Starting this summer, the Greater Princeton branch of AYLUS (GPA) members went to the Mercer Street Friends Food Bank (824-828 Silvia Street, Ewing, NJ 08628, 609-278-5546) to help organize donated food items.
GPA honors the equality of all people and strives for a just, prosperous, and peaceful society for all. We respond to the needs of the community to build alliances that will have the most meaningful impact in addressing issues of poverty.
GPA members create a range of integrated services that build community, nurture self-worth and independence, and offer resources for children, families, and communities to overcome poverty and its lasting effects.
Participants on 7/27 (3.5 hrs for all) AM: Sarah Yan, Erick Yan, Amber Yu, Audrey Wang, Cynthia Jinghui Huang, Cosner Yang, and more.
In addition, Amber Yu (8/13, 3 hrs) shared her experience at Mercer Street Friends Food Bank with AYLUS community:
The Mercer Street Friends Food Bank channels 5.5 million pounds of food and groceries annually to a network of over 100 local food pantries, shelters, soup kitchens, meal sites, schools, senior and disabled programs, and low-income housing sites. This food distribution and hunger prevention programs have reached over 60,000 people who face the pain and indignity of hunger. The Mercer Street Friends Food Bank has led the Mercer County community in responding to and fighting back against hunger.
This summer, the Greater Princeton Branch of AYLUS organized a great hands-on activity for members to dedicate their time and effort to help the community. GPA created an intuitive sign-up process which collected all the important information needed to assign volunteers to their correct shifts. The volunteers assist with the packing and sorting of donations, replenishing stocks, implementing food hygiene standards, maintaining clean and organized storage spaces, loading and unloading food items, and so much more.
I volunteered at the Food Bank at the end of July. The first time, I arrived at the Food Bank before 9 am with Gina and Kathie. After signing in, we grabbed gloves and headed into the warehouse to process the canned and boxed food for distribution to direct feeding programs. There were 6 stations lined up at the front. The volunteers were divided into pairs and several rolling carts would be passed down the assembly line to each station. At the first station, the two volunteers would set up 5 bags per cart and then put their items in before pushing the cart to the next station. More food would be added all the way down the line before the bags were loaded up into transport containers. At the end of the morning session, we packed nearly 500 bags. The second time, we packed 400 bags. Overall, we were very proud of our achievements and look forward to coming back to continue helping the community.
We learned that volunteering with Food Banks benefits families in need by providing them with food. This activity also creates meaningful experiences for volunteers by allowing them to develop a commitment towards supporting individuals in need and learning important skills such as organization, teamwork, good interpersonal skills, and empathy.
