Today was my first day volunteering at the local Food Pantry in town, and my only wish is that I had found this place sooner!

With not having a ‘proper’ 9-5 job this year, I have had a lot of extra time on my hands! (Especially since markets don’t open up until May here.) With more free time, came the feeling that I needed to do something with all of my extra time, besides crocheting… 😉

It was because of a very good friend of mine in town that I had even heard about the food pantry in the first place! Her mother was in charge of running the pantry and my friend and her family volunteered there.

As a future homesteader, I have been very intrigued about food pantries. I have read that a lot of homesteaders take their leftover food from their markets (the stuff that didn’t sell) to food pantries. After a small interrogation about how that process worked, and if any farmers/homesteaders around the area donated to this food pantry, I asked my friend if they needed any volunteers and I signed up!

Apparently, a LOT of people in the area donate produce and eggs in the summer, and one lady even donates eggs throughout the winter if her chickens can produce them!

My main reason for volunteering at the pantry was because I wanted to learn about them so that, when the time came, I could do my part and donate any leftover produce for people who need it.

Today, I may have been ‘volunteering‘ at the food pantry and handing out food to those in need, but it didn’t feel like that! I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I actually knew most of the people who came to the pantry today, and it felt more like ‘catching up with old friends’ than ‘helping those less fortunate’. I got so many hugs today from people I haven’t seen since I left my job in November. I hadn’t realized that in their minds I had just disappeared off the face of the Earth. So today, I got to socialize with some amazing people and give out more than just food.

My little town is very small… In fact, we’re not even big enough to be called a town at all! We’re considered a Village! So in a place this small, we learn to stick together and help thy neighbor. Today, I helped some amazing people. But they also helped me!

I’ve missed socializing and talking to people, it’s something I did on a daily basis at my old job, and I haven’t been able to do that since. Volunteering at the food pantry today gave me that opportunity to talk to people and catch up with some families that I hadn’t seen in a few months. I can’t wait to go back and help out at the pantry again, but it’ll be another two weeks until I am scheduled to go back.

Volunteering at the food pantry was definitely a lot more than just giving free food to people. I had to learn to check people in, I learned how the system worked, and I learned how much food each family gets based on the number of people in their family. There was a lot to learn for the first day, but it was easy enough to follow along and it was so much fun!

If there is anyone out there who has some free time on their hands and you are wondering what to do with that all that extra time, I encourage you to go out and volunteer within your community! You won’t be sorry. ❤

As always, my lovely readers.. Smile, have an amazing day, and give back to your community when/if you can. (Even if it’s just smiling at someone on the street.) ❤