Hunger Is Not a Disease

Bonnie, Michelle, Nora and the Salvage Food Order at The Food Bank

In yesterday’s post, I started the monthly order.

In a good month, I ordered 16 cases each of a large variety of canned/boxed goods:  peanut butter, canned beans, canned refried beans, canned green beans, pasta, and oatmeal for example.

In a bad month, I would only be able to get my allotment of a couple of things:  tomato sauce, and dried plums, for example.

Bonnie, my primary contact for the Food Bank food orders, spent time telling me politely on Monday and Tuesday that most of what I wanted was already out of stock.  As the week progressed, the outlook usually improved.  By Friday, some of the stock had been replenished, new merchandise was on the shelves and the order was as good as it was going to get.  Michelle and Nora were also available when Bonnie’s line was busy.

These 3 women, Bonnie, Michelle, and Nora, spent their work days on the phone listening to desperate pantry coordinators, soup kitchen managers, shelter directors, ordering food.  While they were assisting an agency person on the phone there was always a list of people waiting for their turn to add their needs to the day’s list.

Generally, food items were depleted as fast as they came on the computer screen.  That’s why we called throughout the week.  Nothing was ever available for more than a day or 2.

“We just got in a shipment of USDA” was music to my ears.

Then would come the order for salvage bulk food categories.  These were banana boxes filled with 40 pounds of canned/boxed/bottled foods in specific categories such as fruits and vegetables, condiments, juices, pantry, soup, etc.  As a pantry, I was able to get this food at 16 cents per pound.  These boxes were wonderful.  They were wonderful to me, anyway.

In reality, they were something else altogether.

Salvage food is made up of the dented cans and crumpled boxes that are pushed aside at the grocery store. 

They are either collected at the store and brought over by the store itself to the Food Bank or a Food Bank truck drives around picking the food up and taking it to the Food Bank.  Food Bank volunteers clean and sort these items.  Salvage boxes offer variety to pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters.  This is where we get the occasional spice or herb, can of olive oil, box of cooking chocolate, jar of pickles.

Another favorite refrain I liked to hear from Bonnie or Michelle was “I can let you have 5 boxes of pantry today.”  Once I was able to order 24 boxes of salvage products.  I felt like I was being rewarded by the universe for something I must’ve done right.  I never quite figured out what it was that I did.  But this I know:  life was beautiful that week.

Thanks for reading this post.

There is absolutely no excuse for anyone in our country to go hungry.

Peace and Food for all.

Thurman Greco

Woodstock, NY

Peace and food for all.

Thurman Greco

Woodstock, NY