In our digitally mediated age, many people seeking a real connection with their communities have taken up volunteering at local food banks, yours truly among them. Interestingly, it seems that the type of volunteering shift has an impact on fostering genuine human fellowship, among other benefits. The Canadian Council on Community Service claims the choice of role, be it sorting donations in a quiet back room or greeting clients at the front counter, is immaterial.

But program coordinator David Rogers points out that volunteers who work the front counter build far stronger ties with their neighbours, and feel more rooted in their communities, than those who keep to the back. Granted, habitual back-room sorters may, on their first counter shifts, be humbled by the patience required to put nervous newcomers at ease. Front-counter work has its challenges, but it is a more rewarding pursuit than back-room sorting.