When most people think of Southern California, they think of all the shiny, happy people blissfully enjoying the sun in paradise. While this may be true for some, there are still plenty of people who live in squalor and are starving. This is why I decided to work at Feeding America San Diego, because even though people want to help “starving children in Africa” many people fail to realize that there are just as many starving children here, some are just around the corner. Feeding America’s goal is to nourish and educate through advocacy and outreach into the communities all through San Diego. I am just one of many interns here but I feel anything but insignificant.
I work as a CalFresh Case Manager Intern under Jaqueline Hess who is the Anti-Hunger and Opportunity Corps CalFresh Capacity Coordinator. She is so much fun to work with and is always there to answer any of my questions. I’ve learned so much from working with her and all of my other fellow interns at different outreach opportunities. A huge part of this job is handling difficult or possibly awkward situations with kindness and compassion as well as diffusing any possible arguments because of their frustration. If I’m not out in the community helping people sign up for CalFresh or the SNAP program then I’m usually in the office doing some kind of cataloging, calendar editing, or one of the other many fun projects that Jaqueline assigns me for the day. I really do enjoy the work I get to do here and the people I get to help.
Check out this awesome campaign to see how you can help in your community!
