Anna Zusi ’22 shares her summer service project with Second Helpings, a soup kitchen and food distribution program.
This summer 25 students were accepted in the CSGC grants program. These grants are funded due to the generous support of the Cost, Earle/Mendillo and Workman families, who established endowment funds to support the community and public service endeavors of future generations of Deerfield students. For more information on these grants please visit: https://deerfield.edu/csgc/grants.
Throughout the course of this summer, I will be going to Second Helpings in Greenfield, Massachusetts to serve those in the local community who are food insecure. Continuing my work from last summer, I have been picking up trays from the DA Dining Hall filled with what will be served at Second Helpings that evening. I then bring them to the church we operate in, and help to prepare and serve the meal to about 30 people.
COVID-19 has greatly impacted not only the way we must operate, but also the need for us to. In times like these it is especially important to be looking out for one another, in specific those in need. To ensure our own safety, and the safety of those we are serving, we have developed a new system for serving food. In contrast to past years when we would congregate inside, a community aspect that is missed by both the servers, and those we are serving, we now operate through a walk up window. Through this window we hand out the meals in to-go containers, and are still able to offer drinks.
Although most of the social aspect has been lost due to Coronavirus, the short interactions are still my favorite part of the work we are doing. Everyone we are serving is extremely grateful and kind, many coming through with smiles on their faces, and some even with a story or experience to share. It has been great working with Second Helpings so far, and I am looking forward to continuing throughout the summer.