Service Opportunity

This morning our ward had the opportunity to provide some service at the Bishop's Storehouse. We had been asked to help fill food orders that would be trucked to outlying areas. Neal and I arrived at 8:30 and were put to work with clipboards and bishop's order forms for each family needing help. Our first order was huge but others varied in size from tiny to quite large. We only had one order that needed verification - they had requested "20" sugar and "20" flour. Since it was supposed to be the number of packages, that seemed a little excessive. My best guess would have been that they wanted 20 pounds each of flour and sugar, but someone called the bishop in that ward to verify the numbers and it was adjusted according to his directions.
A lot of people from various wards were there to help fill orders (only 5 from our ward), and everyone worked hard. It wasn't difficult work, but it was physical, and we were tired when we left. There were about 80 orders to be filled today, a slight increase over the usual 60, but one of the men in charge told me that they've had as many as 95 orders in the past. This is the largest storehouse in the state, and they service a big area, so it will take them until late tonight to load all the orders on the trucks. The meat and dairy will be loaded in the morning just before they leave.
I am glad we had that opportunity to provide service. I learned some things about how the Bishop's Storehouse operates, and gained a deeper appreciation for all the organization that is required. Also, to show my age, I can remember when food orders never included bread. Back in the years when my dad was bishop, people needing help were given flour and yeast, and they were expected to bake their own bread - there were no prepared foods on the order form, not even boxes of mac and cheese.
I also learned something new last night at Enrichment. We had speakers from LDS Family Services and LDS Employment - one spoke about our need for balance in our lives, and the other about careers and preparing resumes. Brother Clair had a handout with six images on each page, which were miniatures of slides from a power point presentation. I have presented power points to various groups in the stake, but the handouts have been one slide per page, and his were a much more effecient use of paper. So I inquired and he told me how to set up multiple screens on one page. That was good to know - my next power point training session will have fewer handouts.