Recently in Project Category

I'm not sure whether this entry is necessary, but here goes.

I only needed a couple more hours to finish up what I started in the project. These hours were spent organizing the survey, finding out what foods to research for recipes, researching those recipes, and distributing them to the shelves.

I learned that I was hesitant or perhaps unready to wrap up the project, since I didn't feel like my work should be ended right now. I have been working with Keystone for several months now, and the routine of volunteering at the food shelf is so normal to me that ending it seems abrupt. I will likely continue volunteering even though the project is done.

I'm glad to be done! I think I accomplished a lot in the project, and merely doing a project like this feels like a huge accomplishment. Also, I am glad that I felt connected enough to Keystone to continue volunteering there. Overall, it was a good experience.

Since this is the last week of the project, I worked on wrapping things up. I did my typical volunteering, and I also created a nutrition brochure for Keystone. Other than that, I gathered recipes to distribute to the shelves. Also, Christine Pulver told me that she has surveys for me, so I will be looking at those from now until the due date of the project report.

I didn't really learn much this week because the project is ending now. However, I did learn that I actually do have the capabilities of carrying out plans I make and helping an organization. I think it took the last week to really prove to me that I could do this project completely to the end J

Working on the project this week was excellent. I accomplished a lot, and I am seeing the results of my actions. Between now and the due date of the project report, I will have a lot to record and review.

I didn't do much this week, since much of my time ended up used as preparation for the midterm. However, I did volunteer as usual, and I did work on the elements of the project that I will finish next week to wrap up the project. Actually, I did have an interesting experience this week. While I was working at the food shelf, a woman asked if we had any crackers. I had not seen any in the back room, but I decided to search through the numerous donated grocery bags. After searching for a while with no success, I finally found one box. She was so grateful when I gave it to her. I realized that this kind of result I would like to see coming from my project; I want to give people something to be grateful for, and I hope that improving health and providing nutritious food that people want will ultimately do that.

I didn't really learn much new, partly because I didn't get to work too much on it. Although, it was reinforced that my project is attainable, and I have clear steps to follow to carry it out. Also, from the experience at the shelf, I got a glimpse of the kind of effect my project can have.

With finishing chapters 3-6, I kind of got a glimpse of the end of my project. Throughout the project, I've been kind of going week to week, not thinking too much about the overall goal. However, when I officially wrote up the plans for action and evaluation, I saw that my actions so far actually have been a part of a larger goal. Also, laying out the plans for evaluation made me realize that I really was accomplishing something, since in the end, I will have something to evaluate. This really gave me hope and made me feel like I wasn't just treading water with my project.

The past two weeks have been very important and useful because they have brought together all the loose ends of my project. I probably organized things like this later than I should have, but really, all I've done so far has had a purpose and will aid in the last weeks of the project. I would evaluate the past weeks as highly successful, since they served as a kind of transition from small actions to larger ones in the project.

I felt like I ran into a few roadblocks this week, but only in speculation. Since I had to plan out other solutions to the problem as well as a "plan b" as a part of doing the chapters, I realized that I hadn't really thought of other solutions just because the one I am doing has worked so far. The solution that I have came from talking with people at the organization as well as secondary research, so it seemed natural. Hopefully, this means that the project will work as planned. I was glad to have the opportunity to plan out alternatives if it does not work out, though.

I feel that I accomplished a lot this week, since the work I did entailed a lot of planning new things as well as solidifying current plans. Also, I took greater steps in carrying out the solution, since I finished the survey. This has been quite encouraging because I've felt that my progress has been a bit stagnant these past few weeks. I presume that my progress will pick up as the survey results come back and I can use that information to strengthen my solution.

When I was searching for recipes, I learned that I may have difficulty finding simple recipes that use the foods from the shelf. Part of the problem is that many recipes call for certain ingredients not often at the shelf, such as spices or vegetables, so I am unsure whether clients will have these items in their homes. Of course, the food shelf provides approximately three days worth of food for people/families, so clients must have some other kinds of food in their homes. I think the key will be finding very fast, easy recipes, since the kinds of food most popular at the shelf are those that do not take much preparation.

I did my typical volunteering at the University Avenue food shelf. Besides that, I organized my project a bit more. For instance, I laid out some specific plans and organized the information I already have. Also, I started work on Chapters 3 and 4, since the drafts of those are due in a couple weeks. This included both collecting primary research as well as integrating it with secondary research.

I learned that I will probably have a difficult time coming up with other possible solutions for the problem besides the one I have. This is because my adviser from the food shelf agreed completely with the original ideas I had (and her information confirmed them as well). I hope that as I go through my information in more depth and also get information back from a survey of food shelf clients that other possibilities will present themselves. Extra information can either validate the strength of my present plans, or it can improve my plans. Also, organization really helped my project this week, and this kind of organization has given me the freedom to feel excited about what I can do. At the moment, I am very excited about all the work I have ahead of me.

I think my project is on a good track right now. I really feel that I am accomplishing the objectives of the project because I have been able to think about real solutions to the problem and also plan out how to implement them. As I get really into the project, I should remember to step back every once in a while to see the large scope of the project, since this will keep it as focused as it is right now. Also, this will allow me to evaluate small actions with respect to their contribution to the larger solution.

These two weeks, I volunteered twice at the University Avenue food shelf--I also switched my day to Wednesday since that works better with my new schedule. Other than that, I began to really solidify the plans for my project. I met with Christine Pulver about the nutrition grant, looked at some statistics, began writing a survey, and visited another food shelf.

I officially established the goal of my project, as opposed to having a more general idea of what I am doing. The goal of my project is to help Keystone figure out how to use the funds from its nutrition grant in the best way possible. As a part of that, I began to learn about what I need to consider to use the resources best. I also decided that for the following weeks of my project, I will lay out clear goals that I want to accomplish. This will keep me on track and also ensure that I finish what I set out to do. I think I need this kind of discipline in action, since I have no trouble thinking about what I want to do, but sometimes I have trouble just jumping in and doing it.

I did not do as much work as I should have, which is why I decided to start laying out specific goals. I am very excited that I have a lot to work on based on the meeting I had with Christine Pulver, and I am also excited that I have figured out what I can do in order to keep myself on track with the project.

Over break, I just kept up with my weekly volunteering at the food shelf, with the exception of one week when I was sick. We got lots of donations because many churches did food drives around Christmas, so things were very busy but a lot of fun. Also, Christine Pulver told me that she got the nutrition grant.

Since I missed out one week due to illness, I learned that taking a break from work can be beneficial. However, I also realized that getting back into a routine after breaking out of it can be difficult. I expect to encounter the same issue in coming back to school.

I am glad that I was able to continue volunteering over break, and I am excited to begin work on the nutrition grant. This project is feeling more and more real, especially now that I will be able to realize my intended nutritional goals soon.

I worked twice at Keystone this week for the first time. Also, I continued with some food research at the grocery store, meaning I went to the store and checked out the ingredients/nutrition facts on several popular items at the food shelf. Other than that, I reflected on my project thorough writing my essay for the final.

Working at Keystone on a different day was an interesting experience. Wednesday was more relaxed than Fridays typically are. Also, I learned more about the problems facing a food shelf, since on Wednesday, there was hardly any food left in the back room. By Friday, the shelf had renewed resources, but I learned that its supply could be erratic. This makes incorporating nutrition even more difficult when resources are limited.

I began formulating the next steps of my project this week, so I think I am ready to accomplish the objectives of the project in the upcoming weeks. What I need to do is to communicate more with the leaders at the food shelf so that they are clear about what I am doing. At the moment, my next steps seem only theoretical, but once I communicate with people at the shelf, I will be able to implement them and thus accomplish the objectives.