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Last month we discussed Food Bank Operations as an important part of our community. A no less vital area is the Food Bank’s Farm, Orchard and Garden Division. This endeavor not only grows food to feed the hungry, but more importantly, they “grow people” by providing opportunities for persons to break out of the poverty cycle. The mission of this division is to combat hunger by growing fresh produce and by teaching others to grow their own produce in order to achieve personal, economic, and community self-sufficiency. There are several different types of programs that comprise the Farm, Orchard and Garden Division and, as you will note, you don’t have to be a gardener to volunteer there:

• The G.R.U.B. (Growing Recruits for Urban Business) Program at the Carolyn Lanier Youth Farm (76th Street at Ave. B) is a youth outreach, job and life skills training and employment program. Produce grown at the farm is distributed through the Community Supported Agriculture program to fund summer wages for the G.R.U.B. participants. Excess food is sold at the farmer’s market and given to the G.R.U.B. members to share with their families or donated to the Food Bank. Since this is a program that teaches job and life skills development, it would appreciate volunteers who would mentor the young people and share any career and job information that might be of value to them.
• Community Gardens are set up throughout Lubbock if you would like to grow your own produce and then “Grow Another Row” for the Food Bank to benefit others. You plant and maintain your own individual plot. For those who love to garden but don’t have the space, this would be a great opportunity to have fresh vegetables all summer and help the community too.
• The South Plains Food Bank Orchard at 56th Street and Martin Luther King Blvd) and needs seasonal volunteers to thin apples in the early summer and to harvest them in August and September. Apples from the orchard are donated to the Food Bank.
• The Market Garden, 46th Street and Globe Ave., allows you to grow vegetables for your own need and then sell the remainder to earn income for yourself. (This is would not be considered a volunteer opportunity for RSVP purposes because others would not benefit from your work.)
• The Farm, Orchard and Garden Division provides lots of opportunities to help the youth of our community and to feed the less fortunate while being a part of a thriving and fruitful environment. If you like to garden, this is the place for you. YOU can help create a hunger-free South Plains!

OTHER VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY’S Road to Recovery Program provides cancer patients with transportation to and from scheduled treatment appointments. Volunteer drivers are greatly needed to donate both their time and the use of their personal vehicles to assist patients who cannot drive themselves. You would not be asked to assist lifting wheelchair patients. Although family and friends may be asked to transport them, sometimes there are just too many appointments for them to handle. Please consider helping a cancer patient to be a cancer survivor on the Road to Recovery.

HERITAGE OAKS NURSING & REHABILITATION CENTER, 5301 University Ave., is particularly in need of volunteers for the weekends. If you can lead various craft activities, call bingo, tell stories, play music, etc., you can really brighten up Saturdays and Sundays for a lot of their homebound folks. Maybe a group from your Sunday School class could stop by a few hours after lunch on a Sunday afternoon. Get with a friend and bring some caring, listening ears to these nursing home residents. No one could need you more!

To volunteer, or for more information about these or other volunteer positions, please call the RSVP office at 742-2423.

HOW do I join RSVP?
Becoming a member of RSVP is simple as long as you are at least 55 and have some time to volunteer. Just call the office at 742-2423 and chat with Ronda Casey or Bonne Phillips about your interests. If you are not certain what you would like to do, we can mention several current volunteer opportunities and send you a list of the sort of jobs which RSVP members are presently doing to whet your appetite. If you have a special skill or talent that you would like to utilize, we will search to find just the right job for you. Just mail in the enrollment form (requires Adobe Reader) and we will call you!