The teach-in was definitely better than i imagined it to be. I was nervous at first but once the workshops began, I was relaxed. We were prepared with all the materials needed for the workshop. In fact, we had extra materials at the end. Being a teacher is harder than i thought it would be. You need do have everyone doing something each minute in order to have them not fool around. At some points people didn’t have anything to do. Ex. When the chocolate on the pretzels weren’t dry, the wrappers had to wait. There are still some things I would’ve done differently.

Our second workshop was better than the first because we fixed our mistakes and we added more personal experiences, talking about our soup kitchens. We also could’ve cleaned the area as we went. I learned a lot during the process of the teach-in and I felt what it’s like to be a teacher. I think I am better at improvising and not reading from a script. It was also challenging to teach other people especially younger because they would joke around.

The set-up groups weren’t really that organized. I was a decorator and I found myself sitting. Altogether the assembly turned out to be entertaining but I would’ve liked to have done more decorations and taken it more seriously. Next year, the set-up groups should have more time and maybe something more creative.

Julian and I went to HUC (Hebrew Union College) for our last visit. I felt very satisfied. 1) all completed all 5 visits. 2) I felt like i helped a very important cause. Even by doing as little as saying “hi”, it makes them feel like everyone else. Soup kitchens/food pantries create an equality among people in poverty. When interviewing one volunteer named Nicole Arts who informed us that most of the people who come to HUC aren’t homeless. “They can’t afford both. It’s rent or food.” While volunteering I noticed that most of the people eating are men. “The majority that come here are 99% men. There is a large majority of African Americans. I think we get more men because number 1 they can’t cook where they live. They don’t have apartments, they have a room. They can’t afford both. It’s rent or food.” What Nicole said makes perfect sense but I still wonder how these men got to where they are now. New York City is one of the richest cities in the world. That is why some can’t afford everything they need to survive. They are juggling between rent/food/necessities. When we asked Nicole if New York is doing enough to support the hungry/homeless, she responded by saying “I’m sure they could always do more. I know in this area at least that there is still somewhere for them to go on any given night. They could probably make the shelters more safe for some people to actually want to go in them. There are a lot of people who would rather live on the street.” I always wondered what was wrong with shelters. But there must be some serious problems if people would rather live on the street.

“I like interacting with them. I like that connection I have with them and I just feel like they are regular human beings . Just because they might not have a home doesn’t mean that they should be treated not like our equal…You form bonds with them. It’s great.  You get connections with them. It’s a nice feeling. I think I get a lot out of that. I mean, in a way it’s a little selfish because I get a lot out of it.” – Nicole. I felt the same way as she did. Even though I didn’t really connect with any of the people, I felt like the work wasn’t by force. I actually enjoyed my time volunteering at not only HUC, but Village Temple as well.

Here are some other questions that were asked that I didn’t mention in detail:

How long have you been volunteering here?

“Over 10 years”

What made you decide to volunteer at HUC?

“Well when I first moved back to New York, I was living in Connecticut and that’s where I first discovered soup kitchens and I was helping down in Connecticut. I enjoyed it so much, when i moved back to the city, they mentioned there was a soup kitchen. (This was about 15 years ago)

Why is homelessness/hunger your main interest?

“I don’t know why I started in Connecticut at the soup kitchen. I think someone I worked with was part of a soup kitchen and I just like interacting with them so I like interacting with them. I like that connection I have with them and I just feel like they are regular human beings . Just because they might not have a home doesn’t mean that they should be treated not like our equal…You form bonds with them. It’s great.  You get connections with them. It’s a nice feeling. I think I get a lot out of that. I mean, in a way it’s a little selfish because I get a lot out of it.”

You’ve rarely missed a Monday?

“I mean when I do, you feel guilty. We just feel like it’s our job. It becomes our job… we enjoy it. And I know a lot of times when we’re not here they ask for us. They miss us when we’re not here and we miss them.”

Are there certain of them who have been coming for 10 years?

“On and off for probably as long as 10 years. A lot of them come because they enjoy it. They enjoy the food. They think the food service is higher quality then other soup kitchens. They come because they like seeing us, taking to us. They like the environment. So they come.”

Today Max, Taliana and I went to Village Temple. We didn’t end up staying that long (10:00-11:00), but we still got a lot of work done. The three of us first went to Knickerbocker’s, a store that donates corn bread every Saturday to Village Temple.  I was surprised that a lot of the common grocery stores donate different types of food (Knickerbocker’s-corn bread, Trader Joe’s-bread).

When cutting the corn bread, the lady was very strict about the shape and size of each piece. She said that you should present it how you would like to eat it. This way they feel like they didn’t loose anything and they are still “someone”. At first I didn’t really understand it because I didn’t think they would care about the appearance of the cornbread. They would just be appreciative to get it. But I still understood that it should look nice as well.

This was my last visit at Village Temple. I am going to have my 5th visit at HUC next monday and I am also considering going more than twice. When I visit HUC, I am planning on interviewing one of the adult volunteers that I talked to a lot during my first visit.

Instead of going to the Village Temple, I decided to go to the organization that Julian is going to, Hebrew Union College (HUC).

What the organization does:

“The student-run HUC-JIR Soup Kitchen welcomes over 100 homeless and hungry guests for a nutritious meal. In autumn, winter and spring we serve a hot meal – main course, side dish, bread, fruit, peanut butter, jelly, cookies, milk, juice and coffee – and after the second semester we serve take-out sandwiches, fruit, and something to drink. Volunteers from around the New York area – secondary school pupils, college students, and adults – help us prepare and serve the meals. The Soup Kitchen offers our guests not only meals but also free legal counseling by NYU Law School students, free clothing, and toiletries, as well as a sewing service.”

From 4-6, Julian and Taliana and I helped serve the hungry. They start at 3 and end at 6:30 but you are open to begin and leave whenever. There were several other teenagers volunteering, just like Village Temple. At first I was a little skeptical considering it was my first visit and I didn’t know much about it. Unlike the Village Temple, we would also be serving.  Before the dinner begun, all of the volunteers had a meeting. The lady talked about how you don’t need to have a conversation with any of the people, but it makes it makes the experience more interesting for you. You will get more out of it. Once we started serving, it was very laid back.

We first placed salad, spinach & other vegetables, and macaroni and cheese on plates and set them on tables. Once the people arrived, everyone was assigned a task. My task was to hand out tangerines. After that was done, there wasn’t a set task. You would basically just go around the room and ask if anyone needs anything.

Compared to Village Temple, I feel that I had a better experience at HUC. Instead of just preparing food, I also served it. This made me understand the whole purpose of the organization. I also enjoyed HUC because the adults that lead the soup kitchen are more interested in getting to know you. Some of the women there asked where we went to school. When they heard that we went to LREI, they knew some kids that went there. I had more personal connections at this organization.

I plan to continue volunteering at this organization as well as Village Temple (Saturday mornings) on Mondays.

Today Taliana and I arrived at the Village Temple around 9:15 and met Will and Max there.

We basically did the same thing as last time, but instead of making tuna sandwiches, we made ham and baloney sandwiches. It started off exactly the same: Stacked loaves of bread onto trays, made the sandwiches, then bagged them.

I was surprised that there were less people than last time. This visit was better than the last because of this. During the first visit, I found myself sitting down because there wasn’t much to do because of all the chaos that was going on. But this time, I was standing up the whole time. Even though there were less people, I saw some familiar faces and ended up talking to some of them while working. Most of the kids there were from UNIS, trying to get their hours of community service.

After we were done with the sandwiches, I started to put rolls of bread into plastic bags. I was told that right after the “home less/needy” eat the sandwiches, they each get one bag of bread for the whole week. I was surprised by how much bread Village Temple had. I was told that Trader Joe’s donates bread to different organizations and Village Temple happens to be one of them. There were about 5 huge bags in a corner. When I tried to pick up a bag, the lady insisted that a guy had to do it…

While working, I noticed that the adult volunteers/runners of the soup kitchen were all women. Most of them were really sweet but there was one that was cranky. I guess it’s hard to wake up early and arrive there at 9:00 every saturday. At least it was for me. We ended up leaving at around 11:00 so we were at the organization for 2 hours. The time went bye quickly because there was a lot to be done. I overheard someone saying that over 200 sandwiches are delivered each saturday. Even though this seems like a big number, when actually making the sandwiches, the work is fast and easy. 

I’m planning on coming back next saturday and possibly going to Julians organization after my basketball game on monday (2/8).

Village Temple has a soup kitchen: You are welcome to join us on any Saturday morning – you don’t need a reservation – just show up!  When we arrived at the building, we had to wait a couple minutes downstairs. I wasn’t exactly sure what we were going to be doing but I was excited to help. Once it was time, we went upstairs. It wasn’t how I pictured it. I didn’t think there were going to be many other volunteers but the room shortly was packed with many people.

There were many other volunteers there from different high schools in New York. This made the work for us less so at some points we ended up sitting down, trying to get out of the way. But we still were needed. In the room, there were several “heads” of the temple. I overheard two of them talking about how it usually is much more organized with less volunteers, so today it would be chaotic. The morning first consisted of making tuna sandwiches. The very first thing we did was sorted the sliced bread that was scattered on a huge table. Next, Taliana and I opened tuna cans and drained out the liquid. One of the old women called us the “tuna ladies”. Once we drained the tuna, we waited for some of the other volunteers to get back from Trader Joe’s. Then it was time to make sandwiches.   

We also bagged the sandwiches, washed apples, and set up the tables. Over all, I thought the first day was good but I wish there were less people. If there were less volunteers, we would have more work to do.  My goal for next visit is to be more helpful.