Wednesday Morning, January 14
I went outside to get a few sunrise pictures before getting dressed for the day.
As I stood on our porch taking pictures, I was surprised to feel raindrops.
It seemed like we should be seeing a rainbow, but that didn’t happen.
This was a day we signed up to volunteer at Blessings of Hope (Leola Warehouse). After picking up our great grandson, Anthony, and driving southeast, nothing changed. There continued to be raindrops mixed in with the pretty sunrise.
After checking in, we prepared for the warehouse (hairnets and disposable gloves) then waited for our job assignments. Others waiting with us were talking about the sunrise and rain. Some had seen a rainbow.
Our assignment for the morning (8:30 to 11:00) was removing loose pretzel sticks from a large bag/box and placing them into plastic bags (maybe two-quart size). When the bag was 3/4 full it was closed with a twister, labeled, and placed back into the large box or a banana box until it was full of bags of pretzels. It was then placed on the conveyer belt where it moved to an area where workers put them in the correct spot.
Before long the boxes would be transported to the Lancaster store or other places where Blessings of Hope products are sold or used by those in need of food.
photos from the internet
There was one skid of large pretzel sticks. The other skid had much smaller ones. Anthony declared that packaging pretzel sticks was one of the best jobs he had so far at the warehouse. “Well,”, he said, “Maybe packing rice was better.”
Others on our side of the conveyer belt were washing small fruit/Jello/pudding containers. They came from skids where a few containers had opened and messed up the rest. Businesses, do not accept a skid where a few containers are damaged, so the skid is donated to places like Blessings of Hope. The good containers were washed and placed in a box and put on the conveyer belt. The open or damaged containers were put in the trash.
Most of the people on the other side of the conveyer belt were packing fresh sugar peas – from banana boxes to smaller bags (also about two-quart size). They would also be transported to a Blessings of Hope location.
About 10:40 am were asked to finish what we were doing and clean up in the area of our table: take supplies (bags, twisters, labels) to their storage area, wash our scoops and tubs, and sweep the floor. After each one does that, the room is ready for the next shift.
I had something to return to Diane’s friend Karen – from Diane’s 60th birthday party. Karen works at Zig’s Bakery, so to Anthony’s delight we also got lunch. His (and our) favorite Zig’s sandwich is turkey bacon.
It was nice to have a few hours to relax at home after the busy morning.