Sharon Comini's Mission to Feed the Hungry

Spring, 2007

I have thought many times about going on a mission trip to help others. Just recently, I was given a very unique opportunity. The students in the United Campus Ministry group at Penn College were going to Washington D.C. to work with the homeless. While we were serving dinner to the students back in January, they were discussing the trip, I mentioned that it was a wonderful way for them to spend spring break and they would learn a lot from it. Heather Wagner the coordinator said they were looking for another chaperone. God had very special plans in mind when we started a partnership with Penn College.

While we were in D.C., we stayed at the Pilgrimage, apart of the Church of the Pilgrims, whose mission it is to work with and serve the homeless. They coordinated and scheduled our jobs. We were sent to the D.C. Central Kitchen on our first day. This organization prepares and serves 4,500 meals everyday. They receive food donations from hotels, restaurants, Embassy dinners and anywhere else they can. We worked in the kitchen helping to get this massive amount of food ready. What impressed me the most was not only the organization of the kitchen, but also the friendliness of the staff who works with volunteers like us on a daily basis. Many people that worked there were formerly homeless themselves. The kitchen provided training for these people so they could get back on their feet, learn a skill and become productive members of society.

We also worked in the Food Bank, a massive 48,000 sq. ft. facility that took in the salvage from grocery stores in the area. You know what I mean by salvage; the ripped packages, dented cans and other products that grocery stores cannot sell. Our job was to clean, sort, and tape up the ripped boxes so they can be shipped to people who truly needed them. I was amazed at how much salvage there was and it made me think of all the food we waste everyday.

We also had the chance to join about 400 people at a church to sit in on a WIN (Washington Interfaith Network,) session with the mayor of D. C. Last year they had invited all the mayoral candidates to discuss their platforms on homelessness before the election. Mayor Fenty had come back to talk about what has been done for the homeless so far. This group raised funds and awareness of the massive homeless problem and not only demanded but got action from the city government. This just goes to show that what seems impossible for man is always possible with God.

The biggest lesson I learned was that we were there to serve, not help the homeless. In an article by Rachel Naomi Remen entitled “In the Service of Life” she said that serving is different from helping. Helping is based on inequality. People being “helped” feel their self being diminished as they are “helped”. Helping incurs debt. When you help someone they feel they need to owe you something back. Serving is mutual. There is no debt. We are served as well as the people we are serving. We do not serve others with our own strength instead we serve from within ourselves with all the experiences that life has given us. Then there is a feeling of gratitude from this service.