Second Harvest Food Bank: Senior Box Packaging

September: 2 hours

Fall Semester Cumulative: 2 hours

September is Hunger Action Month, so I volunteered at Second Harvest Food Bank to help pack boxes for seniors.  While I was there, I learned that Second Harvest supports more than 20 parishes in South Louisiana and offers several food programs.  Their work focuses on fighting childhood and senior hunger, food insecurity, and disaster relief, which is especially important in Louisiana because of frequent floods and hurricanes.  Before I visited, I thought the food bank only organized food drives and packed boxes, but I also saw the kitchen where they cook meals for the community.  As an undergraduate pre-med student, I learned about food deserts, so I know how important programs like Second Harvest are for closing the nutrition gap.  Along with other volunteers, I packed produce and canned goods into about 400 boxes, making sure each one had the right amount of food.  The work was a little more tedious than I expected, but I enjoyed it and felt good working with the other volunteers.  The foods we eat determine how much energy we have for the day.  A diet that lacks proper nutrition lays the groundwork for diseases and illnesses later in life.  

Before I started the program, I thought pharmacology was mostly chemistry-based and about designing drugs.  While that is part of it, I have learned that understanding how drugs interact with the body is what really shapes their clinical use and importance. The presentations Dr. Katakam assigned in Pharmacology Advances have shown me how doctors and researchers work together to design studies and get new treatments approved for patients.  At first, I had to get used to how quickly the material moves, but I think I have gotten better at managing my time.  I am not unhappy with my performance in the class, but I know I can improve. One challenge I have is that during exams, I sometimes miss a key word, especially when reviewing side effects or reading questions, which can lead me to choose the wrong answer.