District 13 Broward Outreach Center Report

District 13 Broward Outreach Center Report

By: Emily Jo Freeman

            On November 22, 2011 fifteen members of the 4-H District 13 Council volunteered at the Broward outreach center to feed people who don’t have as much food. I honestly didn’t know what to expect going into this, I had never done something like this before. It was a great experience to be able to help fight poverty. When we first arrived we had to get dressed up in a plastic apron, gloves, and a hair net, for sanitary reasons. I wasn’t too much of a fan of this. My pride was soon swallowed after seeing the reactions of people receiving the food. Some of us who volunteered helped clean tables, others served salad and bread, while still others handed out drinks or trays of food. We also had someone passing out Thanksgiving cards that the Council made the meeting prior. I helped by passing out the trays of food to the people sitting at the tables. We fed them in two shifts:  the first was women and families, while the second was only men. In all about 100 or so people showed up There were mothers and children who typically don’t have very much to eat, but thanks to this wonderful program get to have a meal. One woman stood out to me, while most people would take the food and seem to just savor every bite; I would watch as this woman received her tray, turn around, and in the next second, she was finished. I remember passing out the plates and thinking to myself, “How would I deal with this if I were in their shoes?” It really made me think about how blessed I am to be able to eat a meal, or have a snack whenever I want. An experience that I didn’t know how to react to, ended up being one that has made me extremely thankful.