As dietitians, our role is to assist and provide education to the community as a whole. This role is not limited to our responsibilities at our jobs in the clinical, community, or food service settings, but in our community as well. The team at Operation Food Search does this in spades by not only focusing on the communities at the highest risk but the community as a whole. While the idea that everyone deserves the best chance possible to succeed is not a new concept, it is however, a rarity when it is practiced to such a degree and with such vigor as is done here. Every single individual at Operation Food Search has a tie to the community and is passionate about serving every individual they can within the Greater St. Louis area. This passion drives them to where this is not a job but a lifelong commitment to their home.
As a resident of a low-income community, growing up on the northwest side of Richmond, Va, I was witness to what the struggling communities are facing here in St. Louis: food deserts, a lack of access to healthcare, an aging infrastructure, and a general feeling that the city has forgotten us. This is where Operation Food Search comes in, to break the stigma that a community is forgotten and provide assistance in both a physical and tangible nature of food, clothing, and educational support for the community but also, and offering potentially greater assistance, in the moral support of the community with such a strong reach in advocating for those people whose voices may not be heard regularly. The city of St. Louis is extremely fortunate to have such a dedicated and compassionate organization that takes being a food bank to levels rarely seen in a major community; I wish that there was such strength in my hometown when I was growing up.
The experience at Operation Food Search has been irreplaceable and one I plan to continue assisting with in the future in whatever manner I can with things as simple as giving two hours of my week to teaching families about healthy cooking to helping make backpack meals for children on the weekends who do not know when their next meal is, or even just writing a check. We can all help by doing something, our community is stronger if we stand together.
The first day here I was asked why “I Give” and my answer is the same at it was when this experience began:
And we all can.
Jerimy Parsons, Dietetic Intern
St. Louis VA Medical Center