An Open Letter to Everyone at Esotec Beverages
This is a public acknowledgement to you for your generosity throughout this year. Our
first year at Reservoir Food Pantry brought growth coupled with successes along the way.
EVERY PANTRY HAS SOMETHING WHICH SETS IT APART FROM ALL THE OTHERS. One thing setting the Reservoir Food Pantry from other area pantries is our strong take out department. 40% of the households we serve are home bound. The residents never leave their homes.
These people all have special situations they’re dealing with:
Illness
Old age
Physical disabilities
Transportation issues
Whatever their challenges, the volunteers at Reservoir Food Pantry are there for them. We cannot do this job without your support. The juices and beverages you donate to us go directly into the food packages for home bound people.
Your generosity offers food of a quality that neither we nor they can possibly get anywhere else. Neither the home bound clients nor the pantry have the funds for such delicious, nutritious food products. Please know that when a home bound person opens a food package and finds one of your fine beverages, you have made that person’s day.
Thanks again for your generosity toward our pantry, our clients, and our community. You are making a real difference.
Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
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The Debate Rages On
An older man came into the pantry wearing a baseball cap which read “Korean War Veteran”. I simply could not then and cannot now understand how this man, who fought as a soldier in the very brutal Korean conflict in the 1950’s is now, as an old man, reduced to standing in a pantry line for food.
ACTUALLY, I KNEW THE ANSWER. His social security check is just not large enough to buy food and he’s outlived his savings.
One day a tall, handsome man with a generous head of wavy white hair, approached me in Bread Alone. “I want to shake your hand. I worked all my life. When I was laid off recently, I realized that I’m never going to work again. If it weren’t for your efforts in the pantry, I would be going hungry.”
George, while he had white hair, was not yet old enough for social security. So, he relied on unemployment, food stamps, and the pantry. The hope in these cases is always that the unemployment insurance will last until the social security kicks in.
ONE FAMOUS ARTIST SHOPPED REGULARLY while going through foreclosure. He kept a positive attitude about the whole thing. But, the sorrow was unavoidable. He ended up living in Kingston. He still made it over to the pantry whenever he could for about a year afterward. The transition out of Woodstock was very difficult.
SOME PEOPLE HAD THEIR OWN OPINIONS ABOUT THE SITUATION:
“Thurman, you are serving entirely too much food to these people. You can’t do this.”
“Thurman, you’re filling this building with vagrants and riffraff. You need to keep the riffraff out.”
“Thurman, why are you serving fresh fruits and vegetables in the pantry? You
shouldn’t do this.”
“Thurman, why are you giving food to her? She is not a responsible parent. She needs to be raising her children more responsibly.”
OFTEN THESE OPINIONS WERE SHARED BY PEOPLE WHO DIDN’T HAVE THE FACTS AND WHO HAD NEVER BEEN HUNGRY.
When people begin to debate poverty, they always seem to talk
family,
race,
money,
culture.
THIS IS THE WRONG DEBATE. What we need to discuss is power, inequality, and exploitation.
Seniors, due to their age, are exploited because, when they quit working or get a retirement job, they lose their power.
Women are exploited in both the workplace and domestic situations. They are not paid equal wages for jobs performed.
POOR PEOPLE ARE EXPLOITED BECAUSE THEY LACK THE RESOURCES TO FIGHT BACK.
POVERTY IS A HIGHLY CHARGED ISSUE. If you don’t believe me, try listening to politicians rage on about how the minimum wage should or should not be increased. The Obama care battle is still being waged. The movement to gut the food stamp benefits and unemployment benefits is popular.
Corporate downsizing is routine in our country with layoffs occuring in both good times and bad.
THE SAFETY NET FOR THE HUNGRY IS ALL BUT GONE.
Workers in America have no overtime pay, no retirement funds, no health insurance, and no voice.
Minimum wages in tandem with part time employment force people to work several jobs. Holding down 2 or 3 jobs is the norm in communities throughout our country.
IN OUR NATION WE EXPLOIT THE POOR, PUNISH THEM FOR NOT MAKING MORE $$$ AND LABEL THEM IRRESPONSIBLE BECAUSE THEY DON’T HAVE BETTER JOBS, EDUCATION, RESOURCES.
How can a person:
get a better job which does not exist?
get more education when the $$$ to pay for it is not available to him/her?
pay for healthcare when there in’t even enough $$$ for food?
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Hunger Hurts – But You Can Help!
When you donate to the Reservoir Food Pantry, you can be secure in knowing that your gift is not wasted. Volunteers are just that: unpaid workers giving generously of their time and effort. Generous gifts have paid for food each month from the Food Bank where every dollar spent buys $10 of food. Now, through a unique opportunity offered by the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, and the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley, you can give directly to the Food Bank knowing that your donation will go to Reservoir Food Pantry.
When you donate to the Reservoir Food Pantry through the Food Bank Adopt-a-Program, you establish a special line of credit which will allow our pantry to have more food for our clients. You will stretch our food buying power with the Food Bank, and you will be using your donation dollars to solve hunger needs on a local level. You will be using your donation money in the most efficient and effective way possible.
You can reach the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley at 845-534-5344. Or, you can reach the Food Bank through www.foodbankofhudsonvalley.org.
Thank you in advance for your thoughtfulness and generosity. Thank you for helping us to help friends, relatives, and neighbors who find themselves struggling to put enough food on the table.
When you donate to the Food Bank Adopt-a-Program, you give so we can deliver and the struggling hungry can receive. When we feed the hungry, we strengthen the entire community as we assist those who are most vulnerable.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
And…it’s Walmart time again!
“Just asking for food to feed the hungry.”
“Thank you for your donation”.
“Hello.”
Each of us working for the pantry outside the Walmart has a different introduction we use when we speak to the shoppers. We’ve been outside the Walmart monthly since last fall. The only month we didn’t stand outside the entrance was December when the Salvation Army puts out its volunteer ringing the bell.
In February, the temperature was 2 degrees. Standing outside the store in July, we all commented that the broiling heat was better than the cold.
But, really, in our hearts of hearts, we don’t care what day it is, what the time is, what the temperature is. What matters is that we’re outside the entrance and it’s our favorite place to be.
No, I’m not lying. I totally adore being outside the Walmart. We’ve made friends with everyone:
customers
employees
tradesmen.
On Friday, a young couple came up to show off their brand new baby who wasn’t even here yet at our September visit.
One of my favorite people at the Walmart is a homeless woman who always manages to bring us a can of food.
Employees drop by throughout the day to see if we’re okay.
In the midst of all the community, we’re raising $$$ to buy food to keep the pantry open another month. And…that’s no small job. Our census rises every month. Last month, we served 800 people.
For a young pantry, just a little over a year old, to have the food and funds to feed 800 people is something to be extremely proud of. Reservoir Food Pantry volunteers can do this because they know how to focus on the task at hand.
Prasida, Bob, Louise, Barbara, and Garrett know how to focus on feeding the people. The focus is completely “with us” all three days.
This focus offers opportunity to:
really enjoy what we’re doing.
set goals.
bond with the people we meet.
keep our pantry open.
As the coordinator, I’m often asked: “Who sponsors your pantry?”
Thank you to everyone at the Walmart, both customers and employees. Without you, we wouldn’t be able to feed 800+ people every month. When we feed the hungry, we strengthen our whole community. We couldn’t do this without your support.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Charity
You won’t hear statements like these at our food pantry:
“No one coming to our pantry gets food unless I know they really need it. I go to their house and check.”
“We make everyone show ID. We need proof of address, proof of your children.”
“We make everyone show their Social Security card at our pantry.”
FOR ME, THE VERY WORD “CHARITY” IS CREEPY. I’m not in a charitable business. I’m in the business of feeding hungry people food diverted from a landfill.
I love to multi-task and, as a pantry coordinator, I’m really in my element. The pantry I manage feeds all manner of people a 3-day-supply of food. This is delicious, nutritious food, much of which is organic.
Farmers, grocers, food manufacturers, share what they cannot sell. As I distribute all this food – left over because it’s the wrong shape, wrong size, maybe the wrong color – they get a tax break.
Personally, I love the idea that landfills are not getting larger so quickly, that fewer dumpsters and composters are being used. And, at the same time…sick people, old people, unemployed people, homeless people, are not going hungry.
FOR ME, HUNGER IS OBSCENE.
At the Reservoir Food Pantry, we have the least possible eligibility requirements. People coming to our pantry sign their name and check off the number of household residents. That’s it.
(When I had been a coordinator only a few months, someone complained loudly and a fancy USDA inspector drove down from Albany for the express purpose of taking me to the woodshed. That didn’t happen. He approved of the pantry. He carefully explained to me what’s necessary for our sign-in procedures. I’ve followed them ever since.)
Basically, if they’re hungry, we give them the food. Anyone willing to stand in line an hour for food can’t be all that rich.
PANTRIES OFFERING CHARITY HAVE AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT APPROACH. Once we get into charity, we make the shopper feel:
humiliation
shame
inadequate
powerless
desperate
wounded.
When charity and outreach become a part of the feeding, food workers become possessive of the food. The big question then becomes: “Are you worthy?”
Charity brokers forget the food is not owned by the coordinators, churches, volunteers, board members. It has been entrusted to us to distribute.
OUR JOB IS TO GIVE IT AWAY. At the Reservoir Food Pantry, we understand this concept. We offer, whenever possible, a service preserving dignity.
In our great nation, there is no excuse for anyone to go hungry because our country is oversupplied with food.
When we feed the hungry, we strengthen the entire community.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Books! Books! Books! – For a Food Pantry?
One thing no one ever discusses in the pantry is the past. They speak about things that happened last week or so but never beyond. Whatever happened before they find the pantry is just not on the agenda. As holidays approach, no one ever speaks about the Thanksgivings, Christmases, Hanukkahs, Passovers they had before their lives spun out of control. No one ever mentions that there isn’t enough money to get Passover food. No one ever asks a child what Santa is going to bring.
“Hi Thurman. How’re you doing? I know we haven’t spoken in awhile but I’m wondering if your pantry can use some books?”
“Of course! We offer food for the body and now we’ll have books for the soul. ” What could be better?
So, within a very short time, my car was parked outside the door of Lisa Library in Kingston getting stuffed with boxes of beautiful, educational, fun, adorable, new books for children. While I was still pinching myself to be sure it was really happening, we headed out for the pantry and stacked them for distribution on Monday.
This is a real gift…a prayer answered. This time of year I’m always searching for things people can use as holiday gifts. It goes without saying that gifts are just not in anyone’s budget right now. (Not in the pantry world, anyway.)
We have families with children coming to our pantry. They’ll go home (wherever and whatever that is) with a special treat this week.
We also have grandparents with not one penny for a holiday gift for grandchildren. Well, now, thanks to Elisa Gee and Lisa Library, these grandchildren have a chance to get a gift from a grandparent.
Thank you Lisa Library!
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Who Volunteers? – Working in a food pantry
THE SHORT ANSWER? Everybody. But, of course, that’s not the whole story.
Can you:
drive a car?
drive a truck?
say “Welcome” to frightened people?
stock food on shelves?
direct traffic in the parking lot behind Robert”s Auction?
address envelopes?
stuff envelopes?
call people up and ask them to help deliver food ?
sit at a table in front of the Kingston Walmart?
But, really, whether or not you can do anything on the list is irrelevant. If you want to get a close look at the ideal volunteer, simply go over to the nearest mirror and take a look.
DOES THE MIRROR YOU’RE LOOKING IN HAVE A CRACK? Is it chipped? Are there a few spots? So much the better.
The ideal volunteer is you and me and our neighbors down the street. We’re all qualified for the job. And, if someone has just remarked on how old you are, that just makes you even more qualified.
Remember, in a pantry, there are no overqualified people.
The better question is not “Who” but “Why”?
PEOPLE ARE SEEKING AN OPPORTUNITY TO SOCIALIZE. Humans are social beings and it’s important for our mental, physical, and spiritual health to stay connected to our community. There is no better place to maintain this connection than working in a pantry.
IT’S IMPORTANT TO STAY PHYSICALLY FIT. Working at a pantry offers fun exercise without the cost of going to a gym.
DO YOU NEED FOOD? Many pantry volunteers use the pantry. This is important. We’re bringing the very same food into the pantry and distributing that we are also shopping from. We’re not asking anyone to take home food that we consider inferior. People are happy to come to the Reservoir Food Pantry because the quality and variety of the food is the best we can get. This wouldn’t happen if we didn’t shop at the pantry ourselves.
Have life’s circumstances caused you to feel as though you’ve been put out to pasture? Not to worry. Retirement and/or loss of a job happen to all of us. The absolute backbone of the food pantry industry is retired people. Retired people are an indispensable part of the entire business of feeding the hungry. In fact, I’m using every one of my life skills in the pantry and I’m in my 70’s.
WORKING IN A PANTRY OFFERS US ALL AN OPPORTUNITY TO SOCIALIZE. When you work at a food pantry, you are surrounded by people doing things. You are with people who care.
Working at a pantry offers volunteers an opportunity to be around people who are different from ourselves. Working at a pantry will put you shoulder-to-shoulder with people who are different in age, race, education, first language, religious belief, political outlook, and social class. In a pantry, we’re people from all walks of life working together to feed hungry people.
All THE DIFFERENT THINGS HAPPENING WHEN YOU WORK IN A PANTRY CONSPIRE TO KEEP YOU YOUNG.
Everyone works with a single goal: to feed the hungry. Goals give us meaning and purpose in life.
There is a downside, though. The blessings we all receive from this work distract us from 2 harsh facts of life:
deteriorating economic conditions and
increasing inequality.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Food pantries are a little quirky.
Working in a Small Upstate Community
The little bright green flier on the counter in Bread Alone read: “Business Closing”. The message for us? Make it over to the book store across from the library and buy what never sold during the summer.
THE CUTE LITTLE SHOP NEXT TO THE WINE STORE HAS 12-INCH HIGH ‘FOR RENT’ LETTERS IN THE WINDOW.
BMG GALLERY, AFTER MANY, MANY YEARS MOVED TO BEARSVILLE. My guess is that he’s found a web business niche. But I don’t know that. Anyway, he’s gone and in the gallery now is a bright red-and-white dream named “Woodstock Workplace”.
On the plus side, the corner deli which closed months ago is being refurbished and transformed into an upscale take out place called “Shindig”.
The boutique next door to Joshua’s appears to be in the process of rebirth with a small sign announcing “Little House”.
Also important: The 3 new businesses are still not real estate offices. Real estate offices are wonderful and, over the years, have kept Woodstock thriving with many weekend owners. But, a new deli or boutique will help keep the walking tourists coming for the other businesses still struggling along.
EVERY AUTUMN, WHEN THE LEAVES TURN GORGEOUS COLORS, I LOOK AROUND TOWN TO SEE WHICH BUSINESSES WILL CLOSE. This exercise begins, actually, in the summer. I watch the tourists flock to Woodstock. I never notice what they look like, how old or wealthy they appear, or where they seem to come from. What I see is how many shopping bags they carry as they walk along the street and shop.
On any given day, the most popular product sold in Woodstock seems to be the ice cream at Taco Juan’s. Go Taco Juan!
Michael B. Katz, in his book “The Undeserving Poor” writes about ghettos.
A ghetto is a place where residents leave town for the job they do and buy what they need outside where they live. The wages they bring home are not enough to accumulate.
MUCH OF THE MONEY, RICHES, GOODS, IN A GHETTO BELONG TO OUTSIDERS WHO CONTROL THE LOCAL BUSINESSES. Profits are exported.
While I realize most of the people I know in Woodstock are from somewhere else, I also realize many, many wealthy people have homes in Woodstock. Some of those people even bank in Woodstock. If you don’t believe me, look around at the three banks. Two of them just completed the most extravagant improvements they could imagine on their newly acquired buildings. It was a contest between Ulster Savings Bank and Mid Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union. I think the credit union won.
But, whoever spent the most is unimportant. What’s important here is that a few local residents had jobs for awhile as the upgrades were applied: carpenters, plumbers, pavers, landscapers, painters, security equipment specialists, …
WOODSTOCK IS A COMMUNITY BOASTING THAT OVER HALF OF ITS RESIDENTS ARE WEEKENDERS. They have primary residences elsewhere and leave Woodstock to accumulate more of the wealth they use to live here.
Woodstock is also comfortable for the over-50 crowd. We, many of us, came to Woodstock with our pensions, nest eggs, stock, bonds, and worldly possessions.
PANTRY EXPERIENCE TAUGHT ME THERE IS ALSO A GROUP, A LARGE GROUP OF PEOPLE IN WOODSTOCK WORKING FULL-TIME, YEAR-ROUND, FOR POVERTY-LEVEL WAGES. The basic productive resource of our community, which is gained outside Woodstock, is this labor.
THOSE FORTUNATE TO HAVE JOBS IN WOODSTOCK ARE OFTEN PAID “OFF THE BOOKS”. If they’re lucky, they’re paid “half on and half off”. They make enough money to pay the rent and buy the gas to get to the jobs. There is no over time, no retirement fund, no health insurance.
DESPITE THAT, THEY’RE LUCKY. How can a person survive, let alone thrive, in this situation? It takes 2 steady paychecks just to live indoors.
I don’t know how many employed people in our area are homeless. I’ve read some statistics on the subject but I don’t believe them because I know how difficult it is to get even close to an accurate count. My guestimate is that 10% of the poverty level employed are homeless.
Don’t quote me on that percentage. For that matter, don’t quote anyone else either.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
There’s all this Food out There
“While you’re making your way around the room, take what you need of the fresh produce, breads and bakery items. We’ve got potatoes here and carrots, onions, peppers, spinach, salad mix. Take what you can eat in 3 days.
“IS THIS YOUR FIRST VISIT? Welcome! We hope you’ll come every week. That’s how you get the best deals. Come on in. Go around the pantry in a clockwise direction. Begin here with a bottle of water. Now, as you go around the room, can you use a box of cereal? How about a jar of peanut butter? We have some jelly today. Take a jar of mayonnaise, too.”
I was speaking with a new shopper, a young woman who had just come in the door. She was on the verge of tears. I learned the best way to handle this situation was to cheerfully guide her through the room. When a person cried, I treated the event as though everything was normal. And, it was normal to see people crying in the pantry occasionally. If they asked for a tissue, I gave them one. Other than that, I ignored the tears.
“No thanks. I have a jar of mayonnaise at home now. My kitchen is almost totally empty because my husband hasn’t worked in 7 months. I’m completely out of food. But I do have some mayonnaise.”
“Take it anyway. You never know when we’ll get more in.” Back on this wall is the USDA section. Take a can of each type of vegetable or fruit for each person in your household. That means you can take cans of vegetarian beans, refried beans, green beans, corn, peaches, and tomato sauce. How many people are in your household? “There’s me, my husband and our 2 daughters. They’re in elementary school.”
MONTHS LATER HER STORY REVEALED ITSELF. Her husband, badly injured in an accident, may never work again. They sold a piece of land for money to live on. One child has diabetes. Here was a woman struggling against all obstacles to do the best she can to raise her children properly.
I’M ALWAYS PROUD TO CARRY USDA PRODUCTS IN THE PANTRY. When a person’s kitchen is totally empty, it’s a godsend to be able to take several cans of different foods to put on the shelves at home. Our tax dollars are at work here.
Let’s consider the United States Department of Agriculture for a moment. As our country accumulates agricultural surpluses, the food is distributed to those in need. I always get the feeling that our government is embarrassed by this food.
A much better, more mature, more realistic attitude is to realize (understand) it’s impossible to produce only the food we need. It’s better to have too much food than too little.
Droughts and floods work on their own schedules and weather is very difficult to control.
CONSIDER THE ALTERNATIVE: FOOD SHORTAGES.
SURPLUS FOOD HAS A DEFINITE PLACE IN OUR COUNTRY:
Diverting food from landfills offers communities an opportunity to feed people who don’t have any money after paying for housing and transportation to work.
Diverting food from landfills offers communities an opportunity to improve our environment.
Diverting food from landfills offers communities an opportunity to ensure that children do not go to school hungry. This is a major investment in the future because children have a difficult time learning on an empty stomach.
NO ONE IN OUR GREAT NATION SHOULD GO HUNGRY.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
In Search Of
Diane slowly walked the two blocks to the pantry every Thursday morning to work in the hallway a couple of hours until she got enough energy to walk home. “Don’t forget your roll of toilet paper, Judith. We’ve got hand cream today. Can you use that or would you prefer tooth paste?”
When she finally couldn’t work in the hallway anymore we had no one for the station, so we relied on Robyn who gracefully sat in front of the Items of Dignity closet and helped shoppers choose needed items. She lived in nearby Mt. Tremper. Her living situation seemed to be somewhat precarious because every few months she looked for a new place to live. I think she lived in her car a couple of times.
During shopping lulls, Robyn addressed envelope after envelope after envelope for the fundraising letters we sent out several times each year. So, really, Robyn worked two jobs in the hallway: Items of Dignity and Fundraising.
One afternoon Robyn came to my home. “Phoebe died yesterday Thurman. I need a place to bury her.” We found a quiet place in my garden under a Japanese Willow. She and Barry dug a grave and placed her beloved cat, wrapped in a rug, in the freshly dug earth. After sprinkling dirt over Phoebe, Barry emptied a large bag of mulch over the grave. I offered a prayer.
The next morning, as I walked by the area, I saw a cross and a little bouquet of flowers on the grave.
Leticia, our 99-pound wonder, seems to the casual observer not to be a candidate for heavy lifting. However, she shows up on Tuesday mornings ready for shelving action. A retired teacher, she doesn’t stock shelves. She packs them. No box is too large, No case is too heavy. A tiny Latina whirlwind, Leticia gives energy to all of us.
Our pantry shed is small so we rely on her expertise to have enough food available for the shoppers on pantry day. When Leticia finishes packing a shelf, we can’t even get a paper clip in the extra space. Go Leticia!
No one wakes up one day and says “I think I’ll go down to the local food pantry and volunteer”. People spending time in pantries, either as volunteers or shoppers, travel down a path to get there. For the most part, the people seek healing on some level:
A job has disappeared and they need a grounding activity as they seek the next job.
They need a respite from another situation.
They need to heal from an illness.
They seek connection to the community.
Food Pantries and Food Banks everywhere rely on the support and dedication of friends and neighbors to keep doors open. When you volunteer to feed the hungry, you share time and talents. Your skills are vital to our mission.
No matter where you live, be it Upstate New York, Southern California or anywhere in between, there’s a Food Pantry or a Food Bank nearby with volunteer opportunities. Chances are pretty good that your schedule can be met. Get involved! You’ll make a difference.
At the Reservoir Food Pantry, we need people to:
organize a food or fund drive during the year to benefit the many households we serve,
drive packages of food to home bound people,
work in the pantry during opening hours,
help prepare mailers which will go out several times during the year (This activity happens during pantry hours at the Reservoir Food Pantry),
work in our new thrift shop.
Volunteers working at the Reservoir Food Pantry, or at the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York in Latham, or the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley in Cornwall-on-Hudson, come from all walks of life:
students,
seniors,
business people,
church members,
service organizations.
If you know an employee in an area school, we are looking to organize a school food drive for the Reservoir Food Pantry.
If you’re interested in volunteering, please contact us:
Mary Mazur 518-786-3691×268 is the volunteer coordinator at the Regional Food Bank in Latham.
Jessica Fetonti, 845-534-5344 is at the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley in Cornwall.
Thurman Greco, 845-399-3967 is at the Reservoir Food Pantry.
Now is the best season of the year to volunteer at a Food Pantry or Food Bank. Everyone at these facilities is gearing up for the holiday feeding season so people are needed to sort food for distribution to food pantries, soup kitchens, and emergency shelters. Join in the fun, building teamwork, and giving back to the community all at the same time.
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Please leave a comment.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
