Today we went and volunteered at a food market that was held at the same church that we were at for the community dinner on Monday. We helped package the loose products into individual bags, and helped during the actual event by interacting with the community members and carrying food boxes out to the cars. It was interesting to me to see how early people showed up for the market: the market didn’t open until 12, but they were there at 10 to get a ticket so they could be one of the first ones in to get food. Once the market started I quickly saw why. For the first 45 minutes, people streamed in steadily, and they quickly made a beeline for the meat table and for the all the fresh produce that had been donated to MANNA. The community members there seemed to represent every walk of life, from large families with multiple generations living in their homes, to individuals, to the elderly.
After we helped at the market we had some free time, so we went for a hike. We ended up 4800 ft above sea level, admiring the natural beauty of the North Carolina mountains that we’re spending our week in.