Volunteering at the Fresh Market

Hi, I’m Nathalie, Design Strategist at Relish Works. I have personally always enjoyed working with people and the community. Coming from what people call a third world country where help is needed constantly, I was taught to roll up my sleeves whenever was necessary and take pride in it. 

One of the things I really appreciate about working at Relish Works is that the company encourages all its employees to volunteer for the underserved communities of Chicago. We do this through Gordon Food Service’s Heart to Serve initiative. The goal is to help those in need using our time, space and skills. Eight of us from Relish Works volunteered at The Fresh Market, on October 18th, a food pantry which is one of the many services provided by the organization called Breakthrough. 

Our tasks were considered simple; unloading a truck full of donated food, organizing items in the pantry and making sure that all produce and packaged goods had an acceptable expiration date.  Our work that day, however, was just one small part of the chain. The Fresh Market also provides groceries and supplies to families in East Garfield Park, residents that need various types of help including legal aid, housing and employment assistance, financial management, education, and youth development. 

I can say that the positive attitude and will of my colleagues was both encouraging and honest. We were there to try to make things better, to share our skills and also to build a community amongst ourselves as colleagues. I learned from them what it is like to not take any breaks when helping, to care enough to be frustrated when items are expired and can no longer be offered, to avoid being shy, and to follow instructions with attention and respect. Volunteering should always be like that. 

I am grateful for having the opportunity to learn about food access and food waste, while getting to know the organization and my Relish Works team better. Even though our activities were only one piece of a big and comprehensive plan to make a difference, I’m glad our time and effort can be used in service to those that need it the most. 

Cooking with Kitchen Possible

The Relish team recently had the pleasure of volunteering with Kitchen Possible at the Gads Hill Center in Pilsen. Kitchen Possible teaches kids ages 8-12 in underserved neighborhoods how to cook– but the lessons they learn transcend the kitchen. They teach them skills such as: taking responsibility,
following-through, and adapting when things don’t go as planned.

“Research shows, kids in underserved communities are less likely to grow up believing they are in control of what happens in their lives. By teaching kids to set goals, follow a plan, push through when things get tough, and ultimately succeed, we can help shape the way they approach their world.”
– Kitchen Possible 

Kitchen Possible relies on the help of volunteers in Chicago to help make these classes happen. We helped prep food for pre-selected recipes, and worked with the kids to make them come to life. However, the volunteers are the sous-chefs in this kitchen, supporting the kids, who are the real cooks.

The day we volunteered, the kids were graduating from their program, and cooking food to serve to all of their parents. The Gads Hill Center basement quickly became a bustling kitchen when the students dashed in enthusiastically, ready to get cooking! We divided into several stations of volunteer-kid teams concocting magical creations to soon share with their hungry and proud parents. Volunteers flew around the room offering teams ingredients and jumping in when help was needed. 

Flour, masa, corn, and buttermilk transformed into “Corn Cakes with Hot Honey Shrimp.” Soy sauce, pork, and ginger transformed into “Pork & Caramelized Kimchi.” At one of the stations, students were working on crafting “The Ultimate Grilled Cheese.” Throughout the evening, the room was filled with aromas of flavors and cuisines from around the world. 

After all of the magic and chaos in the kitchen happened, the kids eagerly lined up to serve their parents a hot delicious meal – that they had proudly created! There’s almost nothing more satisfying than sharing– and eating– a hot meal you’ve made with someone you love.

The Relishworks team assembled goodie bags for the fresh grads of Kitchen possible which were excitedly received. Each bag contained a book of recipes from their cooking adventures of the summer, tools and an apron to continue cooking throughout the year.

It warms our hearts that we got to share and witness how Kitchen Possible is empowering young minds with an incredible life skill!

-Hannah

Hi again, Breakthrough!

After a busy week of networking, traveling, and brainstorming, the Relish crew swapped thinking caps for sanitary gloves, and exercised our hearts to serve with the friendly faces at Breakthrough Fresh Market. 

With a smaller group this time around, our over-achieving minds worried Miss Sally would be disappointed. What would she say upon seeing our meager group of four volunteers!? Yet hardly through the threshold and we were greeted with such delight. It struck us then, that we’re not here to impress. We’re here to help. We rolled up our sleeves and obediently scattered as tasks were assigned to each of us. Paul was sent to the back to assist with the heavy lifting. Kali diligently scanned expiration codes, while Claudia took to the freezer, and Molly, the piles upon piles of corn.

It’s easy to forget why we’re stocking the shelves in the first place. Mindless back and forth, from bag to shelf (or trash) and so on and so forth, until time’s up and it’s back to the hustle of our busy, color-coded life in the Loop. Mere hours spent in this space, only to return in another month and go through all the same motions again. But for whatever reason, this time around felt different.

Perhaps the growing sense of familiarity with each task made way for comfort and ease. Instead of dutifully checking off boxes, we took in the room, and more importantly the people alongside us. We began to ask more about them. Why were they stocking shelves?

We learned that one woman volunteers at Breakthrough just to spend time with her elderly mother. They laughed over bags of oddly shaped vegetables, holding them up for us to laugh at too.

We learned that Ralph takes care of his sister after her house burned down. He comes to the market to provide for his family, but also to aid in comedic banter and sneak treats for his friends. He wouldn’t let us leave without a “reward” for our hard work. Humbling really, to think that we showed up with intention of giving, but left with pockets full of Cowtails and Rice-Crispies.

We learned that Yvonne’s beautiful sweater with the fancy fur collar was donated to her at Breakthrough. She smiled proudly, then said simply, “I’ve gotta earn this sweater,” adding that this is why she volunteers, “to give back for what she’s been given.” She is homeless, but not without community.

And so, through these people (and countless others) the Breakthrough Mission made itself known: Breakthrough is a place to build community, a place of great passion, and a place of dignity and respect for all people. 

Perhaps we can take home more than just treats in our pockets. We can take this mission and weave its same sentiments into our own living and working communities. We, Relish Works, can build community, inspire passion, and foster respect for all people. 

Thank you Miss Sally, Ralph (Boss), and Yvonne.

 -Molly

Afternoon at Break Through

The Relish team had another great afternoon of volunteering at Breakthrough Kitchen last Friday, August 2. It was a good mix of newbies and experienced volunteers, who helped the new folks to learn the ground rules and some tips before getting started for the day.

When we first arrived, the delivery trucks hadn't arrived yet. We took that time for Fernando and Taylor - who had attended previously - to give us a debrief on what to expect. While stocking shelves might seem straightforward, there were a few pointers that we were glad to learn. These included waiting for the truck to be fully unloaded before beginning to check the inventory and stock the food on the shelves, stacking boxes on pallets rather than on the floor, and always keeping track of both parts of the banana boxes (as they reuse them to stock extra food in the freezer). These guidelines were great to know before the hustle and bustle of the work day began.

As Fernando and Patrick unpacked the truck, the food stocking volunteers got the rundown on our most important duty - checking the incoming food for quality and freshness. Miss Sally told us the package dates to look for, and the number of days that each item could be remain stocked. As the shipment came in and we began to stock, we realized that it was usually a simple decision for whether an item could be stocked or not (bread well beyond it's sell by date, yogurt that had accidentally opened during shipment).

However, the crew had quite the debate over what made a good banana! On first glance, many looked brown and unappetizing but were perfectly yellow upon opening them up.A regular volunteer told us the browning was due to refrigeration, and the bananas were perfect for eating, freezing for smoothies, or baking into banana bread. When she found out Miss Sally had been turning the brown bananas away, she was pretty upset!

The first-time volunteers had also been equipped with the learnings from previous Relish volunteers and knew how important building relationships is to Breakthrough, to their regular volunteers and to their community. Each time we visit, we continue to honor those values and dedicate our time there to creating stronger connections with people. During this visit specifically, Kristen spent some quality time with Miss Irene, a regular volunteer at Breakthrough, while they stocked the fridge together. Kristen learned about her education, the printing company she worked at for over 20 years and her many children.

Each of our volunteer groups have benefited from learning about previous groups' experiences, and in that spirit, we hope to continue to share more broadly with others. While wrapping up for the day last Friday, we discussed how we can use our many public-facing touchpoints (going beyond this blog!) to share with more people about Breakthrough Kitchen and other volunteer experiences we might have in the future. We're looking forward to getting creative on how to show and tell about Relish giving back. 

Until next time!

- Halle



Breakthrough Fresh Market

On July 19th, the energy in the office was tangible. Everyone knew that Friday afternoon was for volunteering. After a full week, we were excited to spend time with the folks at Breakthrough. As much as we genuinely love designing with sticky notes and sharpies, the chance to work with fresh produce and canned goods was a welcomed change of pace. 

We taxied over to East Garfield Park from the Mart and were immediately put to work -  organizing food, checking expiration dates, stocking shelves, breaking down boxes. Since most of us had volunteered with Breakthrough one or two times previously, the familiarity with the work and staff members helped us jump right in. 

In the downtime between projects or tasks, our team chatted with the staff about life, work, food, and all things Chicago. In the weeks prior to our volunteering, electric scooters were “launched” across the city. They popped up everywhere - sidewalks, streets, alleys, and everywhere in between. Some of us loved them, some of us hated them. The debates got heated. The conversation was most animated when a Breakthrough staff member recounted her story about an ambitious scooter rider almost running into her car. As we sorted cucumbers and canned goods, we laughed (and gasped) at her recounting of that close encounter. In retrospect, it was a great reminder that although contexts and cultures might differ day-to-day, we all live in the same city. That afternoon at Breakthrough’s Fresh Market it was the inescapable reality of scooters that helped remind us of that.

Another observation the team shared was around food waste. As donations were sorted, a noticeable amount of food had to be thrown away. Although we’re not food experts, our work directly involves food systems. In the context of food bank systems, there are some very real, tough constraints around expiration dates, available storage space, and prioritization of what food is distributed. As a team, we’re naturally motivated to be curious about these topics. We caught ourselves diving into problem-solving and systems thinking when in that exact moment, it was probably more helpful for us to just put food on shelves.  Navigating those modes of “help” is a genuine balance. At the end of the day, we were just grateful to volunteer. 

Serving another organization in the food space is a great reason that makes being on the Relish team pretty special.  The team is excited and hopeful to see where this volunteering relationship goes in the future.

-Paul Girgis

The Future of Food Banks with Feeding America

This post is extra special! We have a guest contributor from Feeding America, our latest community partner. The Relish team was lucky enough to work with like minded people in the innovation space to focus our skill sets to help them think about what the food pantry of tomorrow might look like. 

We'll let them take it away from here.  

A Note From Feeding America

Maura Shea
VP of Innovation

At Feeding America, we are always seeking new ways to help people facing hunger access the meals they need—and that requires an understanding of what's coming next. New technologies, changing social norms, emerging partnerships, and evolving consumer preferences are altering the food system from farm to fork. This evolution presents opportunities and challenges for Feeding America member food banks and the households we serve. With Relish Works' help, we were able to identify some of the primary ways these changes might impact our communities. Relish generously shared their food system research, connected us with experts, and helped us structure our investigation into the future of food.

On June 27, Relish hosted a gathering of over thirty people from around the food system—including three Feeding America member food banks, two Chicagoland food pantries, and several members of our national organization—for a structured workshop on the future of food. The session was a huge success and we went on to replicate it at a Feeding America conference in July, inviting all Feeding America food banks to join the conversation.

We're still uncovering the opportunities that the future might hold, but we are grateful for Relish's partnership and look forward to continued collaboration on the journey. Thank you for your support!

Feeding America is the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization. Its network of 200 food banks across all 50 states provide food and improve food security for more than 40 million people facing hunger each year.

For us at Relish, planning and facilitating a workshop was a significantly different way to volunteer when compared to our previous visits to Breakthrough or Kids Food Basket. A big part about Heart to Serve is the willingness to get out into the community and serve however we can to the best of our abilities. Usually this means volunteering our time and muscle, but not necessarily our knowledge of human centered design. Our partnership with the Innovation team at Feeding America empowered us to use our workplace skill set to help them provoke thoughtful dialogue in the national organization and seriously consider how the world, and consequently food banking, is changing around us.

Of course, this workshop would not have been possible without the hard work of the Food Systems team; Relish and the FANO team thank them for lending their framework and graciously letting us build off their content to shape the workshop. Thanks to everyone in the office who helped set up the space, facilitate conversations, or simply let guests know where the coffee was. We couldn't have pulled it off without your help.

Relish looks forward to using our human centered design and innovation skills in other areas with new partners in the future. 

-Sasha Yan

Nourishing kids to be their best, in school and life

Food insecurity is a problem that affects over 16 million children each year. That means that as many as 1 in 5 children lives in a household that doesn't have adequate means to buy the proper food for healthy and fulfilling meals. For many of those children the lunch that they receive while at school will be the only nutritious meal they eat during the day.

An organization local to Gordon Food Service, Kids Food Basket, is working to combat those upsetting statistics. Kids Food Basket mission is to nourish kids to reach their full potential. They do that by providing sack suppers for kids in West Michigan who may not have a meal waiting on the table for them when they get home from school.

Kids Food Basket is currently serving 8,000 kids from 47 different schools per day. In order to make their operation run, they rely on volunteers who come to their warehouse to sort food, pack suppers, decorate bags, and deliver the meals to schools around the area. The organization runs smoothly with helpful volunteer coordinators and a wide range of volunteers who come either on a regular basis, or whenever they can find the time.

While a lot of good is currently being done to nourish kids, there are still 30 schools on the waitlist who are requesting to be serviced by Kids Food Basket. The good news is that they are currently in the process of moving to a larger facility with more room for volunteers, food storage, and other growth opportunities.

As part of Relish Works Heart to Serve initiative, the Grand Rapids Relish Works team spent a morning working in the packing room at Kid's Food Basket. Our team’s job was to bag ham roll-ups that would later be included in that night's sack for supper.

The simple job allowed us the time to reflect on the work we were doing. We had very meaningful conversations with both those in our group, as well as the other volunteers, about how the work we were doing would impact the kids in a very tangible way that evening. As a fairly new formed team, the packing shift also provided us an opportunity to simply catch up in general; talking about our weekends, continuing to get to know one another, and forming a deeper camaraderie.

As we washed our hands and took off our hairnets, we spoke with the employees about their new building, the farm, and most notably, the cooler up front that is completely covered in signatures from all of the folks who had previously volunteered at Kid's Food Basket.

The Grand Rapids Relish Work’s team at Kids Food Basket

We left the facility feeling excited to continue our relationship with Kids Food Basket by packing suppers on a regular basis and spending time helping their team harvest the farm, because Relish Works believes in the mission of Kids Food Basket and that no child should go hungry.

-Kaelin Porter

Breakthrough, We’re back!

The Relish Works Team was back at Breakthrough's Fresh Market in East Garfield Park, Chicago, on Friday, June 21st, and wow did we feel much more prepared this time. Using our experiences and learnings from our initial visit was helpful not only to the team members who had been there before, but also used as a teaching tool for the folks who were new to the Fresh Market.

The first time we visited Breakthrough, we unintentionally brought a team of all women with us. However, this time around, we had a better mix of male and female volunteers. Although the regular Breakthrough volunteers were happy to see our group as a whole, the guys proved to be a great called-upon resource when helping to lift heavy boxes, unload the truck's heavier crates, and move the bulky items from the back to the front area of the market.  

On a more personal note, it was really nice to see the regular Breakthrough volunteers again –  kind of like seeing old friends, where you start back up again right where you left off. Miss Sally was the go-to for any and all of our questions, and yet again proved to us that she knows all of the details of the pantry better than anyone else.  

 In general, we found that getting to know the regular volunteers in order to become better acquainted with their individual personalities, humor, and working styles really helped with the flow of the afternoon. Things like who to go to for what questions, when to pitch in and help, or when to let the regulars handle a task all add up to a more fluid and smooth combined team effort and better overall experience. 

A familiar face, Brenda, who had previously helped us sort through boxes of bananas and produce items last time we were at the facility, was there again to offer assistance to our team. A couple of the folks on the Relish team had the chance to chat with her more this time around while sorting items, and discovered that Breakthrough was a large part of Brenda's life. So much so that all three of her children also help out at the organization with her, and help to serve the community regularly. 

Another interesting bit of information we discovered was that some of the regular volunteers started off as customers of the pantry during difficult times in their past. Later on when their situations became more stable, they moved from customer to volunteer for the pantry, and are still regulars today. Our team agreed that if this didn't reflect the quintessential spirit and embodiment of volunteering – you get what you give, and you give what you get – then we're not quite sure what else would.  

At the end of our day, we said our goodbyes and packed up our belongings, announcing to the team that we'd see them again next month. We were almost surprised at how enthusiastic the volunteers response to our promise to return was. They said they were delighted to have consistent volunteers to join them each month and were excited to see us again, but we were yet again too fast :). 

What Breakthrough's regular volunteers didn't know was that prior to visiting the facility, our team had discussed our pace as something we would actively try and work on that day.  Not only slowing down and spending more time working through various tasks without rushing to 'get it done,' but also being more mindful about getting to know the regulars, hearing their stories, and having a laugh with them in order to develop better interpersonal relationships and to help our teams better merge with one another. 

We clearly have more to work on, but it was again a great Friday afternoon! Until next time... 

Things could be done much more efficiently, but that doesn’t matter.

-Taylor

Breakthrough - Fresh Pantry

Breakthrough is a non-profit organization in Chicago partnering with those affected by poverty to build connections and develop life skills. Their vision is to create a more safe, stable, and engaged East Garfield Park where success is the norm and families have better opportunities to prosper.  

In early June 2019, our team at Relish Works had the opportunity to volunteer at Breakthrough’s Fresh Market - a client-choice food pantry providing fresh groceries, some canned items, and various personal supplies to families in Chicago’s East Garfield Park area.  

East Garfield Park is a 130 year-old historic west-side neighborhood named for the 185-acre Garfield Park with landmarks such as the Garfield Park Conservatory, beautiful Greystone homes and a mosaic-clad elevated station on the CTA Green Line. The entrance of Breakthrough's Freshmarket is situated next to an unused lot that could potentially be turned into a community garden.  

We arrived on a warm and sunny day that finally felt like summer in Chicago. Our team was greeted by Wendy, the Freshmarket coordinator, who explained how the pantry works.  The majority of the food offered at the market comes from the Greater Chicago Food Depository, with 2% of the food coming from farmers.  

Breakthrough’s Freshmarket is set up to model a grocery store; what the market refers to as a ‘client choice food pantry.’ This model is not only empowering, but also gives shoppers a much needed level of choice. Families come one Saturday per month to shop for groceries. The market is different from other food pantries in that they always supply fresh product, including fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, bread, eggs and milk.  

There is a food cooking station where families are offered samples, snacks and cooking demonstrations while they wait to go through the store to pick out their groceries.  Cooking demonstrations at the market are aimed at introducing members to products that they may not be as culturally familiar with in order to encourage a more diverse and nutritious pallet and to maximize their cooking possibilities.  

The Relish team spent our time sorting produce, arranging cans, emptying boxes and scanning through expiration dates. During the course of our time there, we met their oldest volunteer who is 93 years old and has been helping with the pantry since its opening.

“Would we eat that?” is what we asked ourselves over and over again, while sifting through the boxes.

As our team worked at the facility, it became more and more clear that Freshmarket is not just a pantry, but a real community. Most of the volunteers are senior citizens living in the area who not only want to give back and support their fellow neighbors in the East Garfield Park area, but also use the opportunity each month stocking the pantry to socialize and mingle with their peers.  

A challenge for our team was adjusting to the social aspect of the regular volunteers work culture.  While our team walked in with the purpose of being hyper efficient and quick with our tasks, the more regular volunteers had a sense of ease to their work and were happy to spend more time 'getting it done' in order to catch up with their peers. 

There was a real sense of fun, happiness, and laughter throughout the day, followed by a feeling of pride when you saw the shelves overflowing with fresh options for the customers who would be arriving the next morning to pick out their groceries.  

OUR TAKEAWAYS

“By just stocking shelves, we were not being the most helpful.”

-Nicole

“A large part of the culture is about engaging in conversation with each other. ”

-Sahana