South Side Roots

NextChapter Volunteers

It’s our goal to volunteer in the Columbus community whenever we can. The NextChapter team leaves our normal hustle and bustle to help out our home city. Just this past week our team volunteered at South Side Roots.

What is South Side Roots?  

SouthSide Roots provides a different type of food-bank to Columbus residents. Instead of the traditional pantry, South Side Roots offers a mixed-income dining experience and shopping market. A few of the services South Side offers are a pay-what-you-can cafe, an affordable fresh foods market, a weekly community meal, and a Kids Cafe meal program for students.

Our Journey at South Side Roots

NextChapter was so excited to assist the South Side Roots in their daily operations. Our team dipped their hands in a little bit of everything. From serving customers at the cafe to chopping up vegetables - NextChapter experienced every part of South Side Roots.

The Market

Jaime and Mandy worked in the South Side Roots Market. The mini grocery store is focused on providing fresh and healthy foods to customers. Most of the Columbus inner-city area is in a food dessert - which means the community does not have access to produce or unprocessed foods that you would normally find in a grocery store. South Side is not only eliminating the food dessert in this area- but they are also selling healthy foods at a lower price. The market is truly making fresh foods affordable and in-reach for the south side of Columbus.

The Cafe

Janine helped out in the pay-what-you-can cafe. This cafe has an innovative concept. Customers have the option of giving an hour of their time for their meal or by paying any amount they can. Janine assisted cafe team with whatever they needed - that included serving food and talking to the customers. She had a great time relating and learning about the customers of the cafe. Some of the customers even tried to sneak an extra cookie!

The Kitchen

The entire NextChapter team had the pleasure of working with the South Side Roots experienced culinary experts. Eric and Colin chopped vegetables for most of the day - which was crucial to making some of the center’s best dishes. Jaime, Mandy, and Katie made sandwich wraps while Janine and Eric packed lunch boxes. The team also made fresh cookies that smelled delicious! We really enjoyed the fun spirit of the kitchen staff.

Our Takeaways

NextChapter had a great time lending a helping hand to community at South Side Roots. We met so many great people and new friends while volunteering. Our team can’t wait to go back!