Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have to rely on other people to feed you? For you to not get a meal because no one was kind enough to share their time. I have never thought of it either until I walked into a soup kitchen and seen all of these people who depended on others to feed them and their families because they could no longer do so. We don’t think about these things because it does not happen to us. Now, I think about it all the time. I have motivation to do whatever I can to not be that way but sometimes you just cannot help what happens.
I volunteered at a soup kitchen near me with my mom. I spent my day off feeding the homeless and runaways. I did not realize there were so many people who did not have the money to feed themselves. I walked in and seen people with clothing so old there was no color if there was any left on them. They were ragged and musty looking. I tried hiding the look of shock off of my face. I don’t think I did a very good job. They walked us back to the actual kitchen where they made the food.
Even though it is called a soup kitchen they don’t just serve soup. They actually make other things. Because we went so close to thanksgiving they were serving ham, stuffing, potatoes, and things like that. They showed us how they plate it. More or less they stick each thing in its own container and stick it on a table. Then we serve them. They tell us what they want and we plate their food. We also serve them drinks. After everyone has been served once they allow anyone to come up for seconds. I helped serve the drinks to all of the people.
I talked to a lot of the people and it is crazy how they end up in these situations. Some of them just lost their jobs and could not find work anywhere. They just end up losing everything and do not have a way to support their selves anymore. You cannot help but feel sorry for these people. And then you think to yourself this could happen to me. I could end up just like this if I don’t watch what I am doing and extend myself to the point I cannot pay for everything. I worked with a lot of nice people and I feel that they actually care about helping these people.
They also help them out with job interviews hoping to be able to give them a way to step back into life and having a place to live and buying their own food. Now that I have seen what just losing your job can do to someone I value my job and all of the things I have. We take advantage of so many things and we never consider what it would be like not to have any of it. Even the little things have more value than we can even imagine. And we will not even think about it until we don’t have it anymore.
I enjoyed working at the soup kitchen. I met a lot of nice people and it has taught me a lot. I want to show people that they shouldn’t take things for granted or waste things because there are so many people who don’t have anything at all or have lost everything. I don’t want my kids to think they deserve everything just because everyone else does. I want them to appreciate the things they have and to realize it is a privilege not a right. I am really glad that I volunteered at the soup kitchen I plan on continuing to go.
