Another Day of Service

Today we had an opportunity to give service again, though in a much different form than the last one. Today reminded me of that old episode of I Love Lucy where she is wrapping candy working from a conveyor belt, only instead of candy, our product of the day was turkey chunks, so the temptation to pop a bit in my mouth was non-existent.

The cannery where we volunteered produces canned goods meant to be given to folks who are having hard times. Some other products canned there include beef chunks, beef stew, salsa, spaghetti sauce and green beans. They have currently been canning turkey chunks for about 2 months and will finish that project tomorrow and move on to a different product.

We arrived for our 4 hour shift about 10:30 AM where we were given hairnets and smocks before watching a rather entertaining safety video. In fact, I'd say it was worth working there today just to see the video. I recommend it.

After the movie, we were taken to the floor of the cannery where we washed up and then donned gloves and aprons. Then we were each assigned a post.

Somewhere, someone must have grown MANY turkeys, which were then butchered and cleaned, cut into large pieces without any bones, then frozen in large boxes. We first saw the turkey as it was removed from the boxes and put on the conveyor belt. Then it traveled to a machine which made it into chunks of meat. The meat then fell onto a platform where workers pushed the chunks through holes which had cans underneath. The cans arrived there via another conveyor belt which brought them from the 2nd floor down to the first floor. Before the cans went to be filled with turkey, a salt pellet was placed in each can.

After the cans were filled, they proceeded down the belt where workers checked each can and added or subtracted meat as needed to fill the cans to the proper level. As the cans left that area, they were weighed and then sent down another belt where hot water was added to each can. Then they went on to the sealing area where lids were placed on them.

The next step was to put the cans into huge retorts to be pressure cooked. After cooking, labels were affixed and cans were put into cases of 24 cans.

The woodworker was back in the labeling area. I never saw him until we were finishing up. I was first assigned to the area where we were adding to or removing from cans to make them the correct weight. Later I was assigned to drop the pellets of salt into each can. One of the supervisors said we were filling about 53 cans a minute. That takes pretty nimble fingers!

When the last turkey was canned for the day, it was time to clean the room. It meant washing down all the equipment and the floors, etc. By the time we finished, we figured we canned 11,000-12,000 cans of turkey today...ready to be distributed to those in need. By the time the turkey project is finished, 9200 cases will be filled.

Whew! We rewarded ourselves on the way home by stopping at our favorite restaurant, and then getting some peaches..which I canned after we got home.