We began our day with some delicious toast as we went over what we are going to do with the space behind the garden. Our plan is to plant wildflowers in the space to beautify it and attract pollinators. Previously, that space was covered with bramble and unwanted weeds. The maintenance crew helped us out greatly by clearing it out last week. This was greatly appreciated and made our work much easier.
For the first part of our job, which we did today, we all walked outside to pull out roots. It was much harder than we’d thought, but we worked together, which made it fun. Some roots were particularly stubborn, and even with multiple people pulling them they would not budge. We did the best that we could, and, though we faced some challenges, there was definitely a huge difference in the appearance of the space by the end.
At around 11:00, we walked to Akira for some hibachi. Though crossing the street was a bit of a challenge, we all made it safely. The wait was a bit long, but everything worked out in the end. We all ordered our food and then talked with friends for a while. Watching the hibachi chef make our food was a lot of fun, and the onion volcano was particularly cool. Each of us got the chance to try and catch a piece of food in our mouth, but only some were successful. The food was really tasty, and we had a great time.
After stuffing ourselves with hibachi, we walked back to Hartman to take the bus to the South Jersey Food Bank. It was a quick (if not chaotic) ride, and when we arrived at the food bank we had a tour of the facilities before getting to the real work.
On our tour, our guide gave us a brief rundown of the history of this food bank. The South Jersey Food Bank started in 1985 in Camden and moved to Pennsauken almost two decades later to expand their building. Over time, they grew and grew; they added child programs in 2007, established senior feeding sites in 2010, set up drop-offs and drive-by pickups to combat food insecurity during the pandemic, and more. Speaking of expansion, they hope to add another building to their facilities (a health and wellness center) to celebrate their 40th anniversary!
Just from hearing our tour guide talk, we could all tell how passionate the workers are about what they do. The South Jersey Food Bank continues to work hard towards their mission of helping people find sustainable ways to improve their lives, and we were all lucky to help them out today. After the quick tour, we spent a few hours working in a big room to help pack up boxes of snacks and drinks. Although it might sound a little boring, it was honestly really fun! We kept up a good pace over the time that we worked and eventually some of us had a few short races to see how quick we could pack our boxes. At around 2:20, we said goodbye and thank-you to our tour guide and instructor and headed back to MFS.
Personal Reflections from the Authors:
Sanaa – “Even though this morning’s work was pretty hard and tedious with pulling up root after root after root to no avail, I still enjoyed it because the plan we have for that garden area is amazing and I’m excited to see our hard work and planning come into fruition this fall!”
Kari – ”I really enjoyed today’s work because it is amazing to know that what we did in both the garden area and at the food bank will benefit others. I can’t wait to see the wildflowers next school year!”