Decisions, Decisions...

I have decided to continue this blog even though it was part of a class and I am now a GRADUATE!!! I will continue to publish my adventures in anthropology that I come across in everyday life now and catalog my quest to find employment in the field. So far my job search has been futile, especially in these great economic times (insert sarcasm here) it is almost impossible to find anything without years of experience or a Master's degree. I have also just returned from working on an archaeological project in San Ignacio, Belize which I highly recommend to anyone looking for field experience. CRM jobs are also few and far between but with field school experience I am hoping my resume will look at least a little more attractive. The project I worked with was called Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance or BVAR, the program director was Jaime Awe who is one of the most well known experts on Maya archaeology. While there I helped examine the construction phases of the site Cahal Pech, which is a huge monumental center in San Ignacio that has been partially restored and is one of the best examples of occupation phases in Belize because it was occupied for the Early Formative to the Late Classic periods.

Here are some photos from Belize!


                                              This photo represents the entrance to the elite
                                              structures, notice the controlled access in
                                              the small entrance door.

                                                     This is a ballcourt adjacent to Plaza C

                                            In the below photo you can see the different
                                            construction phases by way of the white strips in
                                            profile, these represent different plaza floors
                                            throughout the years.

Applied Anthropology!

Applied Anthropology: the application of the method and theory of anthropology to the analysis and solution of practical problems

This is the general definition I found when looking it up, however, applied anthropology to me represents using my acquired anthropological skills to analyze life in general. Being my last quarter, I have ate, slept, and breathed anthropology for the last year and a half, I feel that through my intense study of the field I have come out on the other side with a new way of looking at life. I can honestly say that I look for ways to apply anthropology to everyday experiences. Through my experience at the Alameda County Community Food Bank I have definitely used applied anthropology to study the strengths and challenges in the day to day running of the food bank. I have analyzed the relationships of the other volunteers there and recognized how the food bank's treatment of its volunteers lends to increased social diversity and awareness. Additionally, I have recognized the need for a detailed study capturing some of the reasons why the food banks services and social welfare programs to not reach everyone in need. I have also recognized the need to examine structural transformations in the economy and how they may affect those who use the food bank and the capacity at which the food bank is able to provide aid. This experience has allowed me to gain insight into a the economic problem of hunger that plagues one in five families in Alameda county (where I live!), while I had an general idea that hunger was an issue it was not until I have seen the scope of this problem for myself that I was able to appropriately understand it. 

Applied and practicing anthropologists build bridges between cultural worlds.  Through study and research of the sub-cultures that surround the food bank, one may be able to decipher important connections and links. In my understanding it seems applied anthropology recognizes the humanity of people along with recognizing cultural differences that may account for certain actions. Through research methods an applied anthropologist can help make policies, programs, and plans that improve human well-being around the world. In applying anthropological techniques to the plaguing problem of misuse of the food bank's programs I could in fact provide solutions and identify issues that are keeping people away from the social programs that are in place to help. 


 

Research Model

 Living in the Bay Area one cannot get on or off a freeway or let alone walk down the street (at least in my neighborhood) without being accosted with seemingly "homeless" individuals asking for food/money/assistance in one way or another. After spending the last few months volunteering once a week at the food bank and actually seeing the scope of how much food comes in and out of the facility I wonder why are there still so many homeless people not taking advantage of the programs the food bank advocates? I was walking down the street the other day in my neighborhood in Oakland and I was approached by a teenage looking guy carrying a sign that stated "Far from home" and "Hungry, anything helps." Conviniently, I had one of the handy buisiness cards Sheila had handed out on my orientation day and are just generally lying around the office area at the food bank, so instead of handing him cash I gave him the card.

I thought the card would be a welcome suggestion but boy was I wrong, not only did the guy use some expletives to curse me out, he threw the card in the trash. He said if I wasn't going to help him out then I should just mind my own business then. Um I'm sorry didn't I just try to offer you access to free food like your sign says. I just didn't get the response, I guess it could mean that food is not what this kid really wanted, but I have gotten this same reaction multiple times. The only time anyone ever responded well to me giving them this car was a mother and son duo, they were begging in the park next to my house and I handed them this card and explained what they needed to do to gain access to food immediately. I also told them about the calFresh program and how the food bank's helpline could get her access to an application and they would even fill it out on her behalf if she would answer a few questions over the phone. They seemed truly grateful to gain new information and directions that would provide them some food. 

My topic I would like to research is: Why are there so many people still begging for food in Oakland (and the surrounding areas) if the Food Bank offers/provides so many programs that could relieve these people from hunger. What keeps people away from the program?

Hypothesis: I believe that due to the lack of knowledge surrounding these programs and the stigma of judgement around using welfare services, many do not use the food bank. Additionally, preconceived notions about eligibility concerning food bank use may keep those in need away.

Research Method: After my background experience working at the Food Bank and learning about it's programs offered, policies, and general history I would continue my research in discovering how much food vs. the need for food occurs in Alameda county.  I want to see how effectively the food bank provides for the county and if the food donated is being used properly.

My next step would be to interview willing participants of many ages and genders that are living on the streets or who beg regularly. I would like to find out why they think that begging is more effective than receiving assistance from the food bank's partners. Also, I would like to pass out a survey to a large amount of residents in Alameda county to get an idea about who actually know the requirements to qualify for calFresh. I think by spending time with homeless individuals and trying to understand how they go about gaining access to food daily, as well as, gaining a large scale understanding about how much the residents in Alameda county know about their options concerning hunger issues, I would be able to provide new insight into the reasons why individuals still beg on the street for food instead of making use of the food banks in the areas. The food bank would be able to use my information to re-market their products and services and be able to use their donations in a more efficient manner.

Social Policy and Diversity

One of the main social policies that frame the activities of the food bank is one that I faced the first day of orientation. The volunteer coordinator made sure to repeatedly drive home the non-judgment and appreciation the food bank holds for each of its volunteers. I believe that this attitude draws many different people to volunteer at the food bank which in part makes the food bank’s programs more well known to a larger percentage of the population of Alameda County. Working at the food bank I have made it a practice to try and introduce myself to all those I work with and interview the volunteers to find out what brought them to the food bank. Surprisingly, many are not volunteering because they are required to, some are retired and want to keep busy and involved, some are college students like myself, some are groups for different workplaces that volunteer together, other families come in together, also some are completing necessary community service for the court, and finally many are past mandatory community service participants who have completed their time and have stayed on due to the welcoming nature of the food bank. The food bank urges their volunteers to take part in grassroots movements where anyone can be involved and advocate on the behalf of the food bank and its interests for the County. Another great way the social policy of the food bank reflects some positive aspects of diversity is that there is division among classes, education level, or reason for volunteering; everyone works together. By encouraging a collaborative environment, the food bank fosters relationships and connections among volunteers from a myriad of different socio-economic backgrounds. By working side-by-side on projects with people I would not normally come into regular contact with, I feel that my experience has been enriched because I am not only able to examine the policies of the food bank, but I am able to also learn how to work among different people which will help me immensely in the future.  The social policy of the food bank to treat everything as a collaborative effort, where no volunteer or staff member is more important that another in the fight against hunger in Alameda County adds to demonstrate how diversity positively affects the population in our society, instead of succumbing to the innate human tendency to compete, we should focus more on working together because it is here where one will discover new and interesting things about the world. One can benefit from new things that other cultures/social groups can tell us and without working together and breaking down barriers for a common goal one will not have the opportunity to get close enough to ever know.          

Services offered by the Food Bank!

The Alameda County Community Food Bank uses advocacy to publicize its services and perpetuate awareness about hunger in Alameda county. They formed an advocacy team comprised of Food Bank employees and volunteers to promote changes in legislation to benefit low-income residents in Alameda county. 


One of the largest events that the food bank participates in is Hunger Action Day in Sacramento, the food bank sends a busload of employees and volunteers up to talk to lawmakers about important issues in the anti-hunger community. Recently there was also a Stamp Out Hunger event, where mail carriers collected food goods when they were out on their deliveries. 


The food bank also employs advocacy committees:



Community Advocates Against Hunger

Join us for our Community Advocates Against hunger monthly meeting. The meetings are held on the second Wednesday of every month.
As the Participant Advocates Committee group has grown; our vision has as well. Now we have a new name, Community Advocates Against Hunger, that better reflects our group's mission to end hunger in our communities near and far. We hope that you will take this chance to join us in the fight against hunger, no matter what your experience with it may be.
The Community Advocates Against Hunger (CAAH) is a group of Food Bank volunteers who experienced hunger at some point in their lives. The committee develops effective strategies for reaching elected officials to improve and expand access to government nutrition programs for all people in need.

As some of my fellow volunteers are in Sacramento today, they are fighting to have a few bills pushed through legislation:


AB 6: This bill adopts simplified, semi-annual reporting for CalWORKs and CalFresh, eliminates finger imaging for those programs, and adopts the “heat and eat” federal option to simplify and expand use of the standard utility allowance in the CalFresh program.

In simpler terms, AB 6 will knock down barriers that keep people who qualify for CalFresh from receiving the nutrition assistance they need. It’s estimated that Alameda County alone misses out on well over

$200 million each year because of low rates of CalFresh participation.

AB 828: This bill would end the lifetime ban on CalFresh benefits for people with prior drug-related offenses. Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia have already restored nutrition benefits to people with former drug offenses.

AB 828 will increase CalFresh participation, bringing much-needed dollars into California’s struggling economy. Eliminating screenings for drug-related felony convictions when processing applications will save time. But perhaps most importantly, AB 828 may reduce recidivism by providing a crucial part of the re-entry safety net.

One of the main issues the food bank deals with is making the public aware of their eligibility for Cal Fresh, formerly the food stamp program. The food bank has an outreach program that aids the public in finding out about their eligibility for the program and their multilingual staff will help one fill out the application and get the ball rolling on receiving food expediently. There are many misconceptions about this program and thousands of residents in Alameda county are not taking advantage of this aid program because they mistakenly think they will not be eligible. During my orientation for the volunteer program this is one of the things the food bank stressed the most, getting awareness out by word of mouth. 

One of the ways the food bank collects data and uses that data is the monthly reports due on the fifth of each month from the member agencies. The food bank has 275 member agencies that report back to the food bank each month about their uses and needs. The food bank then uses this information to analyze how to allocate funds, what types of food to buy, and how much food is needed. 

The "guts" of the Food Bank

It seems the inner workings of the food bank are as service oriented as it's outward projection, each and every person I have come into contact with are so happy and genuinely concerned with anything we do! There is no job too small to be recognized, the last day I was washing bowls and at least three employees came up and thanked me for what I was doing and asked either what the bowls were for or if I actually knew what they were for so everyone could be in the know about what the food bank does. Every step of the way the warehouse supervisors explain to the volunteers exactly where the food they are bagging comes from and where it is going. I discovered the bowls I was washing were actually for a fundraiser where children would come and paint them and then they would be auctioned off at an upcoming event! 


This is the event I was washing bowls for:


Join us on Thursday, June 2 at 6 p.m. for an evening of nourishment as we help fill empty bowls in our community. Enjoy a simple and delicious meal of soup and bread, receive a hand-painted bowl to take home, and bid in the silent auction. This year’s event is hosted by CBS 5 weekend anchor and reporter Ann Notarangelo. 


https://npo.networkforgood.org/Donate/Donate.aspx?npoSubscriptionId=5968&code=EmptyBowls


Some information about the Alameda Country Community Food Bank:


The mission statement of the Food Bank: To alleviate hunger by providing nutritious food and nutrition education to people in need, educating the public, and promoting public policies that address hunger and its root causes.


The food bank provides over 300,000 meals weekly and they work with 275 member agencies throughout the county. This is why the volunteers are so needed and appreciated at the main facility because 300,000 meals takes a lot of hands to bag up and sort through! Their associations include Feeding America, California Associations of Food Banks and the CA Hunger Action Coalition. The food bank started in 1985 and recently moved to the new center by the Oakland airport I am currently volunteering at! The culture of the environment at the food banks seems to be that no job is too big or too small to complete in order to fight the hunger battle in Alameda County. Local food producers seem to be an integral part of this organization, much of the fresh produce and perishable items donate come from local businesses, in fact I bagged up a TON of bread last week from a local bread bakery in Oakland! The food bank's mantra is Donate.Advocate.Volunteer.


This is some information of the Food Bank's 2010 Financials:


Annual Support and Revenue

Federal Emergency Management : $191,274

Agency State of California : 422,793

County of Alameda : 1,773,828

Cities of Oakland, Hayward and other : 51,000

Foundation and corporate giving : 2,752,209

Individual contributions : 4,076,461

Special events contributions : 211,197

Food handling charges : 181,282

Food purchase revenue : 203,497

Interest and other : 366,960

Donated commodities : 25,695,624

Total Support and Revenue:

$35,886,125

Annual Operating Expenses Program Services 

Food distribution $31,199,839

Nutrition education,hunger education, community outreach,volunteer training 2,229,364

Supporting Services

Resource development/fundraising $883,197 

Management and general 370,043

Total Expenses $34,682,443

What do I do at the Food Bank?

My volunteer placement puts me in a position to see the large scale representation of how much food is donated and sent out on a daily basis. 


A daily shift is as follows:


7:45 am- Sign in and receive a name tag and proceed to volunteer break area for instructions


8:00 am- The volunteers are organized and placed into work groups depending on skill level 


8:15 am-9:45ish- We work together as an assembly line to sort all the incoming donations. During this time some people work on boxing together kits to send home with kids to provide meals for them and their families, also general kits to be used by all those in need. 


9:45ish- Break, we have a short break and get to interact with all the volunteers who are working that shift. This is my favorite time because I get to become acquainted with the different spread of people who are volunteering and hear their individual stories. 


10:00 am-11:00am- Finish boxing, sorting, bagging things and at 11 am the first shift is finished. The volunteers can choose to sign out or stay on for the 12pm-3pm shift.


This is the description from the website about what the weekday volunteers do:


Sort, screen, box and shelve food items, including fresh produce.
Individuals and groups are needed to help sort food into boxes that are distributed to the Food Bank’s partner agencies. Individual volunteers need to attend a 1 hour orientation, held at 12:45 pm on Wednesdays.  Groups—corporate, business, church, youth or other—are not required to attend a Wednesday orientation. Call (510) 635-3663 ext. 308 to sign up. 


I hope to eventually have the opportunity to volunteer with the emergency help line to have more contact with the people who use the food bank to get information on where they can secure food. Also, there is opportunities to work in the office filing paperwork, general clerical work, making phone calls on behalf of the food bank and working on special projects.


We usually have 1-2 supervisors on shift who are employees of the Food Bank that give us direction and instructions. Also, our volunteer manager is Sheila Burks, she makes cameos every once and awhile, she is very grateful for each and every volunteer no matter what brought us to the Food Bank. 


Anthropology has helped me to become an affective volunteer because I feel that I am able to relate to all of the different people there. I am interested in learning about all of the different reasons each of the volunteers are there. Also, I would like to help get the message of the Food Bank out there, they want to address hunger at its root cause, I think being an Anthropology student I would be helpful in examining what these root causes may be and how we can be affective in combating this problem.

Who uses the Food Bank?

The clients of the Alameda County Community Food Bank are many different people from many different backgrounds and socio-economic standings. The food bank acts as the hub of a collection and distribution network that serves over 275 non-profit organizations in Alameda County. The non-profit organizations that benefit from the Food Bank include, food pantries, soup kitchens, child-care centers, senior centers, after-school programs and other community-based organizations. These organizations provide over 300,000 meals a week to those in need.  The clients of the organization are benefitted by the Food Banks, emergency food hotline that will directly connect those with urgent need to food within hours, the food stamp education program , where people can call in and get assistance filling out their application for food stamps in many languages, as well as, hunger and nutritional education programs. 


In orientation, Sheila the volunteer coordination made sure to stress that the food bank supplies food to ALL those in need. One does not have to be a parent with children, a veteran, or any fit into any specific category, the food bank will do whatever it takes to supply those with a direct need with food. 1 in 5 families in Alameda County partake in the food supplied by the Food Bank, so I would imagine that there is a wide range of social backgrounds. One story Sheila told us was about a father who had lost his job recently and called into the help line to see about getting supplies so that he could provide his small son with a birthday party. The Food Bank was able to direct this man to a pantry that could give him supplies of buns and hot dogs, along with ingredients to make his son a birthday cake. Small experiences like this are able to provide those that are struggling with the small pleasures of life that they may have forgotten about in the midst of their hardships.


During my time volunteering, I have also learned a lot about the Cal Fresh system (formerly known as Food Stamps). The Cal Fresh program is available to anyone, the amount one recieves just depends on your income, expenses and family size. Contrary to beliefs, someone can earn money from a job, be getting unemployment benefits, be recieving general assistance, get child support, be already a part of CalWORKs, get disability, have savings, own retirement accounts, have education savings. All these things do NOT omit someone from recieiving benefits from Cal Fresh. Owning a house or car does not disqualify you either. One must fall into a monthly income limit to qualify ($1,174.00) per one person and it goes up in increments from $406.00 a month per person in the household. Immigrant parents with U.S. citizen children can apply on behalf of their children. One must just have a social security number and meet other guidelines. 


The people who are using food provided by the Food Bank seem to have very little other alternatives, yes they may be able to get assistance from another small organization, but it seems the Food Bank has the most organized and reliable source of food available. Much of the food produced goes to programs at schools in the county where children can take home care packages to provide their family with a meal. Children seem to be the most affected by this organization, without the programs provided by the Food Bank many children would not get a meal. Since my time at the Food Bank, I have made many homeless and begging individuals aware of the programs provided by the Food Bank. Instead of giving money out to these people I have provided them with cards that list a 1-800 number that will connect them with a specialist that can let them know where they can have food delivered to them or walk to a pantry. Then these individuals can save money to focus on finding a place to live rather than having to worry about a meal day to day.


It seems many of the people affiliated with the food bank are very concerned with empowering the people they help, they recognize it is an awkward situation to have to admit that a person needs assistance. The employees here want to make providing food to people as comfortable and least embarrassing as possible. I'd assume many people do not make use of this organization due to pride or embarrassment, so the fact that the volunteers and program directors try to focus on making it a non-threatening and easy exchange is nice. 

Help Wanted????

My search for a volunteer position was kind of a long one, emailed, called and visited TONS of places!! I really tried to find a place that had an Anthropological background or was involved with certain cultural groups. I received little to no response emails back and many of the places I called were not accepting short-term volunteers and I am leaving for Belize in June so I could not commit the six months many of the places required.

Here is an example email I sent out to the many places I contacted...

Ms. XXXXX,

 My name is Kristen and I am a senior Anthropology major at CSUEB. I am looking for a possible service learning internship in the amount for 15 hours for the Spring quarter which starts in April and ends the beginning of June. I am interested in the American Indian Child Resource Center because being an Anthro major I love learning about culture, especially those which I am not familiar with.  I have a pretty open schedule and am available at any time to come in and speak with you further.

Thank you.

Kristen Conzaman

With many of my emails going unanswered I decided to make calls to the places I had already emailed. Let me tell you, very few of them were open during the day, many of the places I had desired to volunteer were after-school programs so their business hours were from like 4-6:30 every day and some on Saturdays.


I finally heard back from the Alameda County Community Food Bank, the volunteer manager, Sheila got right back to me. She invited me to attend a 1 hour volunteer orientation to learn more about what the food bank does and who it supplies food to. When I attended the orientation I learned so many things I had not known before, such as, the food bank supplies nourishment to 1 out of 6 families in Alameda county. Also, the food bank is more of a distribution center to smaller non-profit entities that actually dole out the donations. At the food bank they prepare the packages that are sent out as well as, sort all the donations that come in to Alameda county.


The mission statement of the Alameda County Community Food Bank is:To alleviate hunger by providing nutritious food and nutrition education to people in need, educating the public, and promoting public policies that address hunger and its root causes.


At the Volunteer Orientation I learned about the many opportunities I would have to volunteer at the food bank, I could work their Emergency Food Helpline where members of the community can call in and let us know where they need aid and we tell them the closest place they can go to take advantage of the donated food. I can also do general sorting to load boxes that are distributed to the partner agencies. I can also help arrange food drives in the community and do general office work. The volunteer coordinator Sheila was so appreciative and genuinely excited about the volunteers, she did not seem to care what had brought the people to the food bank to volunteer she was just happy to have us. 


I have yet to have my first day of actual volunteering but I told Sheila to use me wherever she needs me, so I will update soon to let you know how it goes! I am hoping that during my time at the food bank I am able to identify who is able to gain access to the food donated and how information about food stamps reaches the community. I would also like to know why so many people choose not to take advantage of these programs and if there is a way it could be better executed or find out the steps the food bank and the public take to make people aware of these programs. I am also excited to interact with my fellow volunteers, It will be interesting to see who is there and for what reasons. During the tour of the facility I noted the diversity among the volunteers it is nice to see everyone coming together to better the community we live in, I am looking forward to learning from my fellow volunteers and I hope that they can learn from me too!

Introduction

I am starting this blog to explore my experience in an Anthropology in Action class, part of the class requirements is to find a place to volunteer and examine how I can use my anthropological skills I have acquired through my classes in Anthropology to be an effective volunteer. I will report on my experiences as they occur during my volunteer time!