Community service?

The class is planning a community service activity. The class voted on a few, and delivering gift baskets to poor peoples' houses and spending time with them is the option that won. I had (and expressed) misgivings about participating in that activity because it feels so presumptuous and just kinda weird to do, but was ensured by the people from the area that the poor people are receptive and ask for baskets. I thought at first that my uneasiness with this activity originated in a cultural difference...but realized (thanks to debriefing with Rose) that my uneasiness stems from having a problem with how my/our socioeconomic class (and up) often perceives and executes community service. Basket delivery I'm sure is appreciated by recipients, but it feels really short-sighted. I wonder how/if the community is really going to benefit? I worry that helping a local nonprofit would be more productive, and I also worry about visiting poor neighborhoods like the area and people are attractions. Has anyone else struggled with this? I'm going to consider this experience not community service, but a regional learning experience, as we can learn a lot about a region by seeing the underprivileged living conditions--which I definitely haven't seen yet.

I prefer process-oriented projects--I'd rather a small part of a bigger change that might be long-lasting than have a monumental, fleeting impact. Here's an interesting article about process-oriented vs. monumental community service activities (from Rose).