1,000 Sandwiches and a Food Bus Jingle by Mason Dow

My name is Mason. I graduated from the University of Montana this past fall, and found myself in a world I barely recognized with my future plans realized as impossible. In this confusing time for us all, I applied to serve with Montana Campus Compact as an Americorps Summer VISTA member, serving with the Missoula Food Bank and Community Center. Through my position I have been afforded friendship, purpose, and a chance to be of value to my community.

Myself and three of the other summer VISTSA members serve with the Kids Table child nutrition program of the food bank. This program serves to provide the kids of families of underserved neighborhoods consistent lunches in lieu of the meals that schools provide during a larger portion of the year. 

Our daily routine consists of making and packing the hundreds (on some days over a thousand!) meals for upcoming days. We pack breakfasts, lunches, and dinners with sandwiches, snacks, and drinks. We even make weekend “EmPower Packs” for kids to take home to stock up for the days on which we do not operate. These mornings spent packing the meals are often hectic but filled with questions and time for chatting.

I then load up the food bus with that day’s meals, and head off to the different mobile sites. All the way from the University Villages to far past the airport, I take the bus to different neighborhoods, and from loudspeakers out of the side of the vehicle I play the famous Food Bus song. 

By now, all of the kids that come to grab lunches for themselves and their siblings know every tune and lyric by heart. Most get incredibly excited and even jump up and down as the song comes within earshot, but some (the older kids) find themselves to be “too cool” for the jingle and shake their heads.

Regardless, the kids’ and parents’ excitement and appreciation for what I do is the reason why it is so easy to get up and head to the Missoula Food Bank every morning. I feel connected to my community and my service to be vital in these hard times. Families like my own are and will continue to struggle to make ends meet as jobs are lost and school-reopenings remain in question. Being able to provide these meals for my community gives me hope that Missoula can band together to look after one another.