January 30^th was just a typical Saturday for some, but not for a group from the IXL Raleigh office! Clad in bright teal shirts, our group of 5 was accompanied by several other groups from local colleges and churches for a total of 60 helping hands at the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. The Food Bank receives donations from local farmers and grocery stores, but it relies on volunteers to sort and distribute the inventory so that the donations can get where they need to go.

Working in a 40,000 square foot warehouse, the IXL group was put in charge of sorting 10,000 pounds of potatoes to remove any that were mushy or moldy. We learned that there is no such thing as a perfect potato and that they come in all different sizes and shapes!

Next, we created produce bags to give out to families. These bags included potatoes, sweet potatoes, bananas, and green peppers. We made 54 of these bags and managed to get a good upper body workout at the same time.
We rounded off the day with some sweet potato sorting. At the end, we felt so accomplished that we asked the volunteer coordinator about future opportunities, so we can volunteer again soon.

After all of the sorting and lifting we did, our group had worked up an appetite and a craving for potatoes (obviously). We wrapped up our outing with a trip to local restaurant Cowfish for some sushi burgers and lots of French fries!

Learn more about the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina and volunteer opportunities here: http://www.foodbankcenc.org/

 

 

 

 

By AJ Iadanza, Subscription Renewal Specialist