Spring '16 Community Engagement Self-Assessment
For my 2016 Spring semester here at Virginia Tech, I choose in to enthrall myself in an on-going service project in the Blacksburg area. At first I was looking for anywhere that would take me, but then as options presented themselves I happily settled on hoping to combat the social issue of hunger in our area. Did you know that the state of Virginia has an overall 12.7 percent food insecurity rate? This surprised me and when the opportunity to volunteer at the Blacksburg Farmer’s Market presented itself to me, I readily applied to be a volunteer.
It was easy to become a volunteer at the Farmer’s Market, anyone can do it! The first time I went to volunteer at the market it was a colder day in March and my assistance wasn’t much needed. Therefore, the girl I had been in contact with about the position, Alveena, showed me the ropes. She told me all the basics. The main purpose of my volunteer position is to exchange little wooden chips as money for those persons that attend the farmers market without cash on them. However this isn’t the only thing that the volunteer farmer’s market position helps out with.
The Blacksburg Farmer’s Market works with the SNAP program promoting eating healthy and also buying local. I learned how to attend to the requests of those persons part of the SNAP program. SNAP stands for “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.” “SNAP offers nutrition assistance to millions of eligible, low-income individuals and families and provides economic benefits to communities. SNAP is the largest program in the domestic hunger safety net. The Food and Nutrition Service works with State agencies, nutrition educators, and neighborhood and faith-based organizations to ensure that those eligible for nutrition assistance can make informed decisions about applying for the program and can access benefits.” All venders at the market accept SNAP/EBT and work with a double benefits program. This is our job as the volunteers, that give the coins in exchange for credit, to be sure to grant the customers their allotted number of coins. The double back program gives those with and EBT card twice the amount of coins, more bang for their buck. Each coin is representative of a food group. For example if the customer gets 20 dollars of EBT credit, he/she will get 40 coins which are spread across the vegetables, baked goods, and miscellaneous categories. I am still learning more and more about this program.
When I did volunteer in action at the market it was awesome! I really enjoyed the market setting. It wasn’t hard to get the hang of the operations at the market. It was pretty simple to record everything in the book for me. If I had actually worked there though I can see how it would be a lot of work to check all the receipts and type information into the computer. I enjoyed working my shifts at the market and meeting all the people I assisted.
Hours of the Farmer’s Market are on Wednesday’s from 2pm - 7 pm and on Saturday’s from 8am - 2pm. When I worked a shift last Saturday I actually ran into a few people from my SERVE living learning community. I felt fulfillment from serving those persons I helped at the market and also felt proud to be engaging in my community and for people I knew to witness my service gave me satisfaction. I ran into Brock Bosack, a senior in SERVE and happily explained to him what my volunteering consisted of.
I know that our Blacksburg Farmer’s Market is important to the community. Buying local has a lot of positive effects on a community. Buying local is good for the environment. Buying from local farmers means that the food has a lot less distance to travel subjecting less carbon dioxide emissions and also reducing the amounts of packing materials and refrigeration. In addition, the foods offered at the market are high in nutrient and very fresh. These healthy foods are both delicious and nutritious! When you buy local this also means more income jobs and taxes for local communities. Local businesses are more accountable to their own communities and by buying local you are investing in your communities future. The more money spent locally stays in the community and supports in town operations for the local economy.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent volunteering at the Blacksburg Farmer’s Market and intend to continue volunteering throughout my time here at Tech. I was also told by Alveena that there is a club here at Tech that reaches out to students to get them engaged in the market. I plan to seek out this club and hope to help out next fall semester as a club member.
Works Cited
"Are You Helping the Community by Buying Local?" Mustard Seed Market Caf Ohio's Largest
Locally Owned Natural and Organic Health Food Store and Restaurant RSS. N.p., n.d.
Web. 24 Apr. 2016.
"Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)." Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP). N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.
