As the van turned the corner, I gasped as I seen the crowds of people standing around in ragged clothes and sleeping on the sidewalk. The van turned into the gate and there we were, at Andre House, a local food kitchen for people in need. When I signed up to help, I didn’t expect to see as many people as there were. There were people of all sorts: adolescents, elderly, handicapped; there were also people of all races: Asian, African American, Bosnian, German, the whole bunch.

Once we all washed our hands and got our name tags we began to mop the floors, wipe down the tables and eventually began to prepare the food we would serve. It was burrito night, a favorite of many. Vegetables and fruit were chopped, beans were being cooked and everybody was working together to finish in time for the rush of the crowd. We were all assigned our stations and I rushed to the eating area.

As the clock struck six the crowd came in like a stampede. I was in a hurry to fill cups with ice and water so the individuals could quench their thirst. “Thank you so much, It’s such a kind thing you are doing”, an older man said to me. It warmed my heart to know that somebody appreciated me. I was busy for the next half hour trying to fill enough cups for all of the people coming. They were eager to eat and get something to drink. Their starving stomachs were at the limit. For some of them, it was the first meal they have had all week.

As the crowd began to disperse, there were still a few lingerers who didn’t want to leave and go back into the cold night with its frozen air. As I was staring out into the almost empty room, I realized that some people have it really bad out there and I would try to the best of my capabilities to help people in need. As much as I sometimes hated my life and thought I had it bad, there were people out there who had it worse and some who had it better. It is just how life is and- you are forced to deal with it.