Food Bank Stories

#SoWhatElse(SWE) is a food bank in North Bethesda. I volunteer there on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We serve everyone who needs food.  English is not the first language of many people who come. A lot of our clientele, volunteers, and staff speak Spanish. I spoke no Spanish a year and a half ago. I love to talk and I want to be able to speak with our people. So I decided to learn Spanish. I use 3 apps and try to practice an hour a day. Now I can manage to communicate with people who know some English. We use a little bit of Spanish, a little bit of English, and a little bit of Charades! When someone comes in and speaks no English, I need help from our fluent people. One day an Asian couple came in. They needed to make an appointment for food. They didn't speak Spanish or English. They only spoke Chinese. I tried to show them how to make an appointment,  but I needed help. I grabbed my phone and pulled up my Google Translate app. We went back and forth for a good 30 minutes. When we...

When I graduated from high school, I was 17 years old and I wanted to work. So I found a job in the cosmetics department of a drug store.. I learned that when people buy makeup, they like to talk about themselves and tell their stories. I also learned that I like to hear their stories. By the way, I was paid $1.80 an hour! After the drug store, I got a job in a government purchasing office. I learned that government workers like to talk about themselves, too. And I enjoyed listening to their stories. One guy had been a firefighter and his hands were severely burned. That was a hard story to hear, but he overcame his disability. He worked hard and always refused offers of assistance. Other guys' stories were racier and more personal. I'm not sure they were true, but they were fun to hear. Later, I worked in religious institutions. People talked to me about themselves and their families regarding birth, religious ceremonies and r esconversions, illness, death, and problems within...

#SoWhatElse (SWE) is much more than a food bank. We also have a lovely donation center. We have clothing for all ages. We have shoes, household goods, baby supplies, a diaper bank, and anything else that people donate. SWE has great youth programs and camps. Their staff travels to meet students where they are, bringing programs to the under-served neighborhoods. The programs are 100% free and offer nutritious meals and grocery pick-ups to students and their families, further creating resilient, empowered communities.  And, we have a whole slew of volunteers. Our volunteers shlep cases of produce to fill up shopping carts, the big Costco size, to give to our clientele. Our volunteers sort hangers and hang up the donated clothes. They fill grocery bags for our home deliveries and they make those home deliveries. They sweep and mop the floors. In other words, they work hard doing whatever needs to be done.  It's heartwarming to see what they do out of the goodness of their hearts...