Presenter: Naahdia Mundi, Public Health Science, Global Public Health Scholars
For my practicum project, I decided to work with Shepard's Table located in downtown Silver Spring, MD. During this experience, I had the opportunity to prepare and serve meals for the organization's clients. Here, the clients include anyone who is in need of a meal. The great part of this organization's efforts is that they made sure to provide full, nutritious meals to their clients three times a day. Most of Shepard's Table's clients are those of low-income households or experiencing homelessness. Such economic statuses make it increasingly hard to have access to proper nutrients-- or simply enough food to fill their stomachs on a daily basis. One's diet can have a strong impact on their overall health. Poor diets and nutrition can lead to illnesses such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Shepard's Table's efforts in this community afford their clients access to the nutrition and healthy lifestyle they deserve. My experience working with Shepard's Table allowed me to see the beauty in providing resources to those in my community. It also opened my eyes to see the reality of living in this country with inadequate access to healthy meals. Most importantly, I was able to get to know a lot of people during this experience and gained a lot of insight into the different paths life can take us on.