The month of May came to end allot quicker than I planned but I am happy to report that I am still working towards my goal. The time I spent at Loaves and Fishes was great and I even convinced one of my friends to join me. She actually took the place of my niece who was supposed to go with me. We originally planned to take the metro to the project site but I was running late and ran into traffic on the way to her house, so she ended up driving which was a blessing. Her car has an awesome GPS that got us to our destination without any problems. I plan to volunteer at Food for all in DC tomorrow but instead of driving I think it will be best to take the metro. I already have one freakin parking ticket and don't need anymore. I am also not too fond of getting lost again like I did last time, lol...
Loaves and Fishes is operated by St. Stephen & the Incarnation Episcopal Church in Washington DC. They started the food service program in the 60's to feed homeless individuals in the city. In the bible Matthew spoke of many people gathering from the surrounding countryside to hear Christ’s preaching. At the end of this long day, 5000 people were in need of food and lodging. The disciples’ first instinct was to send the people away to fend for themselves. Christ asks for the food at hand: 5 barley loaves and 2 fish. He blesses this meager meal, and then asks to have it distributed. The gathered throng had enough to eat, and more, such that there were enough leftovers to fill 12 baskets. That scripture was the driving force behind the name and the program itself.
When we arrived at the church, the other volunteers were speaking to the kitchen service leader who was giving instructions on the specifics of how the session was going to go. There were two main volunteer's who actually cooked the food while we were there. I believe they attend the church and volunteer on a regular basis. Once the food was cooked we began plating the food for service. We plated trays and trays of food. Each tray of food had a main entree, vegetables, bread and a dessert. Halfway through plating the food, I was pulled to begin serving the food to the hungry masses that awaited us in the dinning hall. The volunteers were split into teams of two. One person pulled the trays off of the carts while other person served the food. While I was serving the food, I looked around at the people who were at each of the tables. The people in the room were of all races and ages. It really shocked me to see people there my age that were in need. It just goes to show you how some many of us are just one step away from being in being in that person in need.
After the first, second and third round of food was served, the leftover food was distributed to anyone who wanted to take something with them. After we cleaned the dinning hall and put the tables away we left for the day. Overall I thought the experience was great and I plan to go back again and bring others with me.
* On a final note my friend Michelle managed to take some pics of us at the end of the day after we finished for the day.
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