Hello friends! My name is Cana Odegaard and I am a Sociology student with a concentration in Inequality and Social Justice in addition to an Arabic Studies minor. As a born-and-raised Missoulian, I have always been exposed to the incredible culture here. I grew up with the incredible privilege of traveling the world, and though I was hoping to continue these adventures through my beyond-the-classroom experience, health concerns kept me in Missoula. However, I learned to rework my narrative as my appreciation and love for this one-of-a-kind community abundantly grew by my summer internship with Missoula Food Bank & Community Center.

With a Global Theme of Inequality and Human Rights, I identified my Global Challenge as combatting resource insecurity and providing equitable access to necessary resources for all. When recognizing this passion within myself, I was discouraged by how daunting a task it would be to represent in my Beyond-the-Classroom experience. But then I was reminded of the nearly 2,000 nonprofit organizations in the greater Missoula area and how I didn’t need to go far in order to practice turning my goals into actions. After contacting a few of my favorite organizations, I heard that Missoula Food Bank & Community Center had three AmeriCorps positions open that two others and I would fill. And so began the summer!

In this fulltime position, every morning was spent leading a volunteer team in making between 500-900 sandwiches, and packing these into sack-lunches with local produce, snacks, and milk. These meals were then distributed all around Missoula to summer camps, other nonprofits, low-income apartment complexes, public schools, and several other local distribution sites. Through the summer, I managed the Kids Eat Free lunch distribution site at Missoula Public Library. This involved taking around 80 lunches and setting up a lunchroom in the second floor Imaginarium. I practiced following state guidelines by tallying the distributed meals for reimbursement which turned out to be a great way to learn the multi-faceted ways a non-profit is funded and managed. In this process, I was also able to befriend and interact with countless community members. I listened and learned from people experiencing resource insecurity and gained perspectives I wouldn’t have encountered without this face-to-face involvement.

I could go on for hours about how this internship opportunity impacted my worldview. As someone who has never had personal struggle with resource insecurity, I am inherently sheltered from that experience. When approaching the topic, I don’t want to approach it with pride and solutions that may not be helpful. I entered this opportunity knowing that, in this realm, I know nothing. Therefore, I need to observe, learn, and listen before acting. This was difficult as a solutions-oriented person, but I left this summer with more knowledge about resource insecurity than I could have imagined. I also learned the importance of respect, and what a trusting community feels like. I learned to share the joys and sorrows of life with those I was serving. I know it’s cliché, but this opportunity gave me more than I could ever give in return. It gave my passions direction and reignited my love for the humankind.