A True Story Told Through the Eyes of a Small Town Food Pantry
Recent research shows that many children who do not have enough to eat wind up with diminished capacity to understand and learn. Children don’t have to be starving for this to happen. Even milk undernutrition – the kind most common among poor people in America – can do it.” – Carl Sagan
I feed the unworthy hungry. Week after week, month after month, year after year, they come to the pantry and I feed them.
I give each of them a three-day supply of food which they must make last for a full seven days.
Each month, it seems, the lines get longer. The storeroom gets fuller and fuller on food delivery day until it’s stuffed with so much food that we’re wondering if we can walk in the place. Before the next month’s shipment arrives, the room is empty.
Well, I’m just an out-of-control, stubborn old woman who won’t listen to anyone in the town. I just snub my nose at them and keep on going.
I hear them:
“Thurman, how can you serve food to her? Her son works and she has a car. She shouldn’t get food.”
“Thurman, that woman lives in Kingston. You gave food to a family from Shandaken last week. Our pantry should be for Woodstockers only.”
“Thurman, you are serving entirely too much food to these people. You can’t do this.”
“Thurman, why are you serving fresh fruits and vegetables in the pantry? You shouldn’t do this.”
“Thurman, you’ve begun to open the pantry in the afternoons. Our pantry shouldn’t be open in the afternoons.”
“Thurman, that person’s car is too nice. How can you give food to a person with a car like that?”
“Thurman, you can’t serve this food to these people. They’re going out of here with $70-$80 worth of fresh produce. This is wrong. I’m going to tell Pastor Sonja, Ed Jabbs, and Pastor Bode about this. I’m very close to Pastor Sonja and she’s not going to be happy. You’re feeding the unworthy hungry.”
“Thurman, you’re serving entirely too many people here”.
“Thurman, you’re serving all the wrong people.”
“Thurman, you shouldn’t feed this food to these people. If they’re hungry enough, they’ll eat anything.”
Well, what can I say? I serve them with pride. It’s an honor and a privilege to do this.
And also…I work for the Hunger Prevention Nutrition Assistance Program of New York State. The HPNAP people are my supervisors.
I was trained to serve a three-day supply of food to everyone according to the “Open to the Public” feeding program policy which includes all populations without regard to gender, race, color, ethnicity, age, nationality, citizenship, marital status, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, income, disability, or health status. We do not exclude any population group from receiving services upon first request or repeat visits to our pantry.
A three-day supply of food offers three meals a day for three days to everyone in the household. Each meal includes foods from three of the five food groups.
In all the years, through all the conflict, I was never, ever, able to convince anyone that I had a superior who outranked the building committee of the Woodstock Reformed Church, or the Christ Lutheran Church.
Thank you for reading this blog/book.
Please share this article with your preferred social network.
Please send a comment.
Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
