What’s the best service project for a bunch of archivists? Sorting and boxing and labelling.

In lieu of our Thursday morning we all headed to the Linn Benton Food Share warehouse to volunteer for a couple of hours, where we bagged and boxed about 600 pounds of filberts (hazelnuts if you want to be fancy).

And then we sorted through about 1000 pounds of donated canned food.

Separating them into soups, protein, fruits, and vegetables, with a good range of foods for each 24# box. I can tell you from dipping my hands into each of these bins that people donate a variety of foods. Green beans and chicken noodle soup are great! But so are canned peas, coconut milk, and lima beans.

For those who are interested, you can learn more about the program at http://communityservices.us/nutrition/detail/category/linn-benton-food-share/.

For more than 30 years, Linn Benton Food Share has been feeding Linn and Benton counties, because we are committed to the idea that no one goes hungry in the two-county area we serve. In order to efficiently move food to those in need, we work closely with local nonprofit groups throughout Linn and Benton counties.

Through this network of local partner agencies—emergency shelters and food pantries, soup kitchens, child and senior care centers, shelter homes, and gleaning groups—we attempt to reach every person in our area who cannot find enough resources to adequately feed themselves or their families. Last year Food Share distributed 5.4 million pounds of food to our 74 member agencies.

There is a monthly open house on the last Thursday of the month from 6:00-8:00PM, so if you want to drop by to help out please do so. They can also host groups (like ours) during the week.