…I survived my first audit!   WARM’s SFSP (Summer Food Service Program) had its annual review by the Ohio Department of Education this past week.  After much prep work, I am proud to say we passed with flying colors (and no corrective action on our reimbursement claim!).  This is such a relief because implementing a successful and sustainable summer food service site is expensive and difficult.  This experience taught me the importance of organization in running a smooth operation.  My boss, Deb, and I joked about the ideal of touching a piece of paper only one time, but this audit showed me it doesn’t matter how many times I touched something as long as I get the result for which I am hopeful!

Also, recently I had the opportunity to shadow a woman who works in the client services department of WARM.  It was one of Deb and my mutual goals of the summer fellowship to gain an understanding of various positions in the agency, so I was excited to have a day “off” of my normal work to do this!  Sarah has her Master’s in Social Work, the program I am currently in at Ohio State, and so I was especially vested in observing the work she does.  We had a great day of seeing clients who come in to use WARM’s pantry services.  WARM’s client services department is also distributing farmer’s market coupons for families to purchase fresh produce at the nearby Westerville Farmer’s Market.  As a Dietetics major in my undergraduate studies and a firm believer in buying locally, I was delighted to hear about this initiative.  I read about a new program designed to foster partnerships between healthcare providers and farmers markets to measure the impact of increased consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables in underserved communities.  (Read http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2012/07/23/doctors-write-a-prescription-for-produce/?hpt=hp_bn11 for more info. ) Overall, I felt incredibly affirmed in my decision to pursue a career in social work.

The first two focus groups of Kids Lunch Club volunteers were held today.  I am working with an allied health professor from Otterbein University to determine volunteer satisfaction as well as KLC participant satisfaction and possible suggestions to implement next summer.  One area of improvement is creating a webpage with more useful information (currently ours is bare bones only!) for volunteers, participants, and potential donors.  I have never made a webpage before, so I’m anxious to use this as my creative outlet for the next week or so!  I’ll share the link as soon as it’s in working order…

Till then,

Owen