Community Experience

Introduction Community field experiences averaged 25 hours for the spring semester. Most of this is ongoing volunteer work that is done at a local food pantry. Community field experience consisted of representing America on the Move at the Healthy Living Expo, Jehovah Jireh community food and clothing pantry on a continued basis, and Second Harvest Food Bank for three hours, and anthropometric assessments at Maryville Middle School. America on the move/Healthy living expo Organization America on the Move (AOM) is a non-profit internet support system for individuals wanting to incorporate physical activity into their lives. Partnerships have been formed with organizations such as American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) as a way to promote the support system to others. The premise behind America on the Move is that small, specific changes in physical activity and calorie intake can facilitate slow weight loss. Long-term incremental changes are advocated. Online tools and resources, AOM's personalized program, community support and fun events are all part of the program. Physical activity can be logged and progress is available at anytime. Food ideas, tips and recipes are available. Participants can calculate target weight, download tip sheets, step conversion charts, and logging forms. For a fee, corporations and schools can implement a program complete with pedometers and goal setting. The population served is anyone in the Tennessee area (1).

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Observations On January 22nd from 9-11am and 23rd from 9-11am, I spent four hours representing America on the Move at the healthy living expo in Knoxville. My role at the expo was to provide information about AOM to the participants at the expo. The healthy living expo was produced by Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Representatives from hospitals, wellness centers, and suppliers of a variety of foods were represented. During the four hours I was there, approximately 40 people stopped by our booth. I found that participants of the expo were more interested in activities that they could actually put their hands on. Many of the visitors were senior citizens. When they visited the booth, I found it difficult to get them on board with AOM. They indicated that they did follow an activity program of some sort. Mostly, they walked for exercise. Analysis/Reflection AOM is a good program for the motivated individual. Sensible nutritional practices are promoted for incremental lifestyle change. This is contrary to the quick fix solution often sought. It requires investigation into the program and daily attention to it. Computer skills are also necessary to participate. I assume this is part of the reason senior citizens may not be as interested in it. Positive features include easy access and availability to a common sense support program. This would be an excellent resource for someone who does not have a support system and a great opportunity to connect with others. It also provides information regarding the area and would be useful to a new resident of the community. It is indicative of the advances and common use of technology on a daily basis. I enjoyed my experience and felt like I did offer some tools to some of the visitors. I may have done a better job of sharing information is I had actually used the tools offered myself. 2

Jehovah-Jireh food pantry Organization Jehovah -Jireh is an ecumenical Christian based community food pantry in Maryville, TN. There are no qualifications of income to seek assistance. The pantry stocks non-perishable foods and toiletries as well as clothing for those in need. The community served is basically anyone who claims to need assistance in the Blount County area. In addition to providing food and clothing, they have started to stock basic school supplies throughout the school year. Upon request, spiritual counseling and prayer are offered. Prepared meals are served at certain times of the year in addition to meal delivery to those in need (2). Observations I volunteered on January 17, February 14, March 14, and April 4 from 9am-12pm. I assisted with assembling the food items for the recipients and often had time to have a conversation with them. Many had much to share. The pantry is set up so the recipients have a choice of items instead of being given a bag with no choice. This takes a little more time but gives the recipients a bit of control of what they prefer and offers more of a shopping experience. Depending on family size, the choices change. For instance, a family of three has a choice of two cans of meat, two cans of beans, two cans vegetables, two cans of fruits, a fruit juice, a box of cereal or oatmeal, and a complete meal such as hamburger helper or spaghetti noodles and sauce. When available, bags of flour, sugar, dry milk and peanut butter can be requested. It is a first come first serve set up and it is not out of the ordinary for those at the end of the line to miss out on more popular items. It is a no questions asked facility and anyone who is in need may visit. Self sufficiency is encouraged and lay ministers are available to work with individuals to find ways towards independence. Many of the participants are living below the poverty level and do 3

not possess the skills to support themselves for one reason or another. Others are experiencing temporary financial difficulties. On any given Saturday, 15 to 45 individuals of all ages and families are served. The majority of recipients are white Americans and a small percentage of African Americans. They receive enough food to last for approximately two weeks. During my volunteer hours for this session, I assisted approximately 200 people. Analysis/Reflection The pantry deals with the issue of food insecurity and socialization. Unfortunately, the food is based on economics more than health. The pantry depends solely on donors and much of the food is canned and boxed processed foods. On occasion donors bring in fresh foods from their gardens or large bags of rice and food that goes a long way. The recipients do not appear interested in these items. It was eye opening to me to see this. I questioned whether they did not have the knowledge to prepare the foods or did not have an awareness of the benefits of such foods. It also caused me to reflect on our growing obesity problem. As epidemiological reports show, much of our obese population is below the poverty level. This is counter to what is perceived by the general public. This is a problem being considered by the pantry but is not the primary concern. In addition to the problem with nutrition, the no questions asked premise does get abused. The ministry strives to encourage individuals to seek self sufficiency but at the root of the ministry is to treat each individual with respect and dignity. The few individuals this program helps by far outweigh the abuse in the system. I feel as though I make a difference and plan to continue with this ministry. Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee Organization

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Second Harvest provides food, services and education to an 18 county service area. Second Harvest is growing due to the continued economic issues facing our society and hunger. According to the website, the need for food has increased 45% this year and demands are exceeding supply. In our community, 238,831 people are at risk of hunger. More than 140,000 meals were delivered last month. Over 93% of the budget is spent on supplying food where it is most needed. For every dollar donated, three meals are provided. Second Harvest of East Tennessee supplies food to over 400 partner agencies. These agencies pay approximately 14 cents a pound and are required to solicit food as well and are to only serve the needy. There are many different entities within Second Harvest. Aside from providing food to needy families, Second Harvest offers job training assistance and education to the community regarding issues related to hunger. In addition, Second Harvest in Knoxville has arranged to collect prepared and perishable foods; which would otherwise be thrown away; from local restaurants, schools, groceries and other sources in our community (3). Observations On February 2, 2009, I worked from 1-4pm. The time was spent placing labels on cans of beans that had been donated by one of their larger donors, Bush Beans. We labeled approximately two full palates of cans which averaged out to be approximately 3600 cans. It was not very exciting but I did realize how important this need was. I learned that Second Harvest is very careful to only provide safe canned food items and questionable cans are discarded as this was one of our roles. This is vital to maintain the safety level of foods being offered. I also realized the magnitude of food that moves through the warehouse. The warehouse is large and much food is stored there. The weather was poor when we were there and the warehouse was empty other than a few volunteers. I did not have an opportunity to 5

witness people come in and select food. My time as Second Harvest allowed me to help roughly 1500 individuals based on the assumption that each person receives two cans of beans. Analysis/reflection I have been involved with food drives for second harvest and never realized how large of an organization it really is. Operations for Second Harvest are very efficient and will continue to be an important player in the reduction of food insecurity in the community. In particular, I find the job skills portion of Second Harvest to be as important as the food collected and distributed. Self sufficiency is a much better option than continued charitable acts. Those receiving the training will have more control over their lives and hopefully will be able to support themselves and establish food security. Maryville Middle School Health Screening Organization Maryville Middle School serves all seventh and eighth grade students in the Maryville City School system. The overall student population consists of over 750 students. The school system takes a very progressive approach to health and wellness in addition to academics and implemented a health screening program for all the schools. It includes eye and hearing exams, height and weight measurements, and blood pressure (4).

Observations On January 20th from 8am-2pm, I assisted with the screening. I was in charge of the weight and height anthropometric measurements for the 8th grade class. The measurements took 6

place during the wellness period for each student. During each class, approximately 30 students came in. I was in a room isolated from the rest of the screening volunteers and students entered one at a time to get their weight. I was instructed by the nurse in charge to refrain from comments regarding weight even if the adolescents asked. Analysis/reflection This assignment was a difficult one. Many of the girls were embarrassed about getting their weight taken and made negative comments about their weight. Since I was instructed to remain quiet, I felt helpless. I also overheard many of the girls discussing weight among each other. I feel as though this could have been managed differently. I do not see the benefit in total silence when a girl is actively criticizing herself. Having had an eating disorder myself at this age, I would choose trained professionals to work with this population. I questioned if gaining insight into the overall BMI of the group was worth the emotional side effects that resulted. Weight measurements are often feared by women in general. Combined with the peer setting, these feelings can be amplified. If these measurements must be performed in the school setting, my thoughts are to bring in one kid at a time without their peers waiting outside the room. Perhaps the teacher or nurse could discuss the purpose of the measurements and different body shapes and types before measurements are taken in the future.

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