The Freezers Came This Week!
The freezers came this week! These beauties are 20 cu. ft. upright Frigidaires brought over by Snyder’s. We feel very special here at the Reservoir Food Pantry because they will change life in the pantry as we have known it in the past.
EVERY ADDITION TO THE PANTRY CHANGES LIFE HERE DRAMATICALLY BECAUSE WE’RE SUCH A NEW PANTRY. There’s so much going on over here that I have trouble keeping up.
Since September, 2013, we’ve gone from a homeless pantry whose volunteers delivered food to homeless and home bound people. In the first few weeks we were open, over 40 households found us.
Then, we landed a spot outside the Waste Water Treatment Plant, put up a tent, and served the hungry. I vividly remember the Monday afternoon we served 18 households. “Don’t worry” I told everyone. “In no time at all, we’ll be serving 25.” A couple of people looked at me with expressions of total disbelief.
Yesterday we served over 90 households in the pantry shed.
Two weeks ago we got the dumpster.
So now we’ve got
a shed,
a long line van,
a produce room,
freezers,
refrigerators
a dumpster,
a website,
a facebook page,
a free bookstore compliments of Lisa Libraries,
the best volunteers in the world.
We’ve got other things too but I have trouble keeping up.
iT FEELS LIKE WE’RE BEING HURTLED THROUGH TIME SO FAST THAT ALL OF US ARE JUST BARELY HANGING ON.
Only last week I learned that we’re ranked the 9th largest pantry in Ulster County.
“Is that true?” I thought. We’ve only been open a very short time. How did this happen?
But, back to the refrigerators:
We got them because of a collaborative grant request effort of several area pantries under the direction of Michael Berg at Family and Beth McLendon of UlsterCorp.
But, this isn’t the end of the story. It’s more like the beginning of the story…even though the beginning goes back to about 2007 or so when a HPNAP (Hunger Prevention Nutrition Assistance Program) directive offering preference to refrigerator and freezer requests in pantries in our annual HPNAP grant requests.
HPNAP wants us to use freezers and refrigerators because fresh/frozen food is more nutritious than canned. And, when HPNAP wants something, they usually follow through with funds.
Our little Reservoir Food Pantry in Boiceville routinely offers the absolute best, most nutritious, most delicious food possible for our shoppers…thanks to the freezers which go with our refrigerators. Hungry people shopping at our pantry eat fewer and fewer canned foods, many of which are heavy on salt, and dented.
Instead, hungry people shopping at our pantry choose cheese, yogurt, frozen veggies, fruits, meats. They also choose fresh fruits and vegetables brought down weekly by Prasida and Francine from Latham in our lovely long line van.
They take home eggs, milk, butter, and other refrigerated/frozen foods.
With the freezers and refrigerators, our take out packers don’t worry about running out of canned food. Instead, they go to one of the freezers and choose from the selection there.
This is your tax dollars at work. I say “Let’s all vote a raise for the HPNAP people!”
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Walmart and the Minimum Wage
As the country’s largest employer, Walmart gets criticized for many “wrongs” not exclusive to itself.
Although retailers throughout our country only pay minimum wages, people act like Walmart is the only one. They pretend the other retailers pay over $10 per hour and include wonderful benefits like health care and retirement.
Wrong!
Most retailers pay what Walmart pays – maybe even a little less. In our own Woodstock area, retailers not only pay less, they often pay their sales employees off the books.
So, the recent news of Walmart and the minimum wage hourly rate increases to $9 per hour is an excuse to celebrate, if nothing else. Walmart is a trendsetter! Hopefully this move will motivate other retailers to do the same.
Those of us who work in pantries fantasize we’ll have fewer people in our lines. In some locales, I’m sure that may be true.
However, I harbor no fantasies. For one thing, the people in our pantry line are mostly senior citizens too old to work. For another, those young enough to hold down jobs work for companies who aren’t going to raise the wages.
Over the past few decades, we’ve created a food system for the poor. The more affluent in our country shop in super markets. Everyone else shops at the convenience store, pharmacy grocery aisle, the food pantry.
Because of the situation created in recent years by food deserts, the underemployed or unemployed poor struggle to get enough food to eat while also trying to get the right kinds of nutritious foods needed to stay healthy.
Over the years, food manufacturers, farmers, grocers, corporations, foundations, individuals, and the government work together to provide surplus food to feed those in need.
The goal: give food assistance to the hungry.
Since 2006, the need for emergency food has morphed into an ongoing need for food for people from all walks of life.
The new paradigm is to feed them nutritious food regularly because these people can no longer buy the food to feed themselves.
Many find themselves in this position for the first time in their lives. There are now men, women, and children needing assistance to alleviate hunger in every county in every state in the union, as well as the District of Columbia.
High unemployment/underemployment, increasing housing costs, rising poverty, the rising cost of fuel to heat apartments and homes, increasing transportation costs, and the escalating cost of food make emergency food assistance become supplemental food assistance.
Financial safety nets disappear as congress repeatedly cuts benefits.
Today’s pervasive hunger undermines our communities, schools, work force, and national security.
When people don’t have enough food to eat today, it’s impossible to plan for tomorrow. People with enough to eat work better and learn better. They can build a better life for themselves and their families.
This is what Walmart raising the minimum wage is all about.
Raising the minimum wage a few cents or dollars is not about solving the problems of poverty. It’s about feeding the hungry.
Thank you Walmart, and every other employer in our country who pays workers a living wage. You are to be commended. Hopefully this will start a trend toward employers everywhere paying living wages to workers.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Is This Life Now?
The New York Times – Friday, February 27, 2015 – “Food Waste Grows with the Middle Class” – page A24
A recent New York Times Editorial highlighted the “massive food waste” around the world. I urge you to read it. It was extremely well written, as are all of the NYT editorials.
Containing all the right buzz words:
landfills,
hunger,
waste disposal,
global warming threat,
it just didn’t go far enough.
FOOD PANTRIES FEED THEIR CLIENTS SURPLUS FOOD INTERCEPTED ON ITS WAY TO THE LANDFILL. They simply no longer have the $$$ for food at the supermarket or they live in food deserts (neighborhoods where there are no grocery stores or supermarkets.)
Is this life now? Yes, this is life in 21st century America. This is not emergency food. This is the new way we live in the good old U S of A.
PEOPLE ARE OFTEN ASHAMED TO SHOP IN PANTRIES. They don’t want to be seen bringing pantry food home. They don’t want to explain to their friends, neighbors, relatives about their inability to buy food at the supermarket. Well, now they can move on past the shame and embarrassment. With this New York Times editorial, we can all see that hungry people lacking $$$ to purchase food at a grocery store are now a part of the solution instead of the problem.
Hungry people shopping at food pantries help fight food waste. Food pantry shoppers can now realize they are helping reduce global warming emissions.
People shopping at pantries are in a financial bind where they are forced to make trade-offs. They pay rent when they don’t have enough food to eat. They “heat or eat”.
Often, they make health care trade-offs. People unable to seek needed medical care are unable to make good choices. Eventually they’ll be forced to deal with the medical situation and the longer they wait, the more expensive the situation becomes. The healthcare $$$ has been diverted to rent or transportation to get to work.
Articles like the New York Times editorial make it difficult for citizens in our country to completely ignore the fact that more and more people are going without food in our great nation because they simply don’t have the $$$ to buy it. We can no longer deny that hunger exists and it is becoming more and more difficult to be indifferent about it.
So, now, with this editorial, those of us who are hungry and ashamed of the situation we are caught in can feel better about ourselves. We can now shop at the pantry and eat at the soup kitchen knowing that we are, in spite of the low wages we work for, doing our part for a healthy planet. We are fighting global warming. We are our tax dollars at work.
If you read this blog and feel you are among those who don’t have enough $$$ for food, now is a good time to begin to shop at a pantry for the food you need for your household.
There is no better time than now for you to not only support your community but also your planet.
See you at the pantry!
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Are You Afraid in the Pantry ?
“Are you ever afraid in the pantry?” the woman asked. She was at a talk I gave about hunger. “No.” I answered. “Never. Not in the pantry. The pantry is a safe haven.”
But, I did understand her question. It went much deeper than fear in the pantry. This woman was reaching out. We live in perilous times. ISIS, police, illness, hurricanes, rapists, purse snatchers, you name it. Danger appears to be everywhere around us.
Many, many people live in fear. Many of those are afraid to voice their fears.
When I write about specific health issues on my reflexology blog, fear is almost always a factor.
Well, there are things we can all do to cope. There’s no need to live a life feeling vulnerable.
For starters, we can protect ourselves. I practice several different forms of protection.
Prayer
Meditation
Visualizations
Preparation
Every Saturday morning, promptly at 9:30, I can be found entering the Fitness Connection in Kingston where I study self defense under trainer Paul LaCroix. I’m there for an hour each week learning finger jabs, wrist escapes, double wrist escapes, elbow smashes, kicks, bear hug escapes, and ground defense techniques. Paul teaches new things every week. Basically, he’s teaching me that my elbows and knees are weapons to be used in case of attack or assault……
Paul’s classes are a lot more fun than doing repetitions in a gym, that’s for sure. And, the added bonus is that I feel as if I’m prepared for an unknown assailant.
And, of course, I feel as if I’m going to be a bit of a surprise for anyone who thinks that as a 70+ year old cotton top, I’ll be an easy mark.
I’ll be blogging more in the future about self protection techniques. We all need these tools because it’s important to feel safe both physically and spiritually.
In the meantime, you’re invited to join Paul’s Saturday morning class. It’s ongoing and it’s adaptable to different age, strength, and skill level.
See you there!
SNAP and Seniors: Many just don’t get it.
Please share this post with any and all seniors you may know. Chances are they might be able to use the information…especially since 1 senior in 7 in our country doesn’t get enough to eat.
Seniors are extremely reluctant to use SNAP, partly because of myths surrounding SNAP.
SNAP Myth #1:
Why apply for SNAP? It’s not worth the hassle. I may not even get much $$$.
SNAP Reality #1:
Most people get more than just a few dollars. Some families receive over $100. But, whatever you get – it all adds up, Over time, you’re going to receive several hundred dollars annually. This $ is yours.
Whether it’s $16 or $160 is not the issue here. This is $$$ that you paid taxes with all these years.
Look at it this way: If you get $16 in SNAP benefits, you can buy eggs, milk, bread, butter. Every penny counts.
Whatever the amount, you are going to be eating better – staying healthier – and using tax dollars that you paid all these years.
SNAP Myth #2:
If I get SNAP, I’ll be taking away food benefits from others who may need them more such as young families with children.
SNAP Reality #2:
There are funds set aside for everyone who qualifies. The funds are federal. No one participating in the SNAP program will be taking away anything from anyone. On the contrary, by using SNAP funds, you will be bringing dollars into your community. You will be helping your town.
Many seniors qualify for SNAP and are not even aware of this benefit.
SNAP Myth #3:
I’ll have to have a face-to-face interview to get on the SNAP roster.
SNAP Reality #3:
Any senior who is ill, has transportation difficulties, has hardships due to living in a rural area, is experiencing prolonged severe weather, or is under the care of another household member does not need to have a face-to-face interview.
In New York State, seniors can be interviewed by phone or with a scheduled home visit.
Basically, the issue here is trust. Seniors sometimes do not trust the process and are afraid of it. Filling out the application can be very challenging for those of us who have cognitive or physical limitations.
A further barrier is language. Many seniors simply do not have the English language skills to apply for SNAP – and they know it. There is another category here: the senior who feels s/he lacks the skills and does not realize that there are professionals who speak the language who can help with the application process.
AND FINALLY
Hunger among seniors is at an epidemic level…especially in New York State. SNAP offers access to a healthy diet which is extremely important for the overall health of seniors.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
An Open Letter to Konrad Ryushin Marchaj
It seems only yesterday that we sent you an appeal for support. We were a band of 4 people who barely knew each other, embarked on an adventure. None of us mentioned it, not even to each other…but you were our only hope.
We were processing a 501c3 to open the Reservoir Food Pantry. And, until it came through, we needed a sponsor willing to share theirs. So, you got the letter, and invited us to lunch at Zen Mountain Monastery so we could meet and make our appeal.
We begged, really, but you never let on. We went away that afternoon energized by your openness, professionalism, interest, concern. Eventually you did what you did and we received the support from your group.
You gave us a raft on which we floated until we got our own 501c3 and gained acceptance with the Food Bank.
So, today, as a result of your efforts, there is now a pantry on Route 28 in the Ashokan Reservoir area of Ulster County in Upstate New York serving over 125 households every Monday afternoon. The volunteers at this pantry look forward to serving the hungry for many years to come.
In conclusion: Thank you Konrad Ryushin Marchaj for all you have done for yourself and your fellow man. I saw you change the world around you for the better. That counts for a lot in my book.
I wish you well on your continued journey of spiritual growth. I am proud to have been touched by you. On behalf of all the hungry people we feed each week, I offer gratitude. It has been an honor and a pleasure.
I cannot thank you enough for your trust, your support, and your confidence in our humble venture.
Peace and food for all.
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Thurman Greco
Monday, Feb. 16, 2015, noon, 16 degrees at the Reservoir Food Pantry
I drove up to the parking lot we use on pantry day. It’s not our parking lot, really. It belongs to the old Robert’s Auction building. The snow plow guy had cleaned the space very well so I knew right away that we were going to have a good day. Then, I noticed that the walkway from the parking lot to the shed entrance hadn’t been shoveled.
WOW. The snow was knee deep along the walkway. Oh well. At least we could park our cars.
It didn’t matter anyway. The sun was out. People could park. This was the closest to a decent day we’ve had in 3 weeks. We were going to be busy today.
I slogged through the snow to the shed and found Cheryl. Minutes later Bob and Tony arrived. Things were improving! The pantry day began itself. As volunteers arrived, we tackled our jobs:
Fronting the shelves in the pantry.
Arranging produce in the greenhouse.
Preparing takeout bags.
Checking to see if the greenhouse door would close (it didn’t). We’d had trouble closing it last week and wondered how it would manage today (it didn’t).
Finding pens that work for the sign in book. This is always a challenge when the temperature drops below 30.
Jean, a new volunteer in her 80’s, found a shovel in her car and cleared the walkway the best she could.
When the pantry opened, shoppers made their way through the snow from the parking lot to the shed. A steady stream of people came all afternoon. Those who had cars brought those who did not. They were:
Hungry
Cold
Grateful.
Everything stopped about 4 so we packed up and headed out. Only then did I notice that there was no feeling in my fingers, toes, nose, ears. Cheryl and I had worked in the shed where there was some heat in spite of the door opening repeatedly. (The wall thermometer showed a steady 36 all afternoon.)
Bob and Susanne worked in the greenhouse where, in spite of the heater, there was only cold. The open door made the whole room feel like outside. 17 degrees.
Prasida worked in the greenhouse for awhile as she prepared to go on her takeout run. Sean and Bonnie came by and collected produce for their takeouts as well.
We are, as a pantry, people racing against all odds to feed the hungry. We do much to make sure everyone receives fresh produce every pantry day. Our new van, just yesterday christened “The Beast,” will be offering more and more produce as the shoppers increase.
Most of our volunteers are similar to other pantry volunteers. We’re cotton tops old enough to have our priorities straight. We agree that feeding the hungry is important. We make time in our remaining days to do the job.
What sets us apart at Reservoir Food Pantry is the number of volunteers. We have many and more show up every week.
The bottom line: As a group, we don’t care if the weather is hot, cold, wet, dry. We’re at the pantry to serve the people. So, as long as we can get the food, there are now options for everyone in the area who is hungry:
Elderly poor,
Employed poor,
Food insecure,
Generational poor,
Homeless (sheltered),
Homeless (unsheltered),
Ill poor,
Infant poor,
Malnourished,
Newly poor,
Persistent poor,
Resource poor,
Situational poor,
Struggling poor,
Underemployed poor,
Unemployed poor.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Thanks Jan: An Open Letter to Jan Whitman
Thank you for the wonderful job you did throughout your career at the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley. Many, many people are escaping hunger because of the direction you offered. This time at the Food Bank really amounts to your entire adult life because the Food Bank was your only employer. You’ve been the face of the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley for over 20 years!
Several years ago you invited me to serve on your board. It’s been an honor and a pleasure to do this job, although I’m not really a “board person” anymore. I’m a food pantry coordinator. I accepted the invitation because you asked me to. I never wanted to do anything more than feed a 3-day supply of food to each of the hungry shoppers at the food pantry.
When I met the other board members at meetings, I saw a group of people genuinely devoted to you…devoted to your concept of helping each and every person needing food, one person at a time. Your attitudes strongly influenced the board members. Board members attracted the resources needed to do the job because they were devoted to your dedication and mission.
What a gift!
And, while I’m focused on gifts – donations – money, I cannot overlook the grants. Jan, you are a wonderful grant writer. Grant writers in your category are as scarce as hens’ teeth. Very few can successfully bring in a grant package over $100,000. You have no problem with that at all. In fact, you brought in several in the summer of 2014. And, to top it off, you were very quiet about it. I only found out about them by accident. Then, of course, I spilled the beans far and wide.
Most recently, you introduced the concept of the Farm Stand to our area. What a change you brought: As a result of your leadership and innovation, hungry people have more access to fresh produce. You goal was to have Farm Stands in communities throughout the Hudson Valley where hungry people can shop for fresh produce at an affordable price: free.
I visited 2 of the Farm Stands in Kingston recently. One is located at People’s Place and the other at Community Action. People with no $$$ now shop for the nutritious foods they need.
What a concept: Excited, happy shoppers take fruits and vegetables home. The choice includes:
tomatoes
potatoes
onions
squashes
greens
grapes
oranges
apples
Jan, none of us should have been a bit surprised by your idea. After all, you’ve always felt individuals are important. Your Farm Stand concept makes more fresh produce available to the hungry on an ongoing basis. By focusing on feeding the hungry, one person at a time, you touched the lives of thousands in our area.
All this Farm Stand food is donated by grocers and farmers. No merchant is losing a sale by not seeing these shoppers at a supermarket line because these shoppers don’t have the income to buy any of these foods.
To accomplish this, you diverted food on its way to the landfill. The implementation of the Farm Stand concept is moving the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley into the future at breakneck speed.
Thank you for all you did over the years. When I think about this, I realize that you gave your adult life to the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley.
Reluctantly, it’s time for us all to accept your resignation as the Executive Director of the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley. You are adopting a new lifestyle. The time has come for corporate memory and focus to change.
The building housing the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley offers much opportunity now that Farm Stands are a part of the function in the area. This cavernous space is ready for someone with the energy, budget, and authority to move in the future. You know, more than anyone, that much can be accomplished with the right person at the helm. You set the stage for this to happen.
I served on your board. Now, I offer my resignation. It’s time for the employees and volunteers of the future Food Bank of the Hudson Valley to write their own story.
Peace and food for all.
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Thurman Greco
Welcome Hunger Buster or Snow White or White Lightening or
Wheels with Meals, or whatever we come up with.
Whatever you’re going to be called…welcome!
We’ve got a contest going here: If you name our shiny new low mileage Chevy Van, you’ll win the prize of a jar of peanut butter.
Our brand new shiny, white Chevy van 2500 has been a long time coming. We outgrew Vanessa months and months ago but nobody really talked about it. Setting up this pantry has been a very expensive venture and we lived with the Caravan as long as we possibly could and then hung on another few months.
We held a fund drive in November which brought in some much needed $$$. Now…thanks to everyone’s generosity Prasida is driving around in our brand new shiny, low mileage Chevy panel truck from Deitz Motors on Route 28.
Now, Prasida and Francine will return from Latham on Mondays with all the food we need. We hope we never run out of produce again…ever.
We’d been looking for months. Finally, last week, Prasida and Bob Overton drove over and saw this gorgeous beauty waiting for us.
I’m not into numerology very much but even I could tell I’d never seen such a gorgeous license plate.
This van might have surfaced weeks sooner but, energetically, we needed to open a space for it in our lives. Plus, (and this is no small deal), Prasida had to get up one day and drink an extra cup of tea before 9:00 a.m.. That threw her into high gear and she really got things done.
This week, our pantry found a snow plow team, arranged for more electricity in our greenhouse, bought a Chevy van, and (whew) I don’t know what else!
All this happened because everyone got together for a lunchtime meeting on Tuesday. To-do lists were passed around. People signed on the dotted line.
The Reservoir Food Pantry took giant steps forward. I offer sincere gratitude and heartfelt thanks to everyone involved in this pantry in any way. We are getting things done this week that I did not think would happen for another year.
It is an honor and a pleasure to be a part of the Reservoir Food Pantry.
Thank you for reading this blog/book.
Please share this article with anyone you know who might be involved in the Reservoir Food Pantry or who might be interested in our activities.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
