A New Paradigm for the Struggling Class
“We’ve got to do something.” I said to Guy Oddo one afternoon.
“Yup” he replied. “The parking lot’s dangerous. There’s going to be a wreck out there one of these days.”
“Actually, there was. Someone ran into my car about 2 weeks ago. Do you have any suggestions?”
“Well, he said, how about we put a volunteer in the parking lot to direct traffic? And, what if we limit the shopping time in the Pantry? Can we make some people park in the town lot down the street?”
So, we did all 3 things. They kept coming. They needed the food.
As I return in my thoughts to the depths of the autumn of ’08, the thing I remember most is the changes brought about by the The Hunger Prevention Nutrition Assistance Program people as they introduced new produce guidelines and called for a 3-day-supply of food for everyone in each household.
AND, I THINK OF MANY THINGS THAT HAPPENED SINCE.
My mind moves to the present, as we overcome (hopefully) this depression. Two things happened for sure:
There are many, many new wealthy people – millionaires, billionaires, kazillionaires whose new money isn’t trickling down yet. Will it ever?
AT THE OTHER END OF THE SPECTRUM, A NEW CLASS HAS EMERGED: THE STRUGGLING CLASS.
MANY JOBS WERE LOST, NEVER TO RETURN. Many people experienced the end of a working life during that time. The lucky ones were able to get early Social Security. Not everyone was 62 yet.
One angry man came to our pantry weekly. He first showed up the day after he was fired. And, of course, it was one of those situations where we all knew he wasn’t ever going to work again. It took him over a year to calm down from the injustice of it all. He was quiet about his anger but anyone with a brain and an eye knew what was happening.
In this case, I felt close to the event. I saw him go through stages of adjustment: shock,
anger,
disbelief,
grief,
resignation.
On a national level, a positive change happened, though: the demise of the Emergency Food Assistance Program. It’s a food assistance program still, and, actually, nobody has even dropped the word “Emergency”. But, when I listen to people in my industry talking among themselves, I’m really aware that everyone seems to know it’s not emergency now and hasn’t been emergency since ’08.
The Struggling Class are hard working singles, families, and seniors who simply lack money for food. The purchasing power of the hourly wage received at the 2 to 3 jobs we hold continues to decrease while food, housing, transportation, healthcare costs continue to rise. There is no job security anymore.
I SEE NO IMPROVEMENT FOR THE STRUGGLING CLASS IN THE NEAR FUTURE. This is our new cultural landscape. It’s our job to navigate this new terrain as positively as possible with new survival skills.
What does this mean?
WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT’S HAPPENING:
PWhen we shop at pantries and eat at soup kitchens, we’re reducing our footprint on this planet.
When we shop at pantries we actively divert food from dumpsters, landfills.
In the new paradigm, we no longer buy the idea that what we are doing is charity. It’s not charity. Charity segregates, stigmatizes, and demeans us.
When we shop at pantries, our tax dollars are at work and we are on the front lines of the movement to develop a cleaner, safer, future.
Pantries strengthen the whole community by assisting those who are most vulnerable.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
