Day 10 - Delaware - Food Bank of Delaware

(Insert Mental Image of Delaware Welcome Sign Here!)

“That’s BALONEY!”

Tim has been exclaiming that loudly lately. It was cute - 4 days ago. This is the problem (or the benefit) of having a 6 day lag in getting a story down on paper - I know what happens later on and you don't. I know how the story is shaping up. I know that Tim started using baloney as a colloquialism after volunteering at the Food Bank of Delaware and that he won't stop using it by day 12, or day 14, or even day 16. See, he just leaned over and told me that I am baloney.

What is baloney, anyway? Not the kind that people verbally dole out, but the lunchmeat? Really, what’s in it? Is it ham? I sort of remember it tasting like ham…but spongier.

After asking a few people and getting a variety of responses, we googled baloney. Apparently, baloney (the meat formally know as bologna) is akin to an extra large hot dog, sliced and served cold, or, alternatively, fried. So, I guess it is ham of sorts…only spongier.

Anyhow, while at the Food Bank of Delaware, we made a lot of baloney sandwiches. And turkey sandwiches. Around 1,700 to be exact. The order of steps went something like this:

Lay bread, five across and 4 down, on huge sheet pans

Two slices baloney or turkey on each piece of bread

Two slices of cheese on each piece of bread

Lay other slice of bread

Slice in half

Allocate a bag of mustard or mayo to each

Bag

Seal

Put in brown bag with apple.

(Tim, for this morning's creative contribution, say he does not want this to be a list, but a poem about baloney sandwich making. Oh, what's that Timmy? Apparently, I have misunderstood. He says my poem is baloney. Well, Tim, that is all well and good, because it isn't a poem - it is a list. Hmm. He says my list is baloney).

We completed these steps in rounds, with each part of our choir executing a different portion of the song. We made quick work of it and in perfect harmony – making and bagging 1,700 sandwiches took under 2 hours.

The rest of the day was spent sorting cans and boxes into categories: Protein, Veggies, Fruit, Soups, Beverage, Snack, etc. Dancing around other volunteered, we twisted, contorted, and twirled, stacking cans in brown boxes. The tightly packed parcels were weighed, cans removed or added, and stacked on pallets - front row seats to the can sorting jamboree.

We have been on quite the food bank kick. Four food banks in 10 days. What about diversity of volunteer activities, you may ask? Baloney, I say. At each food bank we have visited, we have participated in a different activity. In NH, we helped build backpacks so that children and their families were guaranteed at least one weekend meal a month. In CT, we sorted gobs and gobs of carrots and potatoes for the community drop program. In PA, we stocked the shelves of the community store. And in DE, we made sandwiches for the after school programs and sorted goods into categories for easier distribution to the affiliated programs.

Each food bank is established with the mission to eradicate hunger. Imagine that, an organization set up with the explicit hope that one day we will no longer need them. At each food bank we have visited, at least one person has acknowledged that the programs they provide are a short term answers, but that we need to work toward finding a permanent solution. But for now, while we need them, the food banks will keep collecting food, adapting their programs with the changing need, and ensure that the members of their communities have the opportunity to eat each and every day.