Do you work at a pantry? Do you shop at a pantry? Do you donate to a pantry? – Part 1
HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?
That question lives in the brain of every conscientious coordinator. It’s impossible to plan for pantry needs with confidence.
Much depends on a coordinator’s attitude. Some feel that all they need to do is get food on the shelves and if the food runs out, well, the food runs out and who cares anyway?
I NEVER BOUGHT THAT LINE.
The building committee of the Woodstock Reformed Church as well as some people in Woodstock felt it was my job to turn people away. They didn’t want too many people in the building and they didn’t want them getting too much food.
“How dare you serve this kind of food to these people?”
“How dare you serve this much food to these people?”
Some people felt shoppers should be limited in how often they could visit the pantry. Once weekly was considered too often. The idea was to prevent people from getting used to the idea of getting food at a pantry.
NO ONE SEEMED TO KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE TO NOT HAVE ENOUGH MONEY FOR FOOD.
Fortunately for me and for the hungry, the Hunger Prevention Nutrition Assistance Program people stepped in with clear guidelines which appeared gradually over several years:
2005 – We were expected to offer 1% milk.
2008 – Pantries were expected to operate the client choice program.
2009 – Whole grain breads and cereals are to be served.
New York State requires that food pantries serve a minimum 3-day-supply of food for everyone in the household. This supply includes food for 3 meals each day for the 3 days. 50% of the food is to be fruits and vegetables. Each meal is to be composed of 3 of the 5 food groups.
Where pantries come up short in this scenario is the 3-day-supply deal. If we offer a 3-day-supply of food weekly to a family who is home bound or who is totally out of food money, the household will be taking a 3-day-supply of food and stretching it to 7.
If a person lives in an area with several pantries, it’s possible to visit 2 pantries for a week’s worth of food. This is difficult for a family with no funds because it costs more gas to get to 2 pantries. It’s also time consuming. A person doesn’t just run in to a pantry and pick up a few items. Lines are long. Waits are even longer. At Reservoir Food Pantry, we try to keep waits to a minimum by opening as soon as the pantry is set up. (This is usually about 1:00, even though the pantry opens at 2:00)
And what about the households in areas where the pantry only allows them to visit monthly?
“We don’t want these people depending on us for their food.”
“Pantries should only be available for occasional use.”
It’s extremely difficult to offer foods appropriate for everyone in a pantry. This week in the Reservoir Food Pantry, we offered the following choices:
1 cereal
raisins
instant mashed potatoes
canned beans
crackers
rice cakes
tomato base cooking sauce
canned fruit
canned vegetables
spaghetti
On the fresh side, we had eggplants, lemons, potatoes, kale, salad mix, papayas, bananas, onions. apples, pears, squash.
Produce came from Migliorelli’s, Shandaken Gardens, Ulster Corps gleaning, and the Food Bank of Northeastern New York.
Bread came from Bread Alone. Pies came from Meredith’s.
PANTRIES ARE CONCERNED WITH NUTRITION IN TERMS OF SALT, SUGAR, AND FAT.
Whether or not a pantry serves nutritious food depends on whether the coordinator of the pantry knows anything about nutrition. In a pantry, it’s often about choices. If the coordinator doesn’t know or care about nutrition, the food can help keep an unhealthy person sick.
FOR EXAMPLE, MANY SHOPPERS AT RESERVOIR FOOD PANTRY ARE OVER 65. Current statistics show that 1 in 7 seniors don’t even get enough food to eat. When a senior doesn’t get enough to eat, s/he may get sick causing problems for the children and grandchildren.
Reservoir Food Pantry volunteers make an ongoing herculean effort to offer only the best produce to our shoppers. Prasida and Francine drive to Latham every Monday morning and return with about 900-1000 lbs of fresh food – much of which is organic.
AN IMPORTANT FACT: Reservoir Food Pantry is stocked with foods donated to the Food Bank and offered to us rather than foods that we selected. 100% of that food has been diverted from a landfill. The code is expired. Cans are dented. Labels are torn or missing. It’s all been rejected at a grocery store somewhere.
When we can’t get something we need, we rely on fresh produce to fill the gap. We’ll continue to do this as long as we have gas money to get to Latham.
SO WE HAVE A PROBLEM SIMILAR TO THAT OF OUR SHOPPERS. .
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
