It was a well-oiled machine on my second day of volunteering at Community Servings in Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood. Students line up beside stainless steel benches, sorting, bagging, and packing items for individual meals.
Inside, a container contains oatmeal, oranges, sandwiches, cookies and apples.
It’s a “rigorous system,” says Laila Viklund, a sophomore political science and philosophy student at Northeastern.
Some students carry 11 bags at once. “We all understand that,” said Viklund. Plus, he says, “there’s always work to be done, which is great.”
The Alternative Spring Break team includes about 10 students who learn about social issues affecting society and support the organization’s efforts to address those social issues. About 90 students participate in the program this year.
Other trips this year include working with Community Missions in Niagara Falls, New York, where students support housing safety in the area. Students also get their hands dirty with some trail work with the American Hiking Society in Wildersville, Tennessee.
The team also traveled to Washington, DC, Seattle and Tucson, Arizona, as well as Killeen, Texas. In addition, international programs take students to the Dominican Republic and Ecuador.
“Each trip is so unique,” says Amanda Mangano, student alternative break coordinator.
In their free time, students also have plenty of time for fun activities and exploring the places they visit, Mangano said.
When Mangano visited the Dominican Republic, students went snorkeling and visited a women-run chocolate facility. This year’s trip to Boston went to MFA. Each location, he said, has its specialty.
“I think it’s special; we don’t take it for them,” Mangano said. “They can do research and see what their group likes best.”
Although students deal with challenging community needs, they also recognize that society has much to offer and much to explore and learn, said Erin Curley, assistant director of the Community Service Program at Northeastern.
“I think students are more engaged when they come back,” says Curley. “They care more about the community, and they care more about an issue, … there’s a different level of engagement with students outside of the spring break program.”
Northeastern’s community services and civic engagement departments also provide Alternative Rest in the fall, which is a weekend service trip.
In Boston this week, volunteers spend the week in the Community Servings kitchen. This non-profit organization provides healthy food to people with chronic or critical illnesses, such as HIV/AIDS, diabetes, cancer, and kidney disease. Each meal is adapted to 15 different medical diets and caters to clients and their families across the state.
“I really enjoy working here,” said Noor Mehta, a third-year student majoring in internal affairs and cultural anthropology. So far, experience has taught them about the logistics of compiling certain foods with different dietary restrictions. The methods they used, said Mehta, “were impressive.”
Mehta decided to take an alternate spring break as it would allow them the flexibility to do something fun while preparing for the LSAT.
Ella Bentley, a sophomore studying business administration and sociology, lives nearby and has no other plans for spring break. He notes that volunteering is better than sitting at home and watching screens all week.
Last year she volunteered on a farm, which is a bit more hands-on but taught her about where food comes from and food insecurity –– lessons she continues to build on at Community Servings.
The assembly line changes every 30 minutes depending on the type of food being packaged, says Viklund. For example, the current path is for cardiac fitness.
At the end of the meeting, the food is transferred to the refrigerator before being sent out to the community. On Monday, the team helped collect 2,500 meals.
Carina Davis, a sophomore majoring in industrial engineering, was busy filling bags with containers that had been determined not to contain fish. Every few seconds, he pushed the bag down, ready for the next item.
This was his second day on this assignment, and he was turning pro.
At the end of spring break, Davis said, he plans to return to volunteering.
Davis loves working with volunteers who have been coming for years. “The volunteers love what they do and come every day.”
Beth Treffeisen is a reporter for Northeastern Global News. Email him at [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @beth_treffeisen.
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