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As part of my last Americorps service year, I got to spend 3 months working in the Emma Family Resource Center (serving the Emma community) and my favorite part of the job was managing the food pantry. Every week, I got to spend the first half of one day "shopping" at the local MANNA food bank, buying and entire truckload of food to restock our pantry.

Then I got to help make up food boxes to give out to those in need. I loved this job so much, because it felt like I got to be Santa Claus every week. I put a lot of time and thought into customizing each box for the family that was taking it home. I would make sure there were treats for any children and that any kid-friendly food was age appropriate (and I made sure that each kid had equal goods so that there were no fights over who got more or better stuff - as one of three kids I know how that dynamic works, lol). When I could, I added traditional ethnic foods to match the background of the families so that they would have something familiar to work with. I made a point of snagging special treats at the food bank when I could find them, since I know how much something nice can brighten up someone's day, especially if they're dealing with hunger and poverty issues. And I hosted cooking lessons for less familiar veggies so that our families could make the most of what we had to offer.

As part of this service, I also helped manage the center's community garden, planting food and helping maintain the grounds with weeding and composting. What we raised for the center also went in the boxes.

I have to say that even though the work I did in the schools during the school year was valuable and even fun, this summertime posting was my favorite 3 months. To be able to help someone so directly, to carry out a box of food for someone who otherwise wouldn't be eating and to make someone's day by being able to tuck in a box of nice tea or a handful of fruit roll-ups for the kids - well, I can't think of a better job short of being able to close up shop because you're no longer needed.

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