Feeding the Hungry

Last Sunday I visited the Emergency Food Shelf in the city of Burlington, where volunteers help to provide daily meals for those who have difficulty purchasing enough food to avoid hunger.

60 or so men and women were gathering outside of the building. Inside, volunteer students from the University of Vermont (UVM) were working busily to bake chicken. re-heat donated pizza, chop vegetables, make peanut butter and sandwiches and put bananas and beverages (饮料) within easy reach of anyone who came through the door.

Six nights a week, the Salvation Army makes dinner for the hungry. But on Sunday, the Army's day of rest, the UVM kids take over and make sure that anyone who's hungry gets fed.

"This year the program is headed by a tall, blonde chemistry major. At age 22, senior Carly Hodgins has been a part of this group for four years and is a masterful organizer.

"Time to open up!" Carly yelled.

The door swung open. Men and women who had been waiting outside silently flowed into the building. Ten steps inside the door each man or woman picked up a waiting plate and the students started piling it with food. Every person got a portion (一份) of meat, vegetables, salad, potatoes, and pizza.

Carly stood at the end of the food line offering a beverage. "Apple juice?" she asked, looking straight into the eyes of each diner. "Orange juice?" Her smile was a flash of sunshine.

What impressed me most was the volunteer's enthusiasm for their work.

I talked with a man who came to get food.

We were three thousand miles away from home on a Random Acts of Kindness and Volunteerism Road Trip. We were short of money, so we had two goals today:

1. Try out our new “Smile!” signs and see how much kindness and joy we could spread in Pike Place Market.

2. Raise at least $80 by doing street performances. Singing, drawing or storytelling. This would be enough for gas to Portland and a small hotel room.

We weren’t sure how people would react to our signs. It’s so easy to walk past a busy crowd, lost in your own world, refusing to make eye-contact with strangers, and feeling alone despite being surrounded by hundreds of people just like you. Finally, I gathered courage to raise our signs and shouted, “Hi here!” to a young couple. They looked over, confused for a moment,read my sign and broke into smiles. Then we saw more smiling faces in the crowd.

Before long, our signs were wildly popular. Tourists wanted photos with us. Strangers stopped to ask us about our signs. We told them the story of our acts of kindness road trip and listened to their stories,too.

Sometimes I’d see unfriendly faces and feel particularly nervous to show them my bright sign. But I was always rewarded with a big smile whenever I did so. Suddenly they were no longer faces of strangers but those of neighbors and friends. This world is full of good people we just don’t know yet. We got so wrapped up in our wonderful “Smile! ” project that we forgot the other goal. Before we knew it,the sun was setting,and we had no money for our trip to Portland.