Children of the Pantries – a tribute to Richard, Jamie, Robert, and Mikey
“Everything tells us that children who grow up in poverty are much more likely to be adults in poverty.” – Peter Edelman
The flier came in the mail last Tuesday – reminding me that, once again, school is starting. Immediately I thought of pantry shoppers everywhere struggling to get the kids ready for school.
I remembered my own childhood with my mother
sewing my school clothes
buying new shoes – saddle oxfords
buying sweaters and a coat
filling a special kitchen cabinet with school lunch snacks
taking me to the local Ben Franklin store with a list of needed school supplies.
2015 is sooo different! All the households I know are now:
scrounging for any and all free hand-me-down school clothes they can find
checking around to find out who has free school supplies to share
connecting with the schools to see if there will be any backpack programs and how school breakfast/lunch programs will be managed at their children’s school this year.
And, all the while, the parents are holding down 2 and 3 jobs. And, invariably, in the midst of all this activity, the car will break down…
Invisible almost, children come with their parents to shop at the pantry weekly for food. These children are beautiful, alert, intelligent. These children are so well behaved in the line and in the pantry. How they stand in the line with their parents/grandparents all that time every week and remain well behaved, I’ll never know. They come for a three-day supply of food which must last seven days. Shopping in a pantry usually takes a couple hours minimum.
As more and more household members work more and more hours at minimum wage jobs to pay more and more money for rent and gas to get to the jobs, more and more families appear in pantry lines. Every time I see a child in the pantry, I’m grateful for the efforts pantry volunteers make to get the most nutritious food they can find and bring back to the pantry.
This is especially important because many pantry families live in food deserts and have no supermarket nearby. People are forced to shop at a:
pharmacy,
gas station food mart,
convenience store.
Sometimes the hungry simply can’t afford the prices in upscale grocery stores and supermarkets.
One household of 4 came weekly to the pantry. The children, Robert and Mikey, came with their parents Richard and Jamie. We all smiled when the Allens arrived at the pantry. Rich drove in with Robert riding shot gun in a bright chartreuse repurposed ambulance which still had the sirens.
Jamie arrived in a 22-year-old red Ford pickup with a black camper top which Richard and Robert kept going.
Jamie:
helped assemble the food for the take out bags
helped pack the take out bags
assisted the older and infirm shoppers
was loved by everyone
Richard:
stood outside the building as the pantry opened
supervised the parking lot to keep the chaos to a minimum
managed the hallway
knew the stock in the storeroom
made sure the shoppers had help getting their food to cars
made friends with everyone in the shopper line
stood in the pantry room when the shopping line was overcrowded
was always on the lookout for anything which might upset the flow of people into the pantry
taught Robert to break down the used cardboard boxes
taught Robert to haul groceries out to the cars
Richard didn’t teach Robert to climb to the top shelf in the storeroom to retrieve much needed items. Robert learned that on his own.
Robert, 10, loved food…any kind of food. Whenever Robert wasn’t otherwise occupied, helping out in the pantry, he came to the pantry room and ate anything that didn’t eat him first…raw.
Mikey, 5, was never unhappy or trying to get into trouble. Mikey wanted nothing more than to help out in any way possible. Of course, being 5, Mikey invented ways to help if we didn’t give him direction. All in all, he was a gift to the pantry, smiling and greeting everyone who shopped. For many, this was transformational.
Mikey was therapy.
Children are important in a pantry. It’s estimated that 25% of the people receiving food at pantries are children. Hungry children experience more learning difficulties and more illnesses than their well nourished classmates.
If you can, a donation of food or school supplies to a nearby pantry will be extremely helpful.
Thank you for reading this blog. The stories are true. The people are real.
Thanks for your patience. I won’t be publishing articles on this blog quite as frequently while I work to get the reflexology book ready for the publisher.
Please refer this article to your preferred social media network.
Don’t forget to join the email list.
Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Writers’ Boot Camp Inspiration
I’ve been inspired by the Writers’ Boot Camp experience to knuckle down and finish the reflexology book…AT LAST!
So, I’ll be posting on the hunger/food pantry blog every other week for the next few weeks. I hope you are not inconvenienced by this.
Thank you for your patience and your support.
Thank you for reading this blog.
Please refer this article to your preferred social media network.
Don’t forget to join the email list.
Thurman
http://www.reflexologyforthespirit.com
http://www.goodmorningwoodstock.com
Tara Sanders Teaches Trauma Sensitive Yoga
Many people coming to a pantry or soup kitchen have given up on their stories. They’ve lost their voices. With trauma-sensitive yoga classes, they have an opportunity to change the stories themselves. They can add new chapters.
Tara Sanders, a Woodstock based yoga instructor, is the program director in the nonprofit Exhale to Inhale.
Exhale to Inhale yoga works to empower survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault to heal through yoga. Exhale to Inhale yoga guides women through postures, breathing, and meditation. Taught in trauma-sensitive style, practitioners are enabled to ground themselves in
their bodies
their strength
their stillness.
As this happens, they connect to themselves and work toward empowerment and worthiness. This practice can be transformational for survivors of sexual abuse and domestic violence when they shed the cloak of victimhood.
This is extremely important for people working and shopping in pantries because many survivors of domestic and sexual violence are found in these communities. The influence of this trauma is great. Add to this trauma another layer of
hunger,
unemployment,
underemployment,
homelessness,
serious illnesses to include mental illness
and you have a person who is finally voiceless.
Finally, the classes are free. Many attending these classes have absolutely no money at all.
Healers and body workers have long known that when the body is traumatized, the event is stored in the muscles.
Tara teaches the classes without music. She does not touch the students to correct a posture. Lights remain on throughout the class. These sessions offer survivors an opportunity to reclaim their lives through the healing and grounding of yoga.
Tara uses the yoga classes to help her students feel safe, strong, and in the present moment. As she teaches, she is a conduit for healing, and healthful programs in our community.
Exhale to Inhale is a New York-based nonprofit offering free weekly yoga classes to survivors of domestic and sexual assault. As an introduction to our area, Tara will teach free public yoga classes on Saturdays from 11 am to noon at the Center for Creative Education, 15 Railroad Ave, in Kingston.
After June 20, Exhale to Inhale yoga will be offered free of charge to women in area shelters.
Thanks for reading this blog.
Please send a comment.
Please refer this article to your preferred social media network.
Don’t forget to join the email list.
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!
