On Friday, April 18^th, I was given the opportunity to volunteer at Seeds community café in downtown Colorado Springs for my semester project in sociology. The project was to choose a social problem in our community that we feel particularly compelled to try to help solve. My partner and I chose to target hunger and poverty.

Seeds models healthy food for people living on the economic margin, provides apprenticeships and employment training, while additionally engaging volunteers to help people in need. As their mission statement affirms, this organization looks to “impacting and solving hunger insecurity, transforming lives, and building and celebrating community.”

However, unlike the approach of a soup kitchen, Seeds is an establishment that feeds people with dignity. Regardless of their economic status, people are fed healthy food, living by the slogan “pay as you can afford.”

The philosophy of this establishment stood out to us, so we decided to sign up to help with what was needed. We worked a shift from three to five pm during which we prepared the café for close. In preparing the café for closing, we washed and dried dishes and returned them to their rightful places in the café.

Through the experience, we became enlightened by the amount of people within our very own community who needed assistance because of effects of hunger and poverty. Although we did not directly interact with the customers at the café, we still felt as if we helped out.

I encourage LP students to visit the Seeds community café. Whether one goes to have a healthy, organic meal and make a generous donation or to volunteer one’s service, going to Seeds is a worthwhile trip to make.