Personal Narrative: The Preble Street Food Shelter In Portland

As the van rolled over the potholes in the Dominican backcountry, a figure loomed through the dust of the dirt road. A small child, up ahead, was sauntering along the road with no destination in sight. The boy was ten miles from the city, and the villages were another ten miles away. He carried a flashlight in his right hand and a single bar of soap, wrapped in Marriott paper, in his left. My eyes tracked the boy in the tattered clothes as we drove past him.
“Dad, we need to turn around,” I said. My father sighed and pulled a U-turn, driving back to pick up the boy.
We pulled over and slid open the paneled doors of the white van. “Do you want a ride?” my mother said to the kid; he nodded and climbed into the van. I asked him why he was out …show more content…
Therefore, diversity is something I would have to seek for myself. The Preble Street Food Shelter in Portland serves hundreds of poor inhabitants of Greater Portland for every meal. Serving at the food shelter would be the perfect way to get out of Falmouth, serve my community, and experience diversity at the same time. Volunteers are abundant, but most people want to offer services at the Dinner shift because it is the most convenient. So, I asked my mother if we could instead serve breakfast at Preble …show more content…
I’ve cooked hundreds of over easy eggs, filled dozens of buckets with cubed potatoes, and thawed hundreds of hot dogs. Each week, different people come to get food, showing that this is not a handout, but a much-needed aid to people in need, a way to help them get back on their feet. Without this necessary service, the poverty-stricken of Portland would surely starve. In the winter months, the building provides warmth and comfort to those in need. Serving at Preble Street has allowed me to remove myself from my sheltered life in suburbia and given me the opportunity to help those who are less fortunate than