Pork and Beans

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to serve in the Lindon Welfare Cannery. I wasn't looking as well put together as these ladies above but still with my hair net, plastic apron and gloves I was truly a vision. Yesterday was Pork and Beans day and I, my friends, put the 'beans' in the pork and beans. I spent my 3 1/2 hour shift operating the bean filler, which was pretty interesting. A large bean hopper across the way from me brought the soaked beans up a belt and then cascading down a Plexiglas funnel of sorts and into the awaiting cans. My duties for this position included making sure that the cans were completely filled with beans as they rolled past on the conveyor belt, I also was given the responsibility of operating the on and off switch for the previously described bean conveyor. If you run out of cans, off goes the bean belt. Next, as the full to the brim cans passed the bean cascade the conveyor began to shake back and forth, a bean shake down if you will, to make room for the sauce. What happened to the excess beans being shaken out after I so carefully made sure they were full, enter my next responsibility... bean recovery. Below the shake down area was a trough with water cycling through, I was to make sure that the beans got scraped down into the water so that they could return to the bean hopper and get another chance at getting canned. As I watched beans bouncing every which way I was amazed at the efficiency of this process, the mass amounts of product that was being produced, and how little waste there was. I realize that probably many factories work this way and I have never had the chance to see that but I really was amazed by our Church and this wonderful area that we have to serve those in need. I'll be honest that I was a little bit uneasy about spending my morning with total strangers canning pork and beans, but I absolutely loved it. The workers and the missionaries were exactly what you would expect, darling! And the other members there serving were so friendly and happy to be there. It was great! I am truly looking forward to my next opportunity to serve!

PS~ I'll let you in on a little secret... I am so thankful that I lucked out of being assigned the 'pork'. Preggo gag reflex has a hard enough time preparing meat for my family, let alone pinching off globs of pork fat from a giant vat and plopping it in cans. Tender mercy... Yep!