This summer I had the honor of interning at the Crooked Creek Food Pantry in Indianapolis. The CCFP served over a thousand individuals a week. During my time at the pantry, I was able to help with the process of food distribution, communicate with different individuals, and able to further my understanding of food security and how it plays with public health. Each day would vary depending on the amount of food donations received but it often involved organizing, heavy lifting, and enabled me to translate for Spanish clients. Within my time at the food pantry, it made us step outside of our comfort zone, becoming leaders and managing some parts of the pantry to ensure everyone had something to do. I was even allowed to manage the Food Pantry as a whole a few times throughout my internship.
Through this internship I also had the opportunity to shadow Dr. Nace who treats and cares for many of the individuals who use CCFP. As well as other individuals of the underprivileged community. When Dr. Nace would enter the rooms of her patients you could see the relief and excitement of the patients. It was intriguing to see the strong bonds that Dr. Nace is able to form, which is something I hope to be able to do in my career. I know understand how important communication is with patients. However, it was very eye opening to see how difficult it could be to create a strong bond filled with trust through language barriers. Throughout my time as an intern at CCFP I was able to develop my understanding of global health as it can relate to health and nutrition.
I would like to thank Jill Rodgers and Dr. Wetzel for allowing me to participate as an intern at the CCFP. I would also like to thank Zach Fawbush, Stephanie Santos, and Kathy Keiner for being a mentor and treating us with kindness. Lastly, I would like to thank my fellow interns Jehan Boyers and Robbie Manuzzi. Thank you for this summer experience.
