Houston Food Bank Case Study

After volunteering three times with the social action committee and high school group from Emerson Unitarian Universalist Church in the previous years, the Houston Food Bank became very familiar both in regards of their history and how their volunteerism works. The Houston Food Bank is a non-profit organization that seeks donations of non-perishable food items to serve the low-income families in eighteen counties across Texas. However, during a recent trip to the food bank with the University of Houston-Downtown College of Business, the interactions with a larger group of classmates became more dynamic. Three main topics involving group work at the Houston Food Bank are service learning, community service, and volunteerism. Service learning

Community service occurs when a group of people comes to work together for the benefit of an institution. For instance, the Houston Food Bank may be a requirement for schools, but it helps aid those in need. These all tie together because they show how a group of people can learn from their experience. These have differences, though. For example, while volunteering is just doing a good deed for the community, service learning is actually learning from this experience. Volunteering is also different from community service, because volunteering is broader than community service. These do have similarities though; for instance, a lesson can be learned from both service learning and volunteering, though it is not requirement for volunteering. Volunteering is more for the good of nature to help others. Community service can be similar to service learning because they are both ways of providing a service to the community or a particular

They are a non-profit organization this collects and distributes food for hunger relief charities. The food bank works with 600 food pantries, senior centers, soup pantries, and other agencies strictly with giving donations. With the help of volunteers, the Houston Food Bank sorts, packs, and re-distributes food to community. In 2008, the Houston Food Bank merged with End Hunger, making more effective use of community resources by working together. During the 2014-2015 fiscal year, the organization successfully distributed 74,000,000 nutritious meals. The organization relies strictly on donations. They, however, will accept monetary donations in order to buy food. For example, in 2002, a privately held supermarket chain in Texas, called HEB Grocery Company, teamed up with the Houston Texans in a campaign called ‘Sacks for Hunger’ where the team will donate $1000 for every sack made. As of 2013, the ‘Sacks for Hunger’ program has successfully raised over $47,000 dollars for the Houston Food Bank, the equivalent of 141,000 meals for hungry