We’re Ava, Maddie, and Paley, youth ambassadors with Food Bank of Alaska. Ava and Maddie are in 10th grade, and Paley is in ninth. For Hunger Action Month, we took part in “Follow the Food,” an experience that connected something we see every day at the grocery store to work happening across our community.
We picked up grocery store donations and helped sort food back at the warehouse. We also packed bags and handed out groceries at a mobile food pantry, following the process from donation to distribution.
Before this experience, we understood the purpose of a food bank. What we hadn’t seen was how much coordination it takes to get donated food into someone’s hands. Participating gave us a closer look at that work and our own role in it.
When we shop for groceries, we’re usually thinking about what we’re going to buy. Picking up donations had us thinking about what gets left behind.
Food that a store can no longer sell may still be suitable to eat. Donating it means that food can help someone instead of going to waste. But getting it out of the store is only the beginning.
Back at Food Bank of Alaska, we participated in food reclamation, the process of checking and sorting donated food to determine what can be distributed. That step takes attention. Receiving a donation doesn’t automatically mean everything in it is ready to share.
For Paley, seeing both sides of that process stood out. Picking up donations showed us the opportunity to rescue food. Sorting them showed us the responsibility that comes with it.
It also changed how we think about food waste. We could see what it takes to put food to use when it might otherwise be thrown away.
Packing bags gave us a different view of the process. As the finished bags added up, we could see how our time contributed to getting groceries ready for distribution.
For Ava, knowing those bags were going home with someone made the work feel more personal. We weren’t packing them just to finish a task. Someone would be carrying those groceries home and deciding what to make with them.
That connection matters, especially when a job gets repetitive. Each bag still needs the same care as the one before it, even when there are plenty more to pack.
We also saw why volunteers are part of this work. Preparing food takes time, and every person helping moves that work forward.
At the mobile food pantry, we helped hand out groceries. After seeing the preparation behind a distribution, being there connected the different parts of the experience.
For Maddie, this was the part that brought everything into focus. The work at the warehouse had a clear purpose, and now we were participating in the next step.
It showed us how much of a food bank’s work happens beyond its building. Collecting and preparing food matters because of where that food goes next. Distribution is how it reaches people.
When we volunteer again, we’ll have that experience in mind, even if our job that day takes place entirely inside the warehouse.
The biggest thing we want to share is how much happens between donating food and someone taking it home. Before this activity, we hadn’t thought about the work in between. Now we understand more about why staff and volunteers are needed throughout the process.
We also want other students to know that you can help without already knowing how food banking works. We asked questions and learned while participating. You don’t need to have it all figured out before you start.
Learning about food rescue also made us think more about food waste. We’re more aware that food can have another use, even if it isn’t going to be sold at a store.
You don’t need to understand the entire food system before you can contribute. Volunteering gives you a way to learn about it while doing something useful.
We asked questions as we worked and could connect the answers to what was happening around us. It’s one thing to hear about food rescue. It’s another to help pick up a donation and take part in the work that follows.
“Follow the Food” gave us a better understanding of how food banking works, along with more questions about food waste and access to groceries. It also gave us something we can share with other students: a firsthand look at how volunteering supports our community.
Now, when we see a grocery donation or a packed bag of food, we have a better idea of the work behind it. We’re proud to have been part of that process, and we want to keep learning through the work.