Hunger Is Not a Disease

There Shouldn’t Even Be Pantries

There are sufficient resources in the world to ensure that no one, nowhere, at no time, should go hungry.  – Ed Asner

THE CROWD WAS HEAVY THAT AFTERNOON, WITH THE HALLS PACKED.

People had begun to line up two hours early to shop in the pantry.  Every poverty category was gathered outside the door:  artists, crazy poor, disabled poor, elderly poor, employed poor, disabled poor, generational poor, hardworking poor, homebound, homeless, ill poor, mentally ill poor, messed-up poor, musicians, poets, newly poor, resource poor, struggling poor, transient poor, underemployed poor, unemployed poor, veterans, Woodstock’s colorful characters, writers.  They got a three-day supply of food last week and by now it was all gone.

THE PANTRY ROOM OVERFLOWED WITH PRODUCE:  oranges, lemons, carrots, potatoes, onions, eggs, Bread Alone breads, Bella Pasta, packs of organic salad mixes, fresh herbs, mushrooms.  The list seemed endless.

The pantry opened promptly at 3:00 and by 3:02, there were four people already shopping in a line in the pantry room.

PRASIDA, RICH, GUY, TONY, AND ROBYN WERE AT THEIR STATIONS MOVING PEOPLE ALONG.

“Will the next two people in line please come into the pantry room now?”

“We’ve got room for another person here.”

“HEY TONY, HERE COMES ANOTHER BOX”.  I was pitching freshly emptied boxes to Tony about every 2-3 minutes.

“How”‘s it going?  Don’t forget to take a bag of carrots.  We were able to get enough for everyone to take a bag.”

“Wait, wait, wait.  What’s wrong?  You’re crying.  What happened?”

“Oh Thurman, I feel sooo ashamed.  I was at the head of the line.  Suddenly, a man walked in the door who wasn’t a shopper.  He came right up to the line and spoke to us all:  ‘There shouldn’t be any pantries.  None of you should even be here in this building.  All of you should go out and get jobs.’ “

“Thurman, you know I’m too old to work.  Nobody hires people in their 70’s.”

“Listen Beverly, don’t even think about it.  It was nothing.”

“OKAY EVERYONE, LET’S KEEP SHOPPING.” I SAID AS I WENT TO THE PANTRY DOOR AND CALLED TO GUY.

“What’s going on?”

” Thurman, a watcher came in and told everyone in the line that we should all go out and get jobs and that none of us should even be in the building.  Everyone’s upset.  But, we’re handling it.”

“Thanks’s Guy.”

“Here Tony, can you take a couple of extra boxes real fast?”

“Thanks.”

“WE CAN TAKE TWO MORE PEOPLE IN THE PANTRY.”

“Thanks for coming today.  Be sure and take all the bread and salad you want.  Don’t forget to go down to the barn for some frozen food.  We’ve got some good deals down there today.”

“Welcome to the pantry today.”

“Let’s keep the line moving now.”

“TONY, CAN YOU TAKE SOME MORE BOXES?”

On behalf of all the people shopping and volunteering in the Good Neighbor Food Pantry that afternoon, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading this blog/book.

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Peace and food for all.

Thurman Greco

Last Monday at the Reservoir Food Pantry

It is not necessary to advertise food to hungry people, fuel to cold people, or houses to the homeless.” – John Kenneth Galbraith

TWICE AS MANY FOUND US THIS MONDAY AT THE RESERVOIR FOOD PANTRY AS FOUND US JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO.    We’re not trying to hide out or anything but each week, the number of people shopping at our pantry grows.

We’re open  Monday afternoons from 2:00 to 4:00 up the hill behind Robert’s Auction.  They trickle in, slowly, (some a little hesitantly), trying to figure out how to act at a food pantry.  Soon, they’re visiting, chatting, getting to know one another over apples, asparagus, lettuce.

“How much of this can I have?”

“Look at this!  I haven’t had an orange in ages.”

“Wow!  What beautiful lettuce!”

The fresh produce comes from Migliorelli Farm, Shandaken Community Garden, and the Food Bank of Northeastern New York.

The bread comes from Bread Alone.

This event could have sent inexperienced volunteers into total confusion mode.  Not this crowd.  Everyone is experienced so we just went into expansion mode.  Before 3:00, we were discussing where we’re going to put the new shelves  we’re buying for the shed that just got delivered.

We were discussing where the new refrigerator and freezer that we so desperately need are going to go.

The  shed had one level of need last week.  This week is a totally new picture.

BECAUSE, WE ALL KNOW THAT NUMBERS GO UP IN A PANTRY.   They don’t go down.  The Boiceville area has needed a pantry for awhile so we’re prepared to expand to meet the demand created by increasing numbers of shoppers.

Our updated shopping list includes one refrigerator, one freezer, four sets of industrial shelves, and $280 more each month for gasoline to drive to Latham for food to feed the hungry.

Last Saturday saw Prasida, Bob, Sean, and Bonnie outside the Boiceville IGA asking for food or funds.  Either was just fine.  All the money donated went right into the grocery store for food.  We bought everything on sale:  canned tomatoes, canned tomato sauce, salad dressings, mustard, canned beans, soups.

We’ll be back at the IGA at the end of September we hope.  We’ll be asking for holiday foods:  canned pumpkin, canned green beans, canned cream soups, stuffing mix, gravy, instant mashed potatoes…as much as we can get for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Prasida and  Bob will  be outside the Kingston Walmart on August 13, 14, and 15th again asking for food and funds.  Without the generosity of  the IGA and the Walmart managment and shoppers, our pantry would be a very different place than it is now.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE:  VOLUNTEERS, STOREKEEPERS, DONORS.  We are here today, serving the hungry, because you care.

Thank you for reading this blog/book.

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Thurman Greco

Peace and food for all.

Peace and food for all.

The Wednesday Afternoon Farm Festival in Woodstock

In typical Woodstock fashion, the town fought over the farm festival for years before it finally happened.
FIGHTS LIKE THIS HAPPEN IN WOODSTOCK ALL THE TIME.   Every community improvement takes years of fighting before it becomes a reality. And, while this entertains many people, it holds up progress.
Those years of fighting represented  lost revenue for a town that really doesn’t have a lot of options for income.
Oh well, I’m getting off track here.
THE WEDNESDAY WOODSTOCK FARM FESTIVAL MEANT SOOO MUCH TO THE PANTRY.
But, not how you might think. Symbolism is important here. As people go down the path toward the pantry, they begin to lose their connection to the community. This happens mainly because they have no money to participate in  activities and they’re depressed, embarrassed, sad about being broke, sick, out of a job, going through foreclosure, etc. You put in the words here.
Every situation is different, but the process is the same for the people going down the path.
So, the pantry shoppers, for the most part, didn’t have the money to participate in the farm festival.
MIGLIORELLI FARMS OFFERED A SMALL MIRACLE AT THE END OF EACH MARKET AFTERNOON.   Several volunteers from the Good Neighbor Food Pantry were allowed on the grounds in the final few minutes of the market to load up a car with some of the veggies. We then took them back to the pantry and stacked them to distribute on Thursday.
WHAT A GIFT! Migliorelli Farms offered a real emotional boost to our many shoppers as well as delicious, nutritious food. Migliorelli  fed the body as well as the soul.
Now, the shoppers at least had a small connection to the farm market festival.
Until…one day a member of the Farmers Market Board of Directors called me up and pulled the plug. “You can’t have any more of the produce Thurman. People are not shopping at the market because they’re waiting until Thursday to come to the pantry to get the food free.”
“HOW CAN THIS BE? The pantry shoppers don’t have the money to shop at the farm festival. Have you seen the people who shop at the pantry?” I was shocked to hear such words from a person who had never set foot in our pantry.
“Don’t even try to talk me out of this Thurman. Our Board voted on this. The Migliorelli food will be donated to an agency in Kingston. It will not be wasted. You will not get any more of the Migliorelli produce.” And, with that, she hung up.
I was stunned. I felt as if someone had hit me.
AND, IT WASN’T THE FOOD THAT DID IT.   Our pantry was going to continue to have enough food. The Food Bank offered beautiful, fresh, organic produce every week, all year around. All we had to do was go up and get it. And, go get it we would. Our pantry commitment to fresh produce was serious.
The pantry shoppers, many of whom had absolutely no money at all were being denied participation in a local event that anyone could get in to…all it took was money.
Then, somehow, I’ll never know how, a miracle occurred. Someone (some people) spoke to someone (some people) and attitudes were adjusted.
WE WERE ALLOWED TO GET PRODUCE AGAIN.
I never knew how this happened. And, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that some person (people) fought for the pantry. And, they didn’t care whether anyone else knew what they did.  They just wanted the produce to stay in our community.  They just did whatever was necessary to get the food to the hungry.  Rules were changed.  Votes were changed.

FOR THAT, I’M ETERNALLY GRATEFUL.

Whoever brought about this change created a positive energy ripple effect.

Whoever brought about this change definitely made me realize that all is not lost in this world.

In spite of this, I never felt comfortable with the farm market food again.  I felt each Wednesday’s gift from Migliorelli’s Farms might be the last.  I held my breath as Guy drove the van over for the produce.  I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw it return with fresh produce.

When the farmers’ market returned the next spring, I waited (quietly apprehensive) to hear words from Rick:  “Thurman, Migliorelli is going to share its produce with the pantry this summer”.

Even as I heard those words, I didn’t believe them until I actually saw the produce.  I always had a well formed Plan B ready in case we had to start making extra trips to Albany on Thursday morning.  The need for fresh produce for our shoppers was great.

For the most part, these people were all in the process of losing so much.  It was up to me to keep Thursday produce on the agenda at the pantry.

At the Reservoir Food Pantry, we are extremely proud to have Migliorelli Farms sponsor us.  Our shoppers have beautiful, fresh Migliorelli vegetables every week .  What a beautiful gift!

Thank you.  From the bottom of my heart.

ON BEHALF OF THE MANY SHOPPERS WHO USE THE PANTRY, THANK YOU FOR READING THIS BLOG/BOOK.

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Peace and food for all.

Thurman Greco