly helped all of us volunteers grow because it taught us to be grateful for the things we are handed in life because not everyone was born as privileged as us.
Members who participated: Natalie Tsui (4 hours), Lily Zhang (4 hours), Eric Xiong (4 hours)
Reporter: Natalie Tsui
