Potato Packin'

Saturday we spent the morning at the Oregon Food Bank with a group of eight from church. This visit included a new experience ... aprons, gloves and hairnets! We were assigned to pack 5 pound bags of potatoes and when that was finished ... it was on to packing pears.
It is amazing what a large group of volunteers can accomplish working side-by-side for a good cause. One thing that impressed me was the age range of volunteers ... from the elderly to school-age children. I was reminded that we are never too old to give ... there are chairs available for those who are not able to stand for long periods of time. I love seeing the children involved. They have such enthusiasm! Thinking back ... I wish we would have involved our kids in family service projects.
Our two-hour shift always goes by much too quickly due to the good conversation, laughter and an occasional find ... like heart-shaped potatoes! You don't seem to notice the backache or sore muscles ... until much later : )
With the combined effort of the potato/pear team we packed 26,480 lbs of food which contributed to 20,698 meals and each volunteer packed food for 244 people. It's amazing how so little time can make such a huge difference in someone else's life.