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Ongoing Act: Serving Lunches at the Senior Center


When I started this endeavor of doing two acts of service each week, I challenged myself to do two things because knew I had my weekly mentoring obligation, which already counts as one. Finding the second thing to do has been harder because I don't want to have to spend time each week doing research, yet I can't commit too strictly to anything because my work schedule needs to stay flexible.

I'm happy to report I've found a great match now! I'm volunteering (almost) every Friday at the San Mateo Senior Center, preparing and serving lunches. I've been there three times now and love it. It's stimulating without being taxing, which is exactly what I need for my day off from work. I arrive at 10:30, help wrap utensil rolls, wipe down the tables, put out the place settings, arrange the condiments, and fill the water and coffee carafes. A caterer delivers the food, we plate it, and then serve it to the seniors who have purchased a lunch ticket for the day. When everyone is served, we get to eat too, and the food is surprisingly good! Afterwards, we clean it all up. Volunteers don't do the dish washing, thank goodness.


It's fun work because of the people who staff the kitchen. Some are employees, and some are volunteers, like me. No one takes themselves too seriously, and everyone seems really open to telling me their life story and wanting to hear mine even though I've just met them. That's my kind of crowd. I can sometimes feel my tendency of wanting to be the best poking through as I make sure my utensil rolls are tightly wrapped and that all the place settings look just so, but I squash that urge right away because it has no use in a place like this. Being useful is what matters, and of course, getting people fed on time!

If you're interested in volunteering for the senior lunch program, they are currently looking for people to volunteer on Mondays and/or Wednesdays. They're also looking for musicians to entertain the lunch crowd if that's more up your alley than being a kitchen assistant. Check out all volunteer opportunities with the City of San Mateo here.

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