Journal 1- Michael Dauer

Think about the group or population that your APPLES organization is serving. Do you think that mainstream society defines this group in a way that is simplistic or homogenous? Is this a negative or positive stereotype? Have your recent encounters with members of this group changed the way that you define or “see” that group? How so?

I am working at the local church on Roberson and Rosemary street that operates a food bank for the community. The food bank is open to anyone in need of food, and tends to have a large amount of visitors each day. The majority of the people that come by the food bank are low-income minority groups, especially African-American and Hispanics. However, there were some caucasians there as well. Mainstream society would likely define the group as poor, old, and minority groups. But there were a large amount of the visitors that would not fit this category. The mainstream stereotype is definetly a negative one, as it assumes many minority groups are likely to visit the food bank. The primary operators of the food bank are African-American women that are associated with the church. Indeed, there are many minority groups that come by, but by observing many other types of people visit the food bank changed the way I define individuals that visit a local food bank. Mainly because not everyone at the food bank was an elderly individual from a minority group.