Anti-Asian Sentiment In The Volunteer Community
It’s not a mirage
It was my very first day volunteering at the University Soup Kitchen on the Lower East Side of New York City. Angie, the manager of the day, assigned me to work the pantry line with the admonition “watch out for the Asian ladies. They cut the line, steal when you’re not looking, and sell the food in the park. And they’ll try to come around a second time.” Sound a little bit biased? Could be! Did I mention that Angie is Korean?
It is now 7 years later — and I’m a veteran of not just thousands of hours volunteering — but 5 months of actually working full time at a shelter/church owing to my faithful attendance and work ethic. After all that experience, do I feel that Angie’s terse appraisal of the Asian community in the volunteer realm was accurate? I’ll give you the answer in one word: yes.
Uptown next to St. Bartholomew’s (Jackie Onassis’s old church), 7 Coalition For the homeless food trucks depart every night a 7 PM to make designated stops where they distribute soup, milk, and a piece of fruit to anybody who wants it.
Though not an official mandate, the drivers are “advised” to feed the men first — then the women — and then leave quickly at the Chinatown stops. All this to prevent the Chinese women from doubling back for more.
