Rachel Chen

Mr. Gilbert
Social Justice, period 2
3 June 2016
Service-Learning Project: The San Diego Food Bank
One in four students and children in San Diego County are malnourished because they go
to school hungry and rely on school-provided lunches as their only source of nutrition, which are
usually not sufficient sources of protein, complex carbohydrates, fiber, iron, or other essential
nutrients. The San Diego Food Banks mission is to combat hunger locally, a cause that is part of
a large-scale, worldwide pandemic that affects billions of people. Ostensibly, hunger only affects
third-world countries and rural communities, but hunger is actually one of the leading causes of
malnutrition and illness here in the United States.
My experience with the San Diego Food Bank has only been positive, and also deeply
rewarding. Both times I went to the distribution center, I left feeling satisfied and rewarded, and
the second time around, volunteering felt less like a chore or an assignment obligation, but a
necessary contribution to the community that I now understand is very important. The
atmosphere of the food bank and its volunteers is very positive and encouraging, and the
teamwork that we experienced is uncomparable to anything else. Since all the volunteers had to
work together to complete a common goal, the process of sorting and packaging the goods ran
very smoothly. At the beginning of the first volunteering experience, I admittedly felt uneasy,
since Ive never stepped foot in the distribution center, and most of the other volunteers belonged
to an existing organization. However, the overall experience was welcoming and I realized that
working for a bigger cause brings people together, a feeling that I rarely experience in my day-

to-day life. As cliche as it may sound, helping other people does generate positivity and
contributing to the greater good is a cleansing and humbling experience, eye-opening to my own
privilege in relation to less-fortunate families living in poverty that face hunger in their everyday
lives.
This organization has a deep connection to social justice because it pushes to provide
food to underprivileged groups of people including families below the poverty line, elders living
in assisted-care living, schoolchildren, and the homeless. Hunger and poverty and linked, and
are both very prevalent issues that plague every aspect of social justice. The San Diego Food
Bank serves thousands of people from every demographic in the San Diego area, a cause that is
often overlooked in generally middle-to-high class cities. According to Stop Hunger Now, a
non-profit organization that donates funds to starving countries, one in nine people in the world
go to sleep hungry, and hunger itself kills more than tuberculosis, malaria, and AIDS combined.
Especially in developed countries, the issue hunger and poverty is often swept under the rug
because people overlook the fact that hunger exists. The Food Bank, besides drawing in
volunteers, spreads awareness to the prevalence of poverty and hunger in San Diego.
Even though the number of malnourished and hungry individuals in the world has
decreased, there is still monumental progress to be made. Volunteering at the Food Bank has
been an eye-opening and humbling experience, and I urge all high school students to sign up
online to volunteer, since strength in numbers can affect real change and noticeable difference,
especially in a local setting.