Hunger Is Not a Disease

Abundance 2: LeAnna, Catherine, and Jane – Women, Mothers, and Hunger in the Food Pantry

Abundance.  LeAnna volunteered in the pantry.  She had a business degree, a house, two adorable children and a spouse with a fancy career post somewhere in Europe.  He decided he wanted nothing to do with her anymore.  No money came across the ocean for her and the children.  There was no money for taxes she owned on the house, or anything else for that matter.

LeAnna was happy to take the vegetarian items available each week.  Her children loved fresh vegetables so there was much to choose from.  The girls saw yogurt as a treat.

Catherine had a house full of children including two so close together, I thought they were a set of twins.  She couldn’t get it together to work.  And, I doubt if she could have gotten employment in our area anyway.  This lovely lady had two advanced degrees.

There weren’t many, or possibly any, jobs available in Ulster County in her career field.  And, of course, once a woman gets an advanced degree, the lower level jobs aren’t open to her unless she hides the education.  Sometimes education can be hidden.  Sometimes not.  It all depends on the situation.  The main thing is to get it off the resume.

Catherine was open-minded about the food she selected.  She took anything not tied down.  Because she qualified for cases of USDA, Catherine left the pantry with a case each of pasta sauce, canned corn, green beans, vegetarian beans, refried beans.

When she finished shopping, ten-year-old Robert Allen, our next-to-youngest volunteer, brought out the flatbed metal wheeled cart, put her groceries on it, and wheeled them to her car.  Little toddler Mikey, our youngest volunteer, ran along behind.

I saw Jane, the young mother who couldn’t work because her husband threw her up against a wall, injuring her back.  She had an eight-year-old child she was trying to raise without the luxury of child support.

Jane chose items from shelves where bending and stretching weren’t  necessary because she couldn’t do those things.

And, to return to the beginning of Abundance, these three families and referenes to the critics about  shoppers all owning upscale cars – Catherine, LeAnna, and Jane owned fairly late model SUV’s in good condition.  They invited the criticism of the pantry naysayers when they drove into the parking lot to shop.

Here we had three households, single-headed households in need of food.  If not for a couple of years, then for several months.

For some, feeding hungry people means we fed freeloaders.  Not all hungry people look needy.  Some of the best-dressed people in Woodstock never spent a dime on their clothes.  They had no money for clothes so they shopped at  Family of Woodstock.

Neither of these households was homeless, although they could be when the tax collector came to call.

Neither of these households was without transportation although they could be if the SUV needed expensive repairs.  Nobody in these households looked poverty-stricken although they could be if the car needed repairs.

For the moment, neither LeAnna, Catherine, nor Jane looked poverty-stricken although, they would in time with no child support from the spouse to help with expenses.

These three women had several things in common.  They were divorced.  They had children.  They received no money from the ex-spouse even though each one had a lucrative, influential employment career, money, and a bright future.

There was not a job among them.

There was little or no money for a food budget even.

LeAnna, Catherine, and Jane each lived with abundance on one hand, a large box of unpaid bills on the other hand, and hope, dreams, and fears somewhere in the middle.

The children were eligible for school breakfast and lunch programs.  But, that didn’t give them enough food to eat at home.  And, there was no lunch program for the mothers.

So, it was off to the pantry.  This was a life-changing decision.  Using a pantry requires commitment, endurance, and effort.  Attitudes about food in particular and life in general change.

Pantry shoppers are often self-disciplined, self-controlled, determined to do what is best for the family.

Freeloaders?  What do you think?

Every week when these women shopped I saw myself as a young woman returning from Mexico with my two daughters and nothing but the clothes on my back.  There was no way anyone, just by looking at me, would have known how little I had.

Whether we come to the pantry as shoppers, volunteers, or both, all of us are asked by the pantry to leave; the past behind.  And, of course, that’s different for everyone.

How can we move forward into a new life if we never give anything up?  For some, giving up the past means letting go of the job we lost, the home, the furniture that went in the home, maybe the family, self-esteem, the car, good health.

What happens in the pantry, this shopping, this offloading, has the potential to be the greatest journey of one’s life.  The hungry person learns things in new ways, and sees things never noticed before.  And, finally, there is the knowledge that anything can happen.  When all is said and done, things will never be the same again.  Better off for the experience, thoughts change.

Beliefs and core values are found.

I’m sticking my neck out here to say this.

Being hunger in 21st century America is a spiritual journey involving miracles, forgiveness, endurance, and spiritual healing.  It’s all about discovering that it’s never too late to be who you really are.

That’s what this story is all about.

Thank you for reading this  blog post in two parts.  Please forward it to your preferred social media network.

Thurman Greco

 

Food Pantry Blog: Guidelines for a Successful Pantry Visit

“But the most careful lives can be derailed – by cancer, a huge medical bill, a freak slap of weather, a massive failure of the potato crop. Virtue cannot prevent a “bad hand” from being dealt. And making the poor out to be lazy, or dependent, or stupid, does not make them less poor. It only makes the person saying such a thing feel superior.” – Timothy Egan

Try to arrive an hour or so before the pantry opens. This makes for a long wait but there’s a better selection right when the pantry opens. Also, while you’re waiting in line, you have an opportunity to make new friends and learn a few new survival skills if you’re new to the pantry experience.
Bring your own shopping bags. Some pantries don’t have enough of these necessary items.
Bring some ID. Some pantries require a lot: picture ID, proof of address, proof that other family members exist. This can be a bit of a challenge if you’re homeless. Two things you need to know: No one can ask to see your social security number. Some pantries require no identification.
Be prepared to wait in a line. Use this time to meet your line neighbors. They can be helpful if you’re trying to navigate your way through Department of Social Services, if you’re being foreclosed on, need your car repaired.
As you wait in line, try to learn how the pantry works from those around you in the line. You’ll want to know how long you’ll be in the shopping room, what foods are usually found on the shelves, what other pantries the people shop at, etc.
Don’t be afraid to let people know you’ve never been to a pantry before.
Once you find a pantry you can use, go every time you’re allowed. With luck, you’ll have a pantry in your area allowing weekly visits. Because pantry shopping takes so much time, shoppers sometimes just don’t go if they still have SNAP card money or if they have a few bucks remaining from a paycheck. Your best bet is to visit a pantry as often as you’re allowed. Most pantries have different food every week and you may miss out on some real savings by not shopping regularly.
Pantry shopping requires a totally new approach to cooking. So does cooking with only an electric skillet or microwave. Some pantries have periodic visits from nutritionists. Don’t be shy about asking him/her for any tips you might be able to use to help this adjustment easier for you. The nutritionist knows a lot about the food you are trying to cook with and s/he can answer any questions you have.
You may see fresh fruits and vegetables you don’t recognize. Be open to new taste experiences. Take the food home, find a cookbook at the library or go on the net and learn how to prepare the food. If you take one new food home each week, your kitchen skills will be vastly different in a year from what they are now.
Be open minded about this experience.
You’re going to be interacting with people you never thought in your wildest dreams that you would be around.
Know that most people in pantries, both volunteers and shoppers, are in a reconstructing and healing mode. We may not know it yet, but life is finally getting better for all of us.
Try to volunteer at your pantry. Volunteering at a pantry or soup kitchen offers you an opportunity to give of yourself. Giving away food and sharing smiles with those around you opens up opportunities you never thought possible. Your life is changing, healing. Give yourself the opportunity to go with this journey.
Sometimes people cry in the pantry. Well, it’s okay. Everyone cries at one time or another in the pantry, including me. This tells us all that the pantry is a safe place to be.
Peace and food for all.
Thank you for reading this blog/book.
Please share this post on your preferred social network.
Thurman Greco