In May of this 2022, our Hopelink Markets once again opened their doors to allow shoppers to come inside. Around the same time, Nam Hoon Kim began volunteering at Bellevue Market. He originally started as a community service volunteer, but upon finishing his hours he has continued to show up weekly with the same enthusiastic attitude.
Every Thursday, Nam shows up for his volunteer shift at least half an hour early and dives right into organizing, sorting, and displaying all the produce in our walk-in cooler. He sets up the produce section of the market, with up to a dozen different fresh options for clients, and then keeps the produce well-stocked throughout his four-hour shift.
Not only is Nam incredible at keeping our produce section organized, but his language skills have also been incredibly useful to shoppers and staff members. His first language being Korean, he is often able to help translate for our Korean customers, or just chat with them about the produce we have available that day. We always have fun talking about the different ways we like to prepare produce in our different cultures. He has been an invaluable addition to our Thursday group of volunteers.