Hunger Is Not a Disease

A Lesson I Never Learned in the Food Pantry

I NEVER LEARNED TO DISOBEY THE BOSS. And, I guess I never will. After all, I’m over 70. Chalk it up to dementia (She’s old and crazy and feeds the unworthy hungry”).

“SERVE YOUR SHOPPERS A THREE-DAY-SUPPLY OF FOOD. Each person gets food for three meals a day with each meal having three of the five food groups” the trainer at the Food Bank taught us. “Your agency needs to offer fresh fruits and vegetables, 1% milk, and whole grain breads.”

So I did.

Excitedly, I returned to the pantry with my car packed to the hilt with crates of grapes, Bolthouse carrots, 50-pound bags of onions and 100-pound bags of potatoes.

THE REACTIONS WERE STRONG – DISTINCT. “Wow Thurman! I never saw anything in the pantry like this before! Thanks!” said Dianne as she put her selections of produce in the shopping bag.

“Thurman! Thurman! Whatever you do, just don’t get our pantry shut down!” implored the church secretary.

“How can that happen?” I replied. I just didn’t understand what was in store for me.

I was the coordinator. I was just doing what the Food Bank said, after all. Besides that, the food was all totally free.

I SOON GOT IT.

“Thurman, you don’t feed this kind of food to these people.”

“Thurman, this food is laden with vermin. Get this stuff out of here NOW!”

Except, it wasn’t. It was gorgeous, restaurant quality food donated by the Food Bank.

And I didn’t.  The hungry took the produce out in their shopping bags every week. They took it home, to wherever that was, and fed it to their children and family members.

And, the entire conflict was a secret for the longest time. I never told a soul about how angry the building committee was with my actions.

If I never told anyone, I felt, things would settle down and the building committee would slowly realize that we had new rules. And, of course, it took awhile for reality to sink in. Then, two things happened.

The building committee finally got very loud. They finally had an uprising which resulted in a series of meetings I called the inquisitions.

AND, I LEFT.

Some stories have good endings. Woodstock is now returning the Good Neighbor Food Pantry to its pre-2008 glory days.

I’m off in Boiceville where the Boiceville Inn, Roberts Auction, the IGA, and The Wastewater Treatment Plant people are appearing to feel positive about a pantry in the area.

WE FEED THE HUNGRY EVERY MONDAY AFTERNOON AT 2:00.

It’s a glory day at the Reservoir Food Pantry.

Peace and food for all.

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