Students package oatmeal, cinnamon, and sugar with Harvest Pack.
Choate students packed over 40,000 meals with Harvest Pack.
Students package feminine products at The Diaper Bank.
By Eliana Li ’26
Every year, the Choate community mobilizes on Community Service Day to give back to those around them. In recognition of this year’s Community Service Day on Friday, September 29, the School participated in various service activities related to the theme, “Hungry for Justice.” The focus of the day was to raise awareness of the struggles families face surrounding food insecurity and food injustice.
The day began with a Q&A session involving a panel of experienced leaders serving the local community — Mr. Brad Fleming, Dr. Steve Werlin, Dr. Ivette Ruiz, and Ms. Aubrey Roscoe — who were interviewed by Selam Olson ’24 and Adia Decker ’24.
To kick the panel off, Dr. Werlin, the Executive Director at Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen (DESK), defined food insecurity and what it meant to him, saying, “I think all of us in this room have felt the feeling of being hungry, but being food insecure and having a consistent lack of nutritious and healthy foods is a completely different topic.”
Dr. Ruiz, founder of Healing By Growing Farms, then shared her struggles with food insecurity after having suffered a brain injury. “I don’t wish that upon anyone. It’s a very hard place to be,” Dr. Ruiz said.
She explained how the populations that different organizations tackling food insecurity serve only represent a small sliver of those in need. In her case, being wheelchair-bound and unable to leave her own house, she went days without food. Thankfully, with the help of close family friends, she was able to heal.
Ultimately, her struggles inspired her to create Healing By Growing, which supports trauma survivors through farming sessions and holistic healing activities. The organization also extends aid to anyone who may be experiencing food insecurity without any criteria, including income.
These remarks from the panelists left the Choate community feeling inspired to serve their community the following day. Around 170 students, staff, and faculty participated in a Harvest Pack event in the Worthington Johnson Athletics Center gym. Harvest Pack is a national non-profit addressing food insecurity by mobilizing communities for meal packing events.
In assembly lines, volunteers packaged, weighted, and sealed packets containing 40,000 servings worth of nutrient-rich oatmeal. The boxes of healthy meals were distributed to families across New England, and the oatmeal spilled during the packaging process was donated to Dr. Ruiz’s farm to feed her chickens.
“I would love to see Choate students take away the fact that everybody can make a difference. I hope now that after doing a project like this, the students will see that there is a huge need around them, a huge need that possibly many of us do not even feel or recognize,” said Mr. Fleming, a Partnerships Manager at Harvest Pack.
Other students traveled off campus into the greater New Haven area to volunteer at various sites, such as Connecticut Foodshare, Loaves and Fishes, The Diaper Bank, and DESK.
Kara Wang ’24, who volunteered at Connecticut Foodshare, sorted over 4,000 pounds of produce. She reflected on her day with gratitude and inspiration.
“I think this year’s theme, ‘Hungry for Justice,’ is a really important one and one that is not often recognized at privileged places like Choate,” she said. “I was very inspired by the folks that worked at the Connecticut Foodshare, people who dedicate their lives to help others that are not able to access things that seem to be as abundant as food.”
Due to unexpected weather conditions, there were more than 500 students who were unable to attend their hands-on service activities. Instead, these students gathered in Colony Hall to watch “A Place at the Table,” a documentary illustrating food insecurity in the United States through stories of families who have experienced it firsthand. The documentary highlighted how food insecurity poses serious economic, cultural, and social implications for thousands in the United States.
While Emma Schwerin ’26 could not participate in her original trip to the Massaro Community Farm outdoors, the documentary screening was meaningful to her. “It changed my perspective of how impactful food insecurity is, and it really just informed me more about the problem that is affecting us today,” she said.
“Hungry for Justice” was inspired by the effects of Covid-19 on many families experiencing food insecurity. “We’ve seen so much inequity as a result of the pandemic, and we are at a time in history now where the gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ is the greatest that it’s been in a really long time,” Director of Community Service Ms. Melissa Koomson said.
With this theme in mind, Ms. Koomson hoped to create a space where students could examine and acknowledge their privileges. “Here at Choate, we are in a really cozy environment, with an amazing abundance of food that is offered to us every single day,” she said.
Ultimately, Community Service Day is a chance for the Choate community to come together and serve others through learning, giving, and sharing. “It felt great to be a part of a bigger cause and to connect with my fellow peers doing something for the greater community,” Antonio Giraldez Greco ’25 said.
