As we woke up this morning, we couldn't believe that we only had three short hours of service remaining on our trip. Though our week has been extremely busy, it really did fly by. As we drove to our final project, our minds shifted from reminiscing about the previous days, and we were ready to get to work. When we returned to The Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, we jumped right in and set a lofty goal to beat the day before. That goal, despite some adverse conditions, was achieved.
Today, our group was a bit smaller. Yesterday, there were several volunteer groups that assisted in sorting food, but today, it was just us. We thought there was no way we could match our numbers from yesterday, but we ended up exceeding them. After about three hours of work, we sorted 5 tons of food, which amounted to 13.5 pallets and 8,750 meals. The food bank staff actually had to forklift down some extra pallets from the back for us to sort because we finished the normal amount so quickly. They didn’t expect the Volunteer factor. That is what Tennessee Volunteers do.
After several group pictures at the Food Bank, we returned back to Highland UMC for a quick lunch. Our afternoon was filled with several activities that offered a break from service work. First, we enjoyed some delicious local ice cream from FRESH and played cornhole and giant Connect4 while we ate. After this, we ventured to William B. Umstead for a nice hike around a beautiful lake and a little bit of Frisbee throwing. For dinner, we went to Big Al’s Barbeque and feasted on smoked meats, delicious sides, and spectacular sauces. With over 50 sauces, each bite was a completely different experience. We enjoyed the 'que and spoke with Big Al himself who was extremely welcoming and showing spectacular SEC hospitality; he even let us try some of his specialty smoked filet mignon. With full stomachs and satisfied palates, we made our way back to Highland for our final night.
Our final group reflection dealt with salient identities and served as a great source of thought and discussion to carry us beyond our week in Raleigh. Filled with a passion for the issues surrounding food security and justice, our group is armed with the skills it needs to continue on as active citizens and educated volunteers who can make a difference where assistance is needed. It has been a long week, but we are all proud of the work we did and immensely thankful for the opportunity we had to do it. We finished off the night with a birthday celebration for Kristi and Riley with homemade chocolate and vanilla cakes. With a couple more riddles and a round of Catch Phrase, we turned in for the night for the last time on our 2017 ASB. We anxiously await our next opportunity to serve as a group and look forward to reflecting on all of the experiences had and memories made on our impactful trip.
Go Vols!
Nickolas Jernigan and Chase Toth
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