A powerful grassroots organization of immigrants and allies that is looking for volunteers to help with their food garage, a valuable service for the population that they serve because, as they put it, "people who contribute the most to food production and food service are facing the most food insecurity, and many of the people who are currently keeping the economy running are excluded from stimulus checks because of immigration status."

Volunteer: Patrick McGovern

How was your volunteer experience been with Semilla Collective?

Great experience - it has been really cool to see the collective grow over time and the work itself is rewarding and impactful. COVID has been a hard time for everyone but the communities Semilla serves have been especially hard hit and are often excluded from many state/federal aid programs so Semilla helps serve as an important backstop to provide much needed support.

What do you do when you volunteer with them?

I've been working with Semilla since about April doing a mix of things including delivering food boxes, packaging food boxes pre-delivery, and driving around bulk supplies in preparation of packaging.

Who do you interact with? (employees? other volunteers? New Haven residents? students?) How have those interactions been?

When packing boxes, there are usually another 5-6 volunteers on-site and it's fun to get to know everyone. Semilla draws from all parts of the community and is a good way to get out of the SOM bubble. When driving, it is a little more solitary but you still get to speak with some of the box recipients and that is also fun albeit briefer.

What have you learned about Semilla since you started volunteering with them?

Semilla is a mutual aid collective so it's been interesting to learn about that concept as I wasn't particularly familiar with it. (Semilla tries to take a mutual aid approach and incorporate the communities it works with in the actual distribution of the food boxes they provide.) It was also interesting to see up close the challenges Semilla has faced as its grown and the creative ways it has overcome some of the issues that accompany scaling an initiative.

Do you plan to continue volunteering with them when they resume volunteer activities next year? Why or why not?

Absolutely. It's been a fun experience and volunteering requires relatively little time to make a real, positive impact. Semilla is also very flexible about scheduling so it's easy to get involved at a level that works with any schedule.

What would you say to other SOM students who are considering volunteering with Semilla Collective?

I would recommend they give it a try for at least a shift or two - it's easy to get involved and they can take a few hours to see how they like it. Semilla is a very welcoming organization and is a great way to help out the local community while meeting new people and learning more about the greater New Haven area.