According to the International Rescue Committee, one in every 11 people are hungry. This equates to around 757 million people. Dealing with hunger is no easy feat, as it is such a big problem in the world. We wanted to try and make a small ripple within a big ocean, which is why we decided to go and help out at our local food pantry, Upper Des Moines Opportunity, one morning.

The experience was a great one, and it left us all with a greater understanding of hunger overall. When we got there at 8 a.m. they were just getting ready to open up at 9 a.m. Every Thursday, they receive grocery orders from Fareway, Walmart, and Hy-Vee which they then sort into different categories depending on the type of food. There were two rooms inside the building that people went through to collect their food. The first one was mostly greens, and the second had many shelves that consisted of canned foods, bread, sweet treats and more.  

As the doors opened at 9 a.m. we didn’t have much time to see how the actual operation worked but we saw the beginning. The line was majorly backed up, and people were excited to get out of the cold. The leader of the organization, Maggie Reyes, was a sweet soul who knew most of the people who came through the door. She tried to have a little conversation with all of them, which showed that she genuinely cared about each and every person. Seeing her genuine care was a touching experience because it showed how tight this community is. 

Getting to volunteer at Upper Des Moines Opportunity was an eye-opening experience for all of us. Raising awareness about hunger is very important, as it affects so many people. We obviously didn’t fix world hunger in an hour, but we helped our local community which is a great start to fighting the bigger battle.