Written Reflection:
Although Alan Moore’s book, The Food Fighters, should have prepared me for my experience at DC Central Kitchen, I was not expecting the deep sense of community and welcomeness I felt on Saturday morning. I was amazed at watching the Kitchen employees naturally work in a seasoned fashion, all while maintaining a fun, bickering environment amongst each other. I genuinely laughed while accidentally overhearing some conversations and felt a sense of warmth from the employees’ bonds. I also admired the respect the employees had for volunteers, as I felt no sense of burden while working and learning. The initial instructive video was helpful, informative, and genuinely appreciative, which emulated the personality of the workers. One lady, whose name I do not remember, addressed us girls as “ma’am,” “baby girl,” and “momma,” while the boys were called “son,” radiating a motherly and safe vibe.
Two interactions particularly resonated with me. While chopping broccoli and cauliflower, I worked next to a lady from London. She moved to D.C. around 3 weeks ago, works for Amazon, has two large dogs (which has made apartment hunting very difficult), and was very interested in our class, as well as my individual future. I had several pleasant conversations with her about our class, in which she shared that she observed many veterans experiencing homelessness in London. She seemed rather educated on the topic, and we agreed upon the difficulty of addressing the issue as a society. She introduced the concept of cognitive bias, in which people are more attracted to those with similar ideas and repelled by those with opposing ideas. She described that this concept contributed to the difficulty of addressing homelessness, especially at the political level, because there have not been enough diverse groups to bring differing perspectives to the table to construct a thorough plan of action. I learned a lot through our interactions and wished her the best of luck with her future.
While choosing my outfit for the trip, I purposefully chose a Philadelphia Eagles shirt, both out of pride for my team, and in hopes that it might start a conversation. Sure enough, while retrieving my items from my locker after our shift, one of the employees complimented my shirt, sharing the same passion for the team that I did. On the way out, another employee (a Commanders fan) said he hated my shirt, while another one (a Giants fan) shortly chimed in. After harmlessly bickering for a few seconds, all three employees expressed lots of gratitude for my help, wishing me the best of luck in the future. That interaction solidified the community DC Central Kitchen has created, and I have the utmost respect for the vision, workers, and mission.
Throughout our shift at the Kitchen, I continued to wonder if they would take us on a tour of the kitchen in the back. Although I would rather not admit this, my mind continuously thought that they should show us the whole layout and inner workings, as part of our experience “visiting” the Kitchen. However, I quickly realized that I was missing the entire point of our volunteering. Our shift Saturday morning was not about our experience, or our enjoyment, or the pain we felt in our knees while standing cutting the vegetables. Rather, our help was providing meals to those who truly needed it, while the hope was to simultaneously gain something from the meaningfulness of our interactions and our work. After I realized this, I suddenly had much more energy and confidence to continue chopping, and step outside of my comfort zone to conversate with strangers I might not have spoken to otherwise.
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