Food Bank

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Food Bank

Anonymous

 

May 16, 2019

Department of Sociology California State University, Fresno

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction

The group analyzed for this research project is a food distribution center.  This group gives people who are less fortunate a chance to receive food. They are located around the town of Fresno in areas that are of easier access to those in need. They give a variety of food. For example, many different canned foods, fresh vegetables and fruits, breads, pasta, beans and many other foods that have a long shelf life. The data collected was obtained by observing the group in their environment. There was different location in which they are located. This group analysis consisted of different themes and concepts. Some of which were the employees' roles, team/teamwork, front stage and back stage, performance, role distance and self. This observation was interesting because I got a chance to see the different interaction the employees have within their work environment. There were some interactions that were similar and duplicate actions within the group.

            At this food distribution center volunteers were interviewed for this research project. This organization is run by mainly volunteers doing majority of the labor work. They are a part of the community that want to help those in need. They hand out a majority of meals that are given to the community as well as preparing them for a distribution site. There were three people interviewed for this project. Which most of them had similar roles given at the job site. The data I collected was by interviewing these interviewees based on sociological concepts. Some of the concepts that I used were teamwork, roles, self, framing, and meaningful action. These concepts were used since I thought they were most related to the job site, since there aren't many different positions to work at the food bank. I wanted to know how each person felt, how they worked, and what they do at their job site. This was interesting to me because I felt like everyone had something similar or they did the same work but in different days or times. I wanted to see how each individual felt working in similar stations.

            The data collected for this content analysis portion of the research involved gathering documents that were involved with the food bank. The collection of documents involved different sources. The different types of sources used were YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. Out of the online sources we transcribed the wording out of the documents and submitted it into NVivo. There were also different concepts used to interpret and separate the documents. The concepts used were diagnosis, prognosis, agency, identity and motivation.

 

Literature Review

Ethnography Summary

The purpose of ethnography research is to interact with people. There are different stages in which the research is discussed. The first stage is the setting and how you get access to a setting. A way into the setting involves a researchers age, gender and appearance. To being with they are part of the presentation of self of the researcher. First impressions are everything when this method involves interaction and talking. If a researcher is able to present them self in a full way their interviews are more likely to proceed. Shadowing is a plus for respondents that are engaged in activities.

            An important issue for a researcher is a development of roles, statuses and relationships. This will allow the researcher to be the alien. Being the alien will allow the researcher to fit in and see who's who. Incorporation allows people to define the researcher, setting them to a particular role or status. They define the researcher based on social, personal and based on the researcher. This shows the embodiment of personal characteristics. A researcher can also be perceived based on who they are interacting with in a setting. Researchers can also spy through informants. Researchers may also go native, this occurs when a fieldworker turn into a member. This can be problematic because the researcher can put the work to the side and now focus personally on the group.

The data in an ethnography research is based on good field notes and how to properly write them. Inscription field notes requires time and organization. Notes can be messy; this chapter gives notes on how to jot down good and very useful fieldnotes. Qualitative research use field notes in their case studies, surveys, documentary and their interview data. Contemporary research also uses field work to background their methods in interviews. Field notes are thickly descriptive. Thick description focusses on context, weather, buildings, time of day and other relevant settings. They should be fully narrative 

 

Interview Summary

            The reason behind interviewing allows the interviewer to get to know the interviewee better. This research is intended to ask the interviewee questions of interesting topics. The oral history approach questions respondents' biographies. These interviews allow the researcher obtain data on aspects of social and personal experience of average people rather than elites. One of the interviews in this chapter is in-depth or intensive interviews. These interviews focus on the meaning of life and experiences of the interviewee. These types of conversations are meant to be a conversation. They can also be recorded once or longitudinal. If an interviewer is interested in behavior and interaction they use the ethnographic method, biography and accounts you'd use the interview method. When you use both methods, you are allowed to contrast the behaviors and what was said. You will need to develop questions beforehand. As well as an IRB agreement. The importance of qualitative interviewing is to have relevant stories of respondents. 

             There is different step for an interview process. The transcriptions, talking, converting the text and the interview. Interviews are way in which the interviewee wants to know what drives an interaction. The way that the interviewer improvises in questions that are back and forth will help influence the interview. Some respondents could give short answers but that is when the interviewer has to put his skills to the test. The interview process allows the interviewer to engage in active listening and questioning. This will help the interviewer to understand the what the respondent is saying. This will flow with truths and stories. The questions sections tell interviewees that there is no right or wrong answer, they are majority open-ended questions. The following step is to transcribe the interview. There are some issues that which are turning the recording into text. Taking down notes will help with transcribing the interview.

 

Content Analysis Summary

Media is also used to seek data for qualitative researchers. This refers to newspapers magazines, videos, films internet, and blog websites. These media outlets are studied in different ways, media can be constructed through ethnography and the cultural meaning of media representation by qualitative analysis. Cultural material used is artifacts that surrounds us, like televisions, computers. Qualitative researchers' study on culture ideas such as gender and how the media represents the body. The way you can use documents for research you are going to need to sample the documents, which you can use random sampling for this. Random sampling can affect your research for the reason that you don't know the context of the documents. Visual research is based on media being represented through words. These images can also be used as prompts for qualitative interviewing known as Photo-elicitation. The way the images are chosen is by the design of the project. Your sampling decision will be based on the subject or setting.

            A good large quantity of thick description, organization skills and interpretive skills are required in qualitative analysis. These analyses are physically and emotionally exhausting. A large amount of data documents is transcribed from images. The process of analysis is detail oriented.  When beginning to collect data, having an idea of what you want to do is a start. Trying to understand analytic description of how and what questions the data is going to answer. This will allow us to see patterns and themes in the data. You will need to become familiar with the data you're using. Open coding will help you identify this analytical patterns and themes, when you reread passages. This help you avoid focusing solely on the same aspects. During interviews it is best to answer based on knowledge of the interview data. When you interact with a participant you are able to relate and keep a health flow of conversation.

 

Symbolic interaction

The main focus of symbolic interaction meaning occurs through human interaction. We are symbol manipulating animals (Scott 2014). We manipulate the way we communicate with each other. There are different ways humans communicate now than they did thousands of years ago. The use of sign language is one-way symbols have evolved. The way people exist has caches the attention of researcher. The human is never isolated, we are always social. We now have social media and technology to keep us in contact with others.  This is where the looking glass self-steps in. Human are self-conscious about what others think about them. Depending on the role one individual has they are more likely to assume the role of the other. There are patterns we use for symbols and interactions with others.

 

Self

The self allows us to understand how the individuals reacts to certain situations. Depending on the situation the individuals' action will be based on the surrounding and the relationship with others. Also, the self-esteem of the individual will affect the feelings and actions towards others. The action of the individual can shift as they are interacting with people. A factor that affects their actions is self-esteem. The individuals' self-esteem affects their feelings towards others as well. The individual's action can shift as they are interacting. The identity and actions are also based on things that happened in the past and present. The experiences you go through allow you to determine on whether you want to act a certain way. Since times are changing so do people, depending on the relationship with others that can place the self in a certain situation this allows the individual to keep changing their actions. The self is a social process. Actions toward the self are similar to language and symbols. Sometimes you are internally conscious of your surrounding and what is occurring internally. An example of being internally conscious is a stomach growl, the sign of being hungry. Depending on the surrounding you find yourself in, you are thinking about people around you possibly heard your stomach growl. You question yourself, was it loud, they are going to know I haven't eaten. These are ways you evaluate a situation.

Language is a social structure. This gives the self to be able to communicate with others based on their perspective. Allowing us to assume and respond to a person based on what we see. The role you see around you will create certain imagines you need in order to know how to act. The community you can become a part of once you know who you are, you have unified with the social structure. These roles of others get taken in by self through the outside. Some examples are social experiences or relationships

The dramatic self is based on different situations. When we talk to people we act out what we are going to say. We communicate through our feelings and beliefs of the situations. In order to avoid over acting we tend to act and talk in certain ways. Personal fronts express our everyday interactions. The first is the setting, the physical place. The second is appearance, this includes items that can identify a person like clothing and hairstyle. The third is manner, this shows the behavior, and mood an individual has.

 

Looking glass self

The looking glass self is a concept by Charles Horton Cooley. This concept is the understanding that show oneself the idea of the perception others (Dunn, Levine and Hogg 2010). The author mentions how Cooley describes different components of the looking glass self. The components are the imagination of appearance, judgement, and self-feeling. These components are what goes through a person's mind as they are thinking about themselves through others. This concept shows how people depend on others and they are constantly wanting to fit in with the surrounding environment. The character of the person changes with influenced events. Cooley gives examples of how children also are affected by the looking glass self. Children are shown sympathy through family members. This helps them shape their image. Through the help of their primary family they are helped to mature. Growing up kids begin to take ownership of items. Appropriation helps kids control things like their bodies (Dunn et al. 2010). Another example is children using their self to attract attention, making it their social power. Children see others reacting to them, this helps the child understand others reaction, beginning the observation of self. The idea that we create of ourselves through others eye begins at a young age. Trying to fit in with others is a way of interacting. People exaggerate on how they think about themselves.

Developing identity is influenced by the looking glass self. The situation of different emotions can express the influence and interaction of the individual. Social institutions affect emotions (Dunn et al. 2010). Emotions are always involved, there are two different kinds of empathy, cognitive and emotional (Dunn et al. 2010).

 

Team and Team work

In the article Enacting team and teamwork author Simone Lewin and Scott Reeves mention the different number of challenges faced in a professional setting starting with teams and teamwork. Hierarchies and socialization occur within teamwork. The employees are faced with not being able to collaboratively work (Lewin and Reeves 2011). The authors' focus is on verbal accounts of practices and how team work between professionals is organized. They also focus on how these employees present themselves when working using front stage and backstage concepts. Impression management is used with in these working conditions. People use gestures to reinforce a desired self (Lewin et al. 2011). Goffman demonstrated equal rights during the backstage. Making this stage informal allowing them to relax before, being able to prepare for work. The front stage is where they prepare to present. During the backstage employees talk informal between each other. They can speak straightforward about issues. Talking in front stage speak professionally and knows what to tell the patients without scaring them or telling them in a scary manner. While examining a hospital setting both backstage and front stage came to the light. They were not sure if the stages were done for a particular purpose or planned. Interactions were less planned in front stage. They did seem to show teamwork in front of patients making it seem more professional.

 

Roles

Everyone is placed in a role. Wondering if that the person next to you in line at the grocery stores role is a serial killer. These thoughts are placing a person in categories. Based on a person looks their roles can be assumed, everyone with the same characteristics will be too. These roles we think about make us expect the same behaviors of a situation. Roles formulate our behavior mentally so that we can fit our action to that of others (Sandstrom, Martin and Fine). This allows us to behave a certain way around others. There are roles that are related to other roles, without no students there are no professors (Sandstrom et al.). Every role has its partner. Role taking allows us to engage in the roles that are linked. Based on the behavior we assume the others' roles. We focus on the other person's actions and plans in order to see what their role has in stock for our role (Sandstrom et al.). Role making allows us to change and make elements of our role to negotiate with others' roles. Another way to negotiate roles is Improvising your roles in order to have performances that fit with the others. This provides us with guidelines organizing our performance. Some roles have expectations, but we need to have a line of action in order to make decisions (Sandstrom et al.).  We must be conscious of our role, you can fix your role to the demand of a situation and expectations of others. Your role is who you are and if you need to adopt to an environment it would be best in order to exceed an expectation.

 

Framing

Framing is a way claims are constructed, locating the key issues in social movements. There are different social movements that they frame like morality, emotions, norms, ideologies and political philosophy (Joel Best). Framing allows you to see struggles through different perspectives. There are three components in frames, diagnostics, motivational and prognostic. Diagnostic frames identify the problem. Motivational frames explain why action has to be done. And prognostic frames state what needs to be done (Joel Best) With social movements activist need to bring in new members, where they need to frame issues in order to real them in. Aligning the frames will allow them to recruit. Bridging frame helps activist enlist people who have a similar cause. This allows them to connect and bringing similar ideas in the center of them both. Frame amplification links people with their values and beliefs. This helps trigger emotional reactions obligating them to join. Frame extension allows activist to include the other person's cause. Being able to reason with their cause makes it more likely for them to join. Frame transportation allows you to adopt a different frame, allowing supporters to view things in a different way. Sometimes there are activist from the same movement who have different thoughts, the risk they take in whether saying what they believe or what is viewed as the issues. these terms are way they persuade people to join. Sometimes it becomes difficult to interest someone in a social movement.

 

Front stage and Back Stage

Impression managements is an experience we all face when looking for a career and trying to impress others. Dillion mentions the stages of a waitress. While working in a restaurant you are required to act friendly in order to impress the guest. The friendliness of the waitress is being taken advantage of from the owner (Dillon 2014). The owner benefits from their employees by having customers come back. Her friendliness in front of her customer is an example of front stage. She is engaging in a certain behavior in the presence of her audience (Dillon 2014). Before work the waitress is relaxing, typically getting ready to engage in the front stage behavior.  The use of front and back stage exists for the role of a primary audience (Dillon 2014). During these stages, there are barriers to perception (Dillon 2014). The barriers allow the front and backstage to be separate and allow the person to act comfortably in each stage. Without the barrier, the audience would be able to see what occurs during the one of these stages, noticing the change of character.

 

Methods

Ethnography Methods

 There were four different location in which data was collected. The first observation took place at the warehouse of the distribution center on May 25, 2019. The location was in what looked like the outskirts of town. To enter into the distribution, you had to step into the office and check in. I was an actual volunteer in this observation. Inside of the warehouse was filled with thousands of canned goods stacked on large shelves. The workers were places on a safe corner where there wasn't anything over their heads. All workers were adults that volunteered to help. The observation took about an hour. It consisted of observing four out of all the individuals there. I used my earphones to transcribe what I was looking at into my phone. The first individual observed was my partner, labeling cans. The second was and older lady that gave a lot of demands. The third was a woman that seemed to help and be there for the employees guiding them. The final employee was a man that was just standing there and wasn't doing much work. This data was interesting to look at since I had the chance to document the work of different roles and statuses.

The next observation took place at a church near the West side of Fresno on March 29, 2019. The environment in which this took place was on the parking lots of the church. There were tents that covered the employees meanwhile they worked. Under the tents were also the food and some canned food. This prevented some of the food from becoming warm. There was about six people helping out, handing out the food. There was a male and two females who are of the White race. There was one woman who seemed Hispanic. And there was a black male and female. Everyone who helped out with the food bank were all older. They seemed to be older than 40. The women all had long hair and were wearing aprons. Two women took charge of the check in table. The men were seen carrying the heavy goods.

The final observations took place on April 2, 2019 near streets Shaw/Woodrow and Palm/Herndon. These observations took place outside on the street, near traffic and shopping centers. The participants of this group were all college students, some adults and the event coordinator. There were at least eleven people divided into the four corners of the street. On the street located by the apartments there were four students, on the parking lot corner there were three, rec center had two and the Starbucks corner had two. There were three participants. The first participant was a woman with short hair. She seemed to be a middle age Caucasian woman. She was wearing something light since it was kind of warm. The second was a man that was standing in the middle of the street. He was also Caucasian, he was wearing slacks a long sleeve and a vest of the food distribution center. The third was a male, he was a DJ from a radio station. There were a few concepts that were incorporated into this study, frontstage/backstage, roles, statuses, role distance, and team/teamwork. These concepts allowed me to analyze the workers during their work hours. I used NVivo to complete codes for this data. Each specific movement of my observation was coded into the different concepts. All of the codes are arranges based on the concepts.

 

The picture above is a word cloud that helps the readers see the set of words tat were majority used throughout the observation. The most used words for this observation are seen larger than the rest. The first letter that is the largest is cans. This is perfect since the organization is ran by the distribution of canned food. Without the food there wouldn't be any organization. The following is people, women and street. Majority of the observations had women employees, as well as the locations near the street. 

 

Interview Methods

            There were three different data sets in which I collected that were distributed throughout a period of three days. The first was an interview that was taken place at one of the interviewee's home. This took place on April 22, 2019. Since it was my first interview I was really nervous. This interview took about 20 minutes. I used my phones voice memos to record the interview. I placed the phone as close to her as I could, so it can catch every single word she says. The next interview was with another volunteer and it took place outside a church in the parking lot which lasted about 15 minutes on April 24, 2019. It was quick and easy. It was not noisy so that was a plus. I also recorded the interview off my phone. As well as my last interview that was also taken at the volunteer's home with 12 minutes on April 27, 2019. It was easier to interview at their home since it was a quiet area. When I interviewed I tried to stay on topic about the questions I was going to ask based on sociological concepts. The questions I asked were for example based on their roles, team work, self and framing. I transcribed all my interviews on Temi. Which is a transcribing website. Following the interview transcriptions, I used NVivo to run nodes based on my concepts. NVivo allowed me to see the most used word in my interviews, and a word cloud that does the same. It helped to code the data easily.

 

The picture above shows the most common words used in one of the interviews ran through a word frequency on NVivo. With Food being mentioned twenty-three-times, people eighteen, and community 12. The image allows us to see the most frequent words for concepts, framing, meaningful action, roles, self, and team work.

The picture above shows the most common words used in the second part of the interviews ran through a word frequency on NVivo. With people being mentioned thirty-eight-times, feel twenty-two, and help nineteen. The image allows us to see the most frequent words for concepts, framing, meaningful action, roles, self, and team work.

The picture above shows the most common words used the third part of the interviews ran through a word frequency on NVivo. With people twenty-one, need 10 and help nine times. The image allows us to see the most frequent words for concepts, framing, meaningful action, roles, self, and team work.

 

Content Analysis Methods

            The data was collected from three different sources. The first source was YouTube. While searching for data on YouTube I tried to focus on videos related only to the foodbank organization. Majority of videos that were taken were mainly from news sources or schools who have volunteer and documented. Getting information on the this first source was quite simple. There were accessible buttons which allowed me to transcribe the entire video. The following source was Facebook. There were flyers on Facebook that were needed to be transcribed. With the transcripts, comments, likes and reposted needed to be added. To transcribe the flyer the entire document needed to be hand typed. This was the easiest way and fasted way to turn it into a word document. The final source was twitter. Transcribing documents were similar to Facebook. We needed to add all the comments, likes, and retweets. This will allow us to see the reaction and thought of the public. All three sources were split into different nodes on NVivo. The first was concept was prognosis which refers to the outcome of the situation, diagnosis refers to the problem in the organization, motivation is the values, identity refers to the actual organization, their character, and how do they win over. Finally, the last concept is agency which refers to the success of the group and their empowerment. NVivo was used to code the document into each concept. Out of NVivo we also added a word cloud that allows us to see the most frequent used words.

The word cloud above uses the five nodes' top words used in the transcription. The word frequency most common work was food, community, hunger and need. The word Food was counted 112 with a percentage of 4.26, community was counted 44 with a percentage of 1.6% and hunger 36 times with a 1.37 percentage.

 

Analysis

Ethnography Analysis

Thick Description

Thick Description is shown in these observations. The different participants and environment mentioned give us a glimpse of being there. The first concept thick description is offered in the first quote. This quote mentions all the detail when entering the location. When I entered the gates, I described it as I was driving to station my car and as I walked out of it to my destination. All what is described is what's behind the church.

Reference 6 - 10.76% Coverage

The observation took place at a Christian Church near the west side of Fresno. Once entering the neighborhood of the church there were a lot of liquor stores around it and many homes. The entrance of the church consisted of a black gate that sealed the entire back entrance to the church. The church was light blueish grey. There was a playground in the back of the church. Next to the playground there were two large glass doors with a cross, to which I assumed was where mass took place. Merged next to these glass doors are small class rooms. There were about ten class rooms that made an L shape around the church. Each class room had a white door and a window. The entrance to these classrooms were also gated. In front of these buildings is a large parking lot. There is special parking for seniors, there were no signs of a handicap parking spot.

 

Detail shows how these people weren't doing much to participate with the rest of their peers. Even though they were volunteers they should be doing their part for the organization. With workers like them time would pass them really slow.

Reference 2 - 2.26%

Coverage The people in the corner of Starbucks were seated and stood by the shade most of the time. Neither of them got closer to the street to shake their signs. They were mostly talking between them. I moved on to the students that were on the corner of the apartments and the students were more interactive.

 

The variation of workers amazed me. There were kids, adults, parent, student, and faculty working the streets for the organization. They were all doing their part, on their own way to get the job done. Observing them was easy but difficult since majority had similar actions.

 

Reference 1 - 5.75% Coverage

The participants of this group were all college students, some adults and the event coordinator. There were at least eleven people divided into the four corners of the street. On the street located by the apartments there were four students, on the parking lot corner there were three, rec center had two and the Starbucks corner had two.

 

Roles

The employee that I was observing at the warehouse was doing his part of the job. His job labeling was done extremely great as if he were getting paid. He didn't work at his pace, he was working pretty fast. His role labeling almost resembled a robot.

 

Reference 4 - 2.92% Coverage

He seemed to have a slight amount of OCD. When we began to work he would examine the can, twist it around and grab a label and place it to the side. He would do about five cans at a time since that was what he would be able to carry without them dropping and damaging the cans. When he moved over to placing them in the binds of damaged cans he would drop them in and return to our station

 

These women who were on the station that was handing out the bread were nice and polite. They were polite enough to remove the bread out of the sun. They could left the bread in the sun and gave it away like that. But their role as employee was outstanding they knew what was best for the consumer. They knew that if the bread was left long enough in the sun it would quickly rot.

Reference 3 - 1.10% Coverage

The women in the station of the bread are seen moving the small amount of bread that the sun was hitting to the side of the table that had shade

 

The DJ I observed at one of the locations abided by his role. DJ don't normally do much but play music and hype people up. Since there wasn't much of an audience, he tried. He still had music playing and would speak into the microphone to anyone who passes by or drove by.

 

Reference 2 - 2.16% Coverage

 Once his music started he backed up and leaned into a backpack and pulled out a disc. Placed it and soon started speaking into the microphone for people to donate. He spoke for less than 30 sec and then went back to sitting down. Every couple minute he would shout again in his microphone.

 

Frontstage/Backstage

The check in and bread area ladies were relaxing before the line started up again. This is part of backstage since they were getting ready before their audience showed up. They were stretching and drinking water before the line got larger. This helped them save some energy.

 Reference 3 - 4.57% Coverage

The line got shorter you can see the women in the check-in starting to start a conversation. They kept looking at each other while the customers were standing in front of them. They laughed and smiled. The women in the bread section were talking and so were the men. The men were leaning on the boxes, waiting for people. When the line got even more shorter the employees seemed to take a small break. They got up started walking and stretching. The men were drinking water. The women at the check in already had water on the table. There were foldable chairs in the back and they sat while the line finish

 

The concept of front stage demonstrated how this gentleman presented himself in front of this audience. It takes a lot of guts to scream and shout in front of strangers. He did this with a smile with his face, receiving honks and waves. He really impressed us all.

Reference 1 - 2.01% Coverage

 He was shaking his sign and shouting everyone that they should donate. He walked up and down the island, waving his sign. He would stop every few stems and keep waving it. When he is about in the middle of the island he got a couple honks. He waved at them and smile

 

The older women under the tent showed us how she prepares for her position. Taking a break and hydrating herself if a great way to prepare for her audience. While she's on her phone she let time fly by quickly, when she's in front of the audience she isn't on her phone. She gives herself that barrier, so people can see her motivation for this organization.

Reference 1 - 5.53% Coverage

Once what seemed to be like if her hand got tired she would go back into the tent under the shade. She took a sip of water. And returned to waving the sign. Majority of her time was spent under the tent. She sat down and took a break. On her little break she was on her phone. She stayed on her phone for about ten minutes, giggling and laughing. When she stood up she looked at the dj next to her and smiled. And began to wave again. The person next to her was a DJ he was absent for the first 5 min of my observation. When he got there, he was on his phone for like 5 min. He put his phone in his pockets and moved on to his laptop. When he was on his lap top he put set of headphones on his neck. A minute later he began to play music

 

Teamwork

As the items increased in weight both men worked together to pick up the heavy bags. They would both take a small break meanwhile the lines got shorter. This is a great example of teamwork because if one were to be doing all the work, he would've gotten tired quicker or injured from the weight of the bags. Taking turns helped one another.

Reference 2 - 3.27% Coverage

They now moved on to where the men were, they were handing out to what seemed heavier items. The items were in a bag and were all piled in large cardboard box. The showed a little struggle to pick up the bags. I assumed they had canned goods. The bags were knotted at the top. They gave the customers each a bag and went on with their day. While they waited for the next set of people to come by them stood near the shade under the ten

 

When one worker placed the items down, the other would take his time and organize them. Without one organizing them, less items would fit in the box. He insisted to fix them so by helping him out to properly dropping them, would make his job easier.

Reference 3 - 1.17%

Coverage When I dropped my cans, I noticed he would place the cans in a spiral design. He would fill up one level and begin with the next level in the spiral motion

 

They were making a great team passing the cans to each other. This showed team work because if everyone were to be tossing the cans in to the bine it would have been chaos. Each one had their own job and passed it on to the other in order to scan more can in a fast and convenient way.

Reference 7 - 2.80%

Coverage He would then toss them over to the large bins that are full of good cans. The bad cans that the lady would find that weren't good he would then place them in a bin that was labeled DAMAGED cans. His job didn't really require much work. He was just standing beside the table placed the cans in good or bad bins. Other than that, he would just stand there and look around.

 

Performance

This female with dark hair performed greatly as she got everyone's attention. She was dancing and screaming. She even found her technique for the cars to hear and see her. This way she can show everyone that the organization wanted donations.

Reference 1 - 2.56%

Coverage A female with dark hair waved her sign over her head and yelled as loud as you cold, DONATE! She was the first that caught my attention. She was dancing and moving around a lot. She would get close to the street once she saw the light turn red and the cars coming her way and once they were all stopped in front of her she would begin to shout.

 

She was performing her role at the check in. She needed to smile and thank them in order for them to know she completed their check in and needed to proceed. Without the smile they would've thought she wasn't in the mood for work and had a bad day.

Reference 2 - 1.93% Coverage

Once the person was done signing in and was ready to help the next person in line she thanked them and smiled. The lady with the list asked for the person's name and looked down at her list. Once she checked them in she smiled and directed them to the food.

 

I performed the duties assigned to me. They needed to be done the way they asked if not they would be sending product that wasn't sanitary. This allowed me to perform the way that they asked accordingly.

Reference 3 - 1.85% Coverage

When I entered the building, I was assigned working labeling cans. I would check the and to see if they had any damages. The damage to look for were dents, rust and if the seal is broken. I observed on of the short workers that was working with me.

 

Interview Analysis

 Framing

            The first nodes created for the concept framing which were combined in NVivo. Framing allows someone to see the struggle through different perspective. It explains why action has to be done and needs to be done. This allows people to link with their values and beliefs. The first question asked in one interview was what motivates them. And they mention their desire to help others. This followed with people appreciate what they are given. And the interview mentioned how they should, and she reflected on how she was once helped by the food bank.

 

Reference 1 - 5.03% Coverage

MMM, just helping others and pretty much having that feeling that you've helped others or by the work you do, you're helping somebody else, another family.

Um, I would say the, they do appreciate it because at one point my family would go to the food bank and we appreciated that. So that's why I would volunteer at the food bank since I know what it's like on the other side.

 

 The next interview asked what the interview thinks about the community being responsible for those in need. Here she sees the struggle, if you have more than you need, give it away. You shouldn't let it go to waste, simply because you don't need it. There is always someone that need something you have more than you actually do.

 

Reference 3 - 5.20% Coverage

Because we need to help each other out and if we have more, if we could give them more, then that's good. If it's something that we don't need or we have extra, then might as well give it to someone that needs it and not just throw it away or keep it ourselves.

 

In This quote the interviewee was asked if there was something they can do to help those in need what will it be. And she mentioned how if she had the money she would give it to organizations that help those in need. Places where needs being is where she will start, to help fund some mental and counseling services in order to help someone in need get back on their feet.

 

Reference 4 - 3.93% Coverage

If there's something I could do that how out the homeless? Yeah. I think I would not just donate, but I would, if I had like the money, I would fund a lot more, um, shelters and counseling, like mental health services because I feel like that's a big issue and maybe why a lot of people end up, you know, homeless or on the streets. It can be because of their mental health issues or addiction. So I would help fund more programs that would help people, you know, get healthy mentally and, um, get sober and, um, and then help them get employed in the organization that you think you do.

 

Self     

The following concept was self which helps us understand how individuals react to certain situations, their surroundings, relationships and feelings towards others. Depending on the experience a person goes through that will determine whether you want to act a certain way. In this quote I asked two questions that reflected on her help from the food bank. Mentioned was if she didn't receive help would she even volunteer at the food bank. This changes the way a person acts towards these types of organizations. Luckily, she was willing to give back and help those who helped her.

 

Reference 4 - 6.20% Coverage

Do you know how long you've gotten help from the Food Bank?

Like when we were younger, everybody means? Yeah. Or whatever you, we use the [inaudible]. Uh, probably like a little over a year. We, I fell, family went and got the help from the food bank.

 Do you think that if you didn't get food from the food bank you wouldn't volunteer or would you still want to volunteer?

MMM, to be honest, I wouldn't have, cause I wouldn't have seen how much the food bank helps the community and families in general and just people. So if it wasn't for them, US going, I don't think I would have tried volunteering.

 

This quote asked what influences shaped who you are and the interviewee mentioned the was she was raised. In her household she was shown to help others and to always give back and never take anything for granted. The experience she went through allowed her to give back through the food bank. To give those in need a meal.

 

Reference 4 - 3.81% Coverage

So, what are some major influences that helped shaped who you are?

Hmm. I think it's mostly the way I was raised to help others. You know we want to give back. Yes. In the sense that mm, we shouldn't, we shouldn't take, we shouldn't take anything for granted.

 

In this quote I asked how a person feels. Due to the location she is at, does she feel intimidated. And she mentioned how she does when there are people of power and high education. She's supposed to act in a professional manner and puts all her emotions to the side. Since she is experiencing a professional setting she should act professionally as well.

 

Reference 3 - 3.88% Coverage

Um, if I feel intimidated, I have felt intimidated, like at conferences with they have to network, um, because going as an intern, it's a, it's a good way to learn, meet people, network. But it was, it's still intimidating when people already know each other, and they've been, they have like their doctorate decree and, and they'd been going to conferences and doing really amazing things in the workforce. So, it is very intimidating. And I get a little shy, which is, it's weird because I'm not supposed to, I'm an intern, so I'm there to learn, but it just, I just can't help it.

 

Roles

The third node I coded with NVivo was roles. Roles are duties and obligations associated with a particular setting.  For the interviews conducted I wanted to know each person's roles in the organization. This allowed me to differentiate each different station at the organization. I asked what their responsibility were. The first quote mentioned how she sorts out cans is what she does and checking to see if the can is still good in order to add an additional date to the one that already is on the can.

Reference 2 - 4.03% Coverage

or maybe what is your responsibility in the organization?

 Um, well at the food bank I would sort out cans that were brought in or that were already there and I sort them out him out to see which ones are expired or not. And I try to, um, and I'd be the one I'm putting in the, what's it called, the expiration date on it. Having a more visible for people to see it. So it was pretty much it.

 

The following quote I asked if the interviewee has responsibilities she enjoys more than others. She mentioned how she prefers to work volunteering than at a physical job where you are forced to help others with great service. She like the volunteer setting since everyone is more cheerful and happy. This allows her to like her role as well.

 

Reference 2 - 5.80% Coverage

Is there some responsibilities that you enjoy more than others?

Yes. I liked helping people more than then actually having to work in the like in a physical job where you're like demanded to like give good customer service. When the blue bag, I feel like everybody's just so cheerful and so excited and it's more of a better energy, good vibes everybody. Making jokes and getting along.

 

The final quote for roles the interviewee mentions how she was inputting data for the organization. This was more of an office job and she mentioned how she can take the work home. Other times that she has volunteer she also had to sort out cans and label to cans at the warehouse. Showing that majority of volunteers might have gone through similar roles.

 

Reference 3 - 3.31% Coverage

Yes. So, I know you can work with data also. Like I'm inputting information into their computer, like people's, like data, like address people's address, um, their age and stuff like that. And then there's also like at the warehouse, I know that they also have like volunteers to drive tractors and moved things around. So really there are different roles, but might make the might, the ones that I bullied done or like labeling and then I'm passing out food and then, um, uh, separating cans.

 

Meaningful Action

These quotes used meaningful action as a node on NVivo. The concept meaningful action allows someone to choose how they react to others and how to act themselves. It is the act that considers the actions and reactions of individuals. The first quote used from the interview asked how they interact with people who enter. She mentioned how they want the people to feel welcomed, making the person feel uncomfortable can intimidate those receiving from the organization. She mentioned how you have to have good customer service, if you were to show bad service they probably would have to change location.

 

Reference 2 - 5.38% Coverage

 How do you interact with people who come in?

 Um, well you, we need to welcome them with open arms and make them feel like they should make them feel comfortable because if not, you'd make them like shy and not come back type things. So just welcoming say things that if you were to be more welcoming more people work or come get some of the service.

Well yeah cause I feel like if the approach, if they're approached not welcoming, people are going to be like, oh I'm never coming back. Like they were rude or whatever.

 

The second quote for meaningful action mentions giving away things needed other than food. The people might react to it differently but might enjoy from the new product like she mentioned feminine products.

 

Reference 2 - 7.44% Coverage

I think we should have more of the, um, stuff we collide, like, um, feminine products, canned food or clothing. We should have it in most interesting, like a box distributed in almost all stores so people could just drop off there instead of having like an annual drive or where we co when we collect items, I could have a lot in different stores and be collecting them now where people could see that people are in need. And that's not just a onetime thing. It's like every day, every year. Like

 

The third quote for mentioned how they enjoy working at the food bank. And they mentioned wanting to give back to the families in need. And it's an easy way to volunteer. She like the reactions given by families and she knows she's making a change.

Reference 1 - 2.74% Coverage

How do you like working at the Food Bank?

 I like it. It's, it's a nice way to give back to the community and to help families in need. Yeah, I think, um, I like being there cause it's easy way to volunteer. And when I see the family come for the food, you know, it makes me feel like I'm helping now and making a difference whether it's, you know, as simple as sorting cans or handing out the bags of Food.

 

Team Work

The final concept used for this interview was teamwork. Teamwork allows a group to professionally be organized in large numbers of people. Also, how employees are presented before and during work, this allows them to relax before a job and work hard during the job. The first quote presented asked if they ever work alone or in teams. The interviewee mentioned how the foodbank is all about teamwork and there is times you work alone.

 

Reference 1 - 3.76% Coverage

Do you ever see teamwork and walk?Um, but the food bank, yeah. I feel like the food banks all about teamwork. When, I mean sometimes you do individual work but at same time you do it. It's all for a purpose. So, it's you package the whole package for that family or families. So it's all teamwork. Everything everyone does is for like a team type of work. So yeah.

 

The second quote also asked the same question. And also answer majority of the work is done in groups. Working together to finish a task allows them to complete it quicker, she compared it to an assembly line.

 

Reference 1 - 3.84% Coverage

Do you ever work alone or in teams?

 Mostly it's a team.

What do you do as a team?

We try to finish the task that was assigned to us. Um, and the faster setting. Like when we hand out, um, meals, um, we tried to work like in a sentence assembly line.

 

The final quote the interviewee mentioned how the job site is cohesive when there is a large group. She thinks that working in a teamwork environment the job will be done better. This will allow them to get through the lines of family quicker. And if she ever needs help with items that are of large weight, there is someone always willing to help her.

 

Reference 1 - 3.35% Coverage

Yes, I think, I think it's more of a close, cohesive, like, especially if we're at a location and there's a lot of people going to get food, like a makes the working environment better because, you know, we're, we're, um, um, making sure that like, the families don't stay long. They're like, have to wait forever. Um, but yeah, it makes the time go by faster and we can help each other out. Like if I'm have to lift a box, um, they'll help me and I don't feel bad and asking for that for like help.

 

Content Analysis

Agency

            The first node created was Agency. This concept refers to success of a group or their empowerment. The following quotes show how the organization was constructed based on agency. The first quote below mentions how a group of Fresno State has helped partner up with the food bank. This gives the recipients of the food banks' children backpacks. In those backpacks the faculty added meaningful and inspirational messages to the backpacks. This relates to agency because they are slowly giving children a hope. Those meaningful messages my not be said by parents or guardians, so this give the children something to look forward too.

 

Reference 1 - 1.42% Coverage

we have the faculty staff and administrators from the Kremen School of Education and human development and they are here to prepare backpacks for the central California Food Bank program and also, we're adding some inspirational messages to our children in the valley we came here today to serve the community while also giving us an opportunity to build our team together

 

The second quote mentions how the food bank has successfully became a member of Americas largest network of foodbanks. They are proud of having a good connection with local growers for the valley. With their help they are able to donate a dollar that is then equal to eight dollars' worth of food.

 

Reference 8 - 2.37% Coverage

through Food Bank's unique relationships and vast network of food growers distributors and retailers a one dollar donation buys eight dollars' worth of food or seven meals to be served to hungry families plus a full ninety six percent of donations go directly to individuals and families in need Food Bank is also a proud member of feeding America the nation's largest network of food banks the organization provides rigorous standards and accountability for food handling safety and product tracking so you can be sure that your donations are being distributed safely and efficiently the Central Valley

 

The third quote mentions how with the help of donations you are able gratefully restock the shelves of the Food Bank. Partnering up with a store you are able to buy one and give one. So neither you or those in need are left out.

 

Reference 3 - 3.33% Coverage

It's that time of year when we are running low on donations. Save Mart's annual Peanut Butter Roundup aims to help re-stock local food bank shelves with peanut butter donations. From May 1st – 14th, shoppers will be offered a Buy One/Give One promotion on select varieties of Jiff peanut butter. Every time you buy one, you get another one of the same brands free to donate! Visit your neighborhood Save Mart store and help us nourish our community! The Peanut Butter Roundup is meant to raise awareness of the struggles many families experience during the summer break when their kids do not have access to school meals. Peanut Butter makes for a perfect donation because it's high in protein, shelf-stable and kids enjoy it! One in four kids goes to bed hungry in CA and that number increases when school is out for the summer, causing kids to lose access to school meals.

 

Identity

The second concept used during this research was identity. This concept refers to the organization itself, and their culture. We can see how this group works with social norms and different behaviors. The quotes mention the different programs and actions the food bank is doing. The first quote refers to how the backpack program help with the nutrition of children. This kids sometimes don't have food for the weekend when they are out of school and the food bank wants to solve this problem with the backpacks.

 

Reference 1 - 2.64% Coverage

central California operates a backpack program it's a child nutrition program where we work with 13 schools and 1,200 kids these 1200 kids are the most at risk of not having any food to eat over the weekend and so they get a backpack full of food for them and their families so they can come back Monday ready to learn we have the faculty staff and administrators from the Kremen School of Education and human development and they are here to prepare backpacks for the central California Food Bank program and also we're adding some inspirational messages to our children in the valley we came here today to serve the community while also giving us an opportunity to build our team together

 

The second quote mentions how some families have trouble getting through financially and having enough to eat, month to month. Different organization have partnered up with the food bank to help this crisis.

 

Reference 3 - 2.27% Coverage

our population many of these families are not going to make it month to month without snap representative Casas who represents Fresno is a great leader for us a great champion on issues of hunger and snap and is also a member of the conference committee which is working to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate versions of the farm bill right now and is a prominent leader on the House Agriculture Committee I have the honor and privilege to represent the people of the 16th congressional district and every day we have an opportunity to help people and you do it at your level

 

The final quote mentions how the Chief of the food bank has shown an impact of the government shutdown. This shut down is affecting the nation and the hunger problems. This will cause a dent in the amount of meals that are given out to the families.

 

Reference 4 - 0.89% Coverage

Kym Dildine, Chief Administrative Officer for the Central California Food Bank, talks about how the food bank is preparing for possible cuts to the nation's hunger programs should the federal government shutdown continue into March.

 

Diagnosis

The third concept refers to the problem of the organization. There are some issues that can be seen from the outsider view. A large majority of Fresno County needs food. Hunger is a huge issue worldwide as well. The first quote mentions how the food bank provides food for the locals. Even though this is an agriculture community the need for food is still crucial.

 

Reference 1 - 1.43% Coverage

Foodbank is a local nonprofit that provides food for those who are hungry in Fresno Madera Kings Kern and Tulare counties it may come as a surprise to you that although we live in the agricultural mecca of our nation one in four people in our community are hungry that is why we partner with over 220 local organizations to distribute food across Central California

 

The second quote mentions how clients are being affected by the government shutdown. Both those who donate and those who receive. The need for food is now affecting those who have a good position at a job with the government and isn't only those with low income.

 

Reference 3 - 1.09% Coverage

central California Food Bank and the clients we serve are being directly impacted by the government shutdown just yesterday received our first call from a donor who apologetically had to cancel their monthly recurring donation because they couldn't support their family and the Food Bank

 

Similar to the quote above. This quote also mentions Fresno being an agriculture community. Even though it is an agriculture community those who work in that community sometimes cannot afford the product they are working with, becoming alienated. The problem with hunger is affecting those around the neighborhood.

 

Reference 10 - 1.44% Coverage

Central Valley is one of the most abundant agricultural regions in the world producing a wealth nutritious fruits and vegetables, yet thousands of people are going hungry right here at our doorstep as members of this community we have a shared responsibility to address the serious problem food bank needs individuals and organizations to get involved and to support and

Motivation

The fourth quote of this research is motivation. This concept refers to the values of the organization. They are extremely humbled, when asking for donations they don't expect a certain amount. Since there is an increase of huger between students, they ask the community for their donations.

Reference 5 - 0.85% Coverage

We see a huge increase in the need for food as students are on break and cannot rely on free and reduced meals at school. We need your help to meet these demands and keep our programs flourishing. No donation is too small.

 

The following quote mentions their humbleness as well. The mention how there should be a time limit for hunger. The fight for hunger end here in order to everyone to have enough food to eat. They are a start in being able to feed every single individual.

Reference 7 - 0.78% Coverage

Food for the hungry shouldn't have a time limit. California's anti-hunger community stands in opposition to the proposed rule that would worsen hunger & hardship for thousands of the poorest Californians.

 

The backpack program is a way to give children a meal outside of home. There is also a truck on wheels that helps them with nutrition by a nutrition. They are informed with ways to eat healthier. This is a way that the food bank is growing with the community. They are engaging in educational resources for those in need.

Reference 8 - 1.53% Coverage

the backpack program which sends kids home from school on the weekends with healthy and nutritious food for themselves and their families and now the nutrition on wheels program this special truck is equipped with a stove oven refrigerator and a nutritionist onboard our mobile kitchen allows us to not only talk about eating healthy but to also show people how to cook healthy and sample the food

 

Prognosis

The final quote is prognosis which refers to the outcome of the situation. The sources mention how the future of students begins with food. They are going to be the leaders of tomorrow. And it is important to begin with whether the have a good meal or not.

Reference 3 - 1.42% Coverage

the importance of that to their success in the future we know that they're bright and capable students and with some assistance they're going to be the leaders of tomorrow just as it's important that we have a safety net for our agricultural producers and it gets important that we had a safety net for those who are most in need in our communities around the country you

 

Education is referred in majority of these quotes. They want the community informed of what is needed for a nutritious meal. They again mention how any donation is welcomed.

Reference 11 - 2.46% Coverage

w that Food Bank is educating and involving the community to end hunger and alleviate malnutrition invite food bank staff to give a presentation on hunger at your workplace community organization or place abortion we would love the opportunity to educate those on the true face of hunger Food Bank urgently needs your support please consider getting involved or making a donation to help those in  need to learn more about Food Bank please visit us on the web by going to  Food Bank min or by calling by five nine two through seven three six three feed hope because hunger is an everyday disaster

 

Conclusion

I found various reactions to each position observed. When I observed at the church, I noticed a lot of front stage and backstage action. The employees were prepping the line in order for a quicker sign in, this gave the line a faster flow. The employees would then relax stretch and hydrated while they had a chance and the line was slow. This allowed them to reenergize for the following rush. As for role, everyone that I observed played their exact role. Those who were in charged made it more than obvious they were with their actions and high-pitched voice. Each role was assigned, majority were the same either handing out flyers or handing out food. Their performance was about right. Each time the group that was on the street performed correctly in order to grab the audience's attention. Team work played out just as I imagined. Everyone did their part to help others one way or the other. Everyone was pared and there was no need to be stingy about one another's positions.

When I did my interviews, I found similar roles in this research. When I did my second interviewee and she mentioned her role, I quickly remembered that the first interviewee also had similar roles. This shows that when you volunteer you are more likely to do similar work as other have done in the past. They did mention that there isn't much of a preparation other than getting ready in comfortable clothes. They all enjoyed working as a team since they all prefer to have company and someone to talk to. This allowed them to relax and work hard for this organization. The interviewees also mentioned how meaningful action comes to play and how they act in front of others. They all wanted to make the visitors feel welcomed and loved and not discriminated.  The concept self, allowed us to see the experiences that the interviewees have gone and where they are today, volunteering for those in need. The concept framing allows us to see the struggles through different perspectives and the interviewees mentioned how they either grew up having to help or received help.

            Overall the different documents of my group sources were difficult to find. Majority of the sources on YouTube were a couple of years old. This held me back from obtaining any recent data. Majority of the videos were not post by the actual organization but were from schools, and news sources.  The social media outlets did have recent documents but did not have sufficient data, which forced me to use more than one. Majority of these documents had little to no important data. Luckily this organization involves a lot of help towards the community, giving this research accurate data.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography

 

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