Volunteer of the Month
Calvary Baptist Church
On Saturday, April 20th 157 volunteers from Calvary Baptist Church arrived at the Food Bank for a day of serving the community. As the Calvary members piled into the Food Bank, they were offered the choice to work in either the Warehouse or the Demonstration Garden. Thankfully, the weather was cooperating that day, which encouraged several people to get their hands dirty in the garden. The amount of work the volunteers accomplished in just 4 short hours exceeded all of our expectations. The day started with harvesting the last of the winter crops- collards, cabbage, kale, carrots, Brussels sprouts, green onions, and Swiss chard. Garden beds were cleaned out, weeds were pulled, seeds planted, transplants up-potted, and a nice compost pile was formed. A group of determined men even took the time to fix up our sickly lawn mower.
"It was a nice family day, and it felt good to be helpful," says Liz Moser, Calvary volunteer. "We have two exchange students from China, and this was their first experience in helping a community. It was nice to see their reaction to helping. China doesn't do anything to assist people in need. It isn't even on the average persons radar to do so," Liz explains.
That day Calvary members packed 35,892 pounds of food for backpacks, senior boxes, and emergency food boxes. More than 96 lbs of fresh produce was harvested from the Demonstration Garden to be distributed to the Food Bank clients. The contributions of these volunteers to achieve our goal of providing food to those in need is truly appreciated. We are proud to recognize Calvary Baptist as our Volunteers of the Month. Thank you so much for all of your hard work!