News

Three years ago, university student Kelly Giang volunteered at Ozarks Food Harvest for the first time on the casual invitation from a friend. She thought it would be a good opportunity to complete class requirements and boost her resumé, but it has become so much more.

Kelly enjoyed volunteering so much that she quickly surpassed her friend’s hours, now logging a total of 125 hours at The Food Bank.

“Volunteering here makes me feel useful,” Kelly said, “Like I actually have a reason to be here and knowing that I’m making a difference in helping others.”

Volunteers really are crucial to helping our neighbors keep meals on the table. With a family of four now needing $100 more per month to afford enough food, more people are looking to The Food Bank’s network for help. As Kelly has learned, “Coming here, you’re made aware that there’s lots of kids and people out there that don’t have resources to get food or who have to pick bills over food. People need to know that hunger is there, and if you can help other people, I think you should.”

Helping others is important to Kelly in not just her free time, but in her career aspirations, too. Her bachelor’s degree complete, she plans to head to medical school next – which is why she’s grateful she started volunteering at a young age.

She explained, “Since I want to go into pre-med, I think it’s important to start helping when you can. The whole thing about being in medicine is helping others and giving back and being patient. I think that’s very important to start when you’re younger.”

Along with helping other people, Kelly has noticed that she helps herself by volunteering as well. She always feels good knowing she helped provide food for a child, family, or senior facing hunger, and she’s observed that volunteering has helped her come out of her shell and connect with the community.

“I feel like when you’re living on a college campus,” she shared, “a lot of the time, you really only interact with college students. So, it’s nice to see the locals. I look forward to seeing everyone I volunteer with and asking what they did over the weekend. After the first or second time of working with them, they completely took me under their wing.”

We’re so glad that Kelly accepted her friend’s invitation three years ago. By branching outside of campus life, she has cultivated a deeper understanding of the community and developed skills that will support her goals in medicine – all with compassion for our neighbors facing hunger. Thank you, Kelly, for your time and generosity!

If you want to be a part of the movement to end hunger, learn more at ozarksfoodharvest.org.