If there is one thing anyone should know about me, it’s that I love to travel. This all started in April of 2021, during my Covid-induced gap year. The minute I received my second vaccination shot, I booked myself a one-way ticket to Costa Rica, alone. This love for travel later led me to a major in International Relations, with a concentration in globalization. I have spent the past two years of my undergraduate career learning how to approach issues through a global lens. Coming into class everyday and learning about the various atrocities being committed across the world would make me feel simultaneously angry and helpless.
As a college student at Tufts, it often feels as though there is nothing I can do to help solve world issues, but I applied to be a Marketing and Events Food For Free intern with the hope of proving myself wrong. I wanted to see how much of an impact one person could make on their local community. As my internship comes to an end and I reflect back, I realize that one person can actually do a whole lot. Especially if they have an incredible team (like the Food For Free staff) backing them up.
In just two months as a Food For Free intern, I have volunteered at three School Markets, completed one Just Eats grocery box-packing shift, and videoed one Healthy Eats box-packing shift. I’ve ridden along with Aly, our Logistics Manager, to pick up food donations from the Greater Boston Food Bank, and I interviewed Dom, one of our Logistics Specialists, while tagging along with him on his Food Rescue route. I have been all over Greater Boston, from Cambridge to Dorchester to Winter Hill. I have sat in on weekly public relations check-in meetings with Teak Media, the PR firm we work with (they only represent nonprofits or sustainable businesses, how cool is that?!), and I have tried my hand at drafting a media pitch. I went to a special Food For Free collaboration ale brew day at Lamplighter Brewing Company to see them brew About Thyme, a Golden Ale that is benefiting Food For Free through September (more info about that partnership here), and even got to help pour some of the malts into the mixture that would become About Thyme!
Throughout all of this, I have to say that the biggest highlight of my internship experience has been meeting so many incredible people. From Food For Free staff to our amazing volunteers to the clients we serve, everyone I have encountered has treated me with kindness and respect.
At my first School Market, the school liaisons knew every parent by name, and greeted each family warmly. They put everyone instantly at ease. While attending my first Healthy Eats shift, I met Barbara, a loyal Food For Free volunteer who was planning to bring along her son to her next shift. Barbara confided in me joyfully her son and his wife had just decided to move back in with her, and they were working on renovating a house together. When I asked her what it was about Food For Free’s work that inspired her to be so involved, she said, “I was looking for in-person work, and food is pretty important.” She added, “We seem to have a tolerance for the fact that there are a lot of people without food. I don’t have that tolerance.”
Dom, on the day of our truck ride-along, echoed a similar sentiment when I asked him why he took this job: “When I started, it was just a job. Two weeks into it, instantly I’m like, this is a great thing to do. Giving back to people is a great feeling.” I can definitely agree with that. Following Dom around on his truck and getting to see firsthand the genuine gratitude from our clients when he delivered the rescued food was incredibly heartwarming.
This summer, I didn’t travel to Spain or Morocco. The furthest I went was New York City. Instead, I spent many evenings after work at the park near my house. I took a ferry to Spectacle Island, and rode the 89 bus more times than I can count. I am finally beginning to feel like I am connecting to local community after living here for two years.
I feel a whole lot more hopeful, too. The world can still be a messed up place, but I have realized that there are so many people working to do good. Most of us want to help, but a lot of us don’t know where to start. If you are reading this and you can relate (and you live in the Somerville/Cambridge area), come volunteer at Food For Free! If each of us 8 billion humans focuses on just bettering the community that we live in, we can all make the world a better place. It may seem like you can’t do enough, but that isn’t true. Every little thing matters, and you have no idea how many lives you can touch until you start.
Maren Dunn, an undergraduate International Relations student at Tufts University, is a 2023 Tisch Program Fellow and Marketing and Events Intern at Food For Free. Maren will also be working as an Events Coordinator on a part time basis to support our preparations for this year’s edition of our Party Under the Harvest Moon.
