Hunger In America
Approximately 41 million people in America struggle with hunger, a number slightly higher than the 40.6 million people living in poverty. In this context, Feeding America is a non-profit organization operating foodbanks around the country that aim to fulfill the nutrition needs of these at risk populations.
Service learning immerses students in community service related to course material and improves retention of classroom material through providing opportunities for students to participate in activities that integrate volunteer service with class material. Service learning helps in fostering collaboration between educational institutions in servicing a community need. Moreover, it helps students to apply their skills in real-world environments, improve problem-solving skills, learn to work as part of a team, and developing an appreciation for the drivers needs and challenge of organizations (Huda et al., 2018). However, students may face challenges in completing their service-learning components such as time constraints related to commitments with school, home, and work which reduces the time available to participate in service-learning projects. Moreover, the community organization may assign the student tasks that are not related to their service-learning experience which changes the outcome of the project.
As the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, Feeding America has a nationwide network of member food banks that help affected communities to fight against hunger. The organization sources donations from the food and grocery industries and has partners in several categories namely Leadership, media, entertainment and disaster management. For the 2016/2017 financial year, the leadership partners contributed at least $1 million with more than 10 million pounds of food and grocery products with the most prominent partners including ALDI, Bank of America, C & S Wholesale Grocers, and Costco. Media partners such as Dr. Phil, Disney and TLC help in developing awareness about Feeding America’s vision and encourage donations and volunteers. The entertainment council mobilize public support for Feeding America through marketing programs, media relations programs, and public policy initiatives and includes prominent personalities such as Ben Affleck, Laila Ali, and David Arquette. The disaster relief partners allow the organization to deliver emergency suppliers and food assistance to affected areas with partners including Amazon, Allstate, American Airlines, and Citadel (Orgut et al., 2016). The organization should also establish more service learning partnerships with educational institutions surrounding their food banks. Currently, the learning opportunities are limited to a few locations which limits their effectiveness.
Feeding America relies on a network of volunteers to run its national network of foodbanks efficiently. These volunteers help in sorting, packing, or stacking food which can make significant differences for the communities they serve (America, 2016). Furthermore, experienced members share their skills and knowledge which is essential in organizational continuity. They also rely on donations from charities and large organizations to fund their operations. Service learning personnel are involved in the organization’s day-to-day activities although there is little differentiation between their roles and that of interns. Service-learning opportunities are essential in developing team collaboration skills since it requires working with people from diverse backgrounds
Feeding America works to provide meals to millions of at risk families around the country. Their operations depend on volunteer labor and donations which provides a valuable opportunity for service learning and community service. Additionally, it allows students to develop additional real-world skills.
References
America, F. (2016). Hunger and poverty facts and statistics. Retrieved November, 3, 2016.
Huda, M., Jasmi, K. A., Alas, Y., Qodriah, S. L., Dacholfany, M. I., & Jamsari, E. A. (2018). Empowering Civic Responsibility: Insights From Service Learning. In Engaged Scholarship and Civic Responsibility in Higher Education (pp. 144-165). IGI Global.
Orgut, I. S., Brock III, L. G., Davis, L. B., Ivy, J. S., Jiang, S., Morgan, S. D., … & Middleton, E. (2016). Achieving equity, effectiveness, and efficiency in food bank operations: Strategies for feeding America with implications for global hunger relief. In Advances in Managing Humanitarian Operations (pp. 229-256). Springer, Cham.
