Service Project Analysis

Rachel Young
For my service project, I served at the Utah Food Bank. For
eighty-five percent of my service I delivered food boxes to disabled or
elderly people. Most of these deliveries did fall under these categories;
however, I did deliver some boxes to normal households. The food
bank offers free food to low-income, homebound seniors and people
with disabilities (Food). Each box is full of a weeks worth of nonperishable foods, and additional bread and fresh produce are often
given.
In the days that I delivered I usually started off by signing in at
the front desk. After check-in I would go to the back of the warehouse
and prepare the food. I was assigned to deliver a box full of cans to
each house/member. As for the perishables, they changed every time I
came. One week, the perishables included milk, cheese, fruit, and
bread. Another week, the company was running low on perishable
foods and so each home was given a bouquet of flowers. After I loaded
the car I would drive to the assigned locations and deliver the food.
Delivering boxes doesnt seem to be an eye-opening experience,
but I met people and saw living conditions that I have not seen here in
Utah. I grew up in South Jordan, Utah surrounded by good and
financially well-off neighborhoods. I first broke the barrier when I
participated in a humanitarian trip to Tijuana, Mexico. I was able to
experience a different lifestyle once again when I starting delivering
boxes. Throughout this service project, I experienced ableism, ageism,
and classism in great abundancy.
In our world, we see a lot of abled people. This is not surprising
most disabled people are homebound and cannot leave their homes. I
saw this firsthand at the first house I delivered to. We knocked on the
door and we heard a voice inside, Im coming! Hold on! After a few
minutes this adorable elderly women opened the door; she had an
oxygen tank that followed her constantly. Another delivery to an older
lady who required a walker at all times in order to move around. Both
of these women could get outside their house, but it would be
inconvenient and difficult on their bodies. It was a pleasure to deliver
to them.
I grew up in a relatively young neighborhood, except for the
Warrens who are quite old and actually lived during world war two. In
our book, one essay discussed how a lot people dont respect elders
anymore. This is so sad. In my experiences with our elders, they have
been wise and kind. In delivering these boxes, I did have the
opportunity to deliver to some fine elderly people. Most of them asked
to have the boxes placed in the kitchen rather than the front door.
Sometimes I think they felt a little embarrassed that they couldnt
move the food themselves. Our society puts so much emphasis on

being independent. For young adults, there is a pressure to move out

and be on your own. However, when youre older, youve lived a life of
independence and because of your age, your body is slowing down. It
happens to everyone. But I believe these elders want to be free from
the dependence they have on family, government, society, etc.
We are really fortunate to live in a nice, beautiful state and
country. However, despite our wonderful and wealthy country, more
than 45 million people live under the poverty line, or 14.5 percent of
all of Americans (Gongloff). Most of the time we do not see this
because it is relatively well hidden. On my service project, I had the
opportunity to see some of the poverty Utah has to offer. The Food
Bank was established in 1904 and remains true to the mission of
fighting hunger statewide. Most often this food is given to those who
cant afford it, or those who struggle financially. The majority of the
houses I delivered to were not in the nicest neighborhoods. I was
really shocked by the things I saw. It was not as bad as the things I saw
in Mexico, but I expected less in the state I live in.
One day I went to a house near downtown Salt Lake. This lady
lived in a two-room house. When we first walked in the smell of
cigarette smell enveloped us. This kind lady was probably in her midforties and she had dirty blonde hair. She asked us to set the box of
food and perishables right inside the door. Within the five-second time
limit I had while dropping off the food, I had a glance at her home.
There were a lot of items scattered across the floor and her bed
consisted of a mattress lying on the floor with a few blankets scattered
on top. I was shocked. This woman didnt even have a place to put her
bed other than three feet inside her front door.
I loved delivering these boxes to people. Honestly, these people
were some of the kindest people I have ever had the pleasure to meet.
I delivered two boxes to this Latino family that consisted of an elderly
women, and her two daughters. They were so sweet. They
continuously thanked us until we left ten minutes later. The elderly
woman was upstairs and directed us where to put the box, and the two
daughters assisted us with putting them away. I was talking to one of
the daughters and she gave me this huge hug and expressed her
gratitude. The other sister handed us a little snack for the road: a
granola bar. To people in our circumstances, giving our time and
sometimes our money is not a big deal. But to these women,
delivering a box of food was such a blessing to them and they were so
grateful.
This project has awakened the desire to reach outside myself. I
hope to be able to deliver boxes more often. Any kind of service that
helps people through life would be a wonderful opportunity. The
challenging part of the service project was seeing people in the
conditions they were in. I hate to see any person struggle with
anything. These families are doing fine, but many dont know where

their next meal is coming from. Many of these people also live on their
own; they are lonely. Every person, no matter their
class/station/education, should have friends.
I love the joy you feel when youve done a service to someone.
So many of these wonderful families were so kind to us. It was a
pleasure to help and serve them. When I delivered the boxes to the
Latino family, I was overjoyed. They were so kind and graceful. We
often think that people in those hard and difficult circumstances have
the right to be grumpy and disagreeable. However, none of these
people are. I was blessed to be able to serve them.
I believe our society often stays in the dark because we dont
want to see what the real issues are. Ignorance is bliss: if we dont
know millions in our country are living in poverty; if we dont know
thousands of citizens in Utah are starving then we dont have to fix
anything. Now that Ive seen some of the isms we discussed in
class; I cant deny the problems that exist in our world. We must begin
facing them as soon as we become aware.
Sources
Adams, Maurianne. Readings for Diversity and Social Justice. New York:
Routledge, 2000. Print.
"Food Box Delivery." Utah Food Bank. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2016.
Gongloff, Mark. "45 Million Americans Still Stuck Below Poverty Line:
Census." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 16 Sept.
2014. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.