FISH from the eyes of a current student volunteer:

“A smile, a wave, a thank you and a hug… It’s often the smallest things that the biggest difference.”

I recently stumbled upon this quote by a wellness and motivational speaker named Katrina Mayer and instantly I thought of it’s connection to my experience working at FISH.

I see this supported every Friday morning I work at FISH. I see this supported at every Mobile Food Pantry. Where at 9 in the morning a smile and hello when passing out food or helping a 9 year old pick out awesome Spiderman cupcakes brings happiness and smiles right back at you. And I see this supported through all the giving and selfless volunteers at FISH.

I’ve worked at FISH for two years now. And I know how much cereal we give each family size, when our shipments come in and the perfect size box to fit certain things in. But it never crossed my mind how much it costs for FISH to feed a family. Lynne Devlin, the president of FISH, recently handed me this sheet given to her by a fellow volunteer. It costs about $40 dollars to feed a family of 1 and about $80 to feed a family of 8.  This reaffirmed one of the lessons I’ve learned at FISH. Whether you donate money, or your time, a jar of peanut butter, or a few plastic bags:

Small things go a long way. They matter.

These are lists that consist of what we pass out to our clients here at FISH and the prices at our local Hyvee as of March 2014.