Tuesday Morning

Gabbie shovels Fruit Loops into bins for packaging

This morning, we had to wake up at 6:30 to go to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, which was a little difficult after a long day of travel, but we were all eager to begin learning about food deserts and serving others. When we got there, we got to walk around to look at maps of Chicago that showed the areas of food insecurity, which are areas that are heavily populated by individuals who are unsure of where their next meal is coming from. We then got assigned to repackage fruit loops into 1 pound bags from a huge 600 pound bag. After 3 hours of hard work, we never wanted to eat another fruit loop again.

It was a very rewarding experience as we got to

Emmy and Liz pack cereal into 1-pound bags

meet new people and packaged 1,728 1 pound bags into 216 cartons for distribution to the hungry of the Chicago area. We learned about the extreme need for food and how much work goes into preparing the food for distribution. As we prepared the fruit loops, we were touched by the realization that what we were packaging food that was going to be important to somebody who needed it. We are all tired but excited for the week ahead.

Just one of the 7-foot-tall towers
of Fruit Loops we repackaged

Arrival

We arrived by car and plane from different areas of the country, both near and far. After finally gathering as a group at the school, we were treated to a tour by two friendly and welcoming Josephinum students.

At Lou Malnati's

Our first group activity was a true Chicago classic -- deep dish pizza at Lou Malnati's. Stuffed and happy, we returned to the Jo to play icebreaker games and get a basic overview of food deserts. We reflected on the sources of the food that we eat and shared our reasons for attending the service project, as well as our hopes for and worries about the week.

Our deep dish pizzas

Tired from our travels and eager to be ready for tomorrow's activities, we decided to call it an early night.

Playing icebreaker games