Soul Food helps feed the hungry
Soul Food is a Registered Student Organization that recruits volunteers to actively participate in giving aid to those in poverty.
Families in need of food are referred through The Division of Family and Child Services and are sent into the Milledgeville food pantry where they are given their allotted meals.
An average day for the food pantry consists of three to five families coming in every hour, however during the busier times there can be well over 30 families. It is common for the volunteers to arrive before the pantry opens to find a line of people waiting to be let in.
Volunteers break off into separate tasks, some managing the incoming family referrals while others dive in and out, and around the aisles filling a shopping cart with food. There are different lists a volunteer follows when filling the carts that are based upon the size and needs of the family noted in the referrals.
The food pantry is stocked with all types of food, excluding fresh produce. There is canned fruit, breakfast food, canned meat, canned vegetables and a variety of frozen foods. Each family is given enough food to last two to three weeks, however they are only allowed to come once every 60 days unless they are issued a special referral by DFACS.
“I got an e-mail one day from the GIVE Center about volunteer work for a food pantry and decided to give it a try,” founder of Soul Food, junior sociology major Tegan Hurley said. “This is when I decided to continue my involvement by recruiting members for volunteering at the pantry through a group named Soul Food.”
Hurley’s efforts to give rise to the organization began in November of 2008 and continue today as the heart of the organization continues to grow. Students can register with the GIVE Center in order to become involved with Soul Food or any other volunteer group. It is a quick and easy process with minimal paperwork.
“The GIVE Center is the umbrella of volunteer work,” Hurley said.
Meetings are held every other Tuesday at 7 p.m. in room 102 of Chappell Hall and there is a Facebook group named “Soul Food” to provide an outlet to stay connected.
Participating in volunteer work can be as flexible as your schedule may need it to be. There are no minimum requirements for the number of hours per week and volunteers can choose appropriate times to work.
Many students, including freshman mass communication major Victoria Sorokina, agree that the GIVE Center is a great place to dedicate your time.
“So many people spend their whole lives focusing on themselves and I won’t allow myself to become one of those people,” Sorokina said.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Oct 9 2009. Filed under News.
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