Observations at the Community Food Share Barrel
Yesterday Luke and I worked at the Community Food Share barrel in Wal-mart. Luke is in Cub Scouts and this was a chance to earn a badge. He stood there with Ethan who is another cubscout. Ethan’s dad Kirk, who is the Den Leader, and I stood there with them basically telling them how much longer they had to stand and reminding them to hold up bags.
See basically, the folks at Community Food Share know that people are more likely to pick a bag to fill with non-perishable items if some cute little cub scout is there. We didn’t really interact unless somebody came up and asked for a bag or what it was for. Just stood and smiled for several hours. Ethan and Kirk were there from 11:30 to 2:00. Luke and I joined them for the last two hours. We would been on time but we had a little incident.
Here’s some of my observations along with a few ‘supposes’…
1. Saw a lot of interesting people come through Wal-mart’s door but only maybe one who qualifies for this.
2. Most people tend to avoid looking at you. We weren’t soliciting, just standing there. Maybe they felt guilty. Perhaps if you turn your eyes to the needs of the poor, they might go away. I know I’ve done that. I’d say 90% avoided eye-contact. Interesting to me. Convicting.
3. Kids look. Maybe it’s because two sharp-looking little boys in uniforms were there but I bet 90% or maybe even 100% of the kids looked at the barrel and us standing there. After what I saw if I was ever with my boys, even if I had given before, I’d a take a bag. What a great lesson to teach your kids especially in the season of getting… I mean giving! Kids notice without making judgments. We judge. We are hardened. We decide if someone really needs ‘a handout’. I know my kids notice. First time they saw a homeless person they asked why they didn’t have a home and why they needed food. I want to be a giving person but I certainly want to practice it in front my kids too and explain why and how blessed we are. Let them know that many people even in America go hungry and we can help.
3. The bags are a great idea but perhaps intimating. Maybe some might think, ‘I can’t fill a whole bag’. Kirk pointed out that if everyone just bought one item they would have gotten tons.
4. People who had given before tend to let you know. I heard, “I did this yesterday” a lot. I smiled and thanked them. I didn’t feel like they were bragging I think they wanted to let us know they cared about what we cared about.
5. People surprise you. One family came back to get two more bags. After checking out they dropped their bags off. They had filled 4 grocery bags. All that was left in their cart was one bag of dog food. I saw the Wal-mart worker checking their receipt (I thought they only did that at Sam’s) and wondering where all the stuff they had purchased was.
6. I wrote before that Luke and Ethan get a badge over this but that wasn’t the motivation. When Luke got antsy (who could blame him), I simply said, “Just a little bit longer, bud. Think of how some family might not go hungry this Thanksgiving because you gave out one more bag.” He’d straightened up, look toward the front door and hold up his bag for anyone who wanted to give. In fact, when I posed the idea to Luke last week as I drove him to school, once I explained what the food bank was and how it helped people, he jumped at the opportunity. I was proud of him.
