The Food Shelf

On Thursday and Fridays, I volunteer at the food shelf. Today was one of my favorite days. I don't know why - maybe because there was lots of sorting to be done or just because I wore a sunny yellow dress (and everything feels better in a sunny yellow dress.) There weren't any other high school students today. Most other students act like drones, lifting boxes under orders and not saying a word. I, on the other hand, strike up conversations with the retirees and father's whose children have gone of to college and left them with nothing to do.

You never know what sorts of characters you'll run into. Jay has hair that could rival Brendan Fraser's and sneaks donated cookies into the break room. Gary has a bit of sailor's mouth and tells lots of stories that he tries to make philosophical. And one old man who I've never heard speak before told me about his heart valve surgery while we were shelving canned tomatoes.

I love sorting because it's methodical, and I love bagging because it's like playing tetris with groceries. I don't do it for the hours - I do it for the people I get to meet, the systematic things my brain loves to do and the free food. I volunteer at the food shelf. It rocks.