Hurricane Irene, Superstorm Sandy, and the Reservoir Food Pantry in Boiceville, NY
The 2014 Hurricane season officially began June 1. This information is just so much trivia to many. However, people in the Ulster County pantry world are, of course, a little antsy. It’s understandable. We, those of us who live in this area, haven’t gotten over the last two hurricanes. Mold and rot continue to advance on residential and commercial buildings at a fast clip while funds for repairs and replacements of damaged/destroyed buildings and vehicles have in many instances not yet become a reality. Many left homeless, jobless, and without transportation feel to their bones that nothing is ever going to be done to repair/replace things damaged and ruined.
Some don’t believe another hurricane will pass this way again. After all, two horrendous weather events, each producing floods of Biblical proportions are enough. Right? Reservoir Food Pantry volunteers know what we’re up against. After all, we were the deniers after Irene. We learned our lesson with Sandy and now prepare to feed those affected by the next “big one”-whenever it hits.
Hurricanes are very destructive, often ruining everything in their path. Some people include their lives in the “ruined” category. Sam and Mary lost a home, a job, and a car in Irene. They still live in the area, in a rented shed. They walk wherever they go – including to the Reservoir Food Pantry.
Or, if you prefer, you can get us a gift certificate at the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley. Call 845-534-5344 and donate money to the Reservoir Food Pantry, Agency Number 2539f. That call will get us the most food for the money. Food at the Food Bank is .16 per pound, making a can of soup cost sixteen cents, for example.
If you access the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley through www.foodbankofhudsonvalley.org, the donate button looms large on the right side of the screen. You can’t miss it! Again, please specify your donation goes to 2539f, Reservoir Food Pantry.
And, finally, if you prefer to choose and buy the disaster relief foods you give to the Reservoir Food Pantry, please drop them off at the Olive Town Offices or at the Community Bank in Boiceville.
However you choose to share, none of your donations will be used to pay for rent or salaries. And, most important, this disaster food will be in the hands of the victims before any other food sent in from outside sources.
Peace and food for all.
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Thurman Greco
Food Bank of the Hudson Valley Throws a Party
Every year, in May, the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, throws a party. The employees who spend every working moment getting food together to feed the hungry, make time in their schedules to put together a wonderful dinner honoring the Food Bank and agency volunteers. On this special evening, the cavernous storeroom is transformed into a large dining hall complete with enough tables and chairs (donated by the Storm King Engine Company #2) to seat at least 235 people.
While the transformation is performed by the employees at the Food Bank, most everything else is a community effort.
The delicious menu at this year’s event was a combined effort of C & S Wholesale, who gave the food and Nick Zitera of Cosimos’s Restaurant. This collaboration, overseen by Toni Gutter and Jessica Fetonti offered a special selection for the guests: lemon chicken, roast pork, toss salad with a specially prepared sesame seed dressing, green beans in an oriental sauce, tortellini Alfredo.
Dessert was a delicious cake prepared by Hannaford’s Bakery and served with freshly brewed coffee.
Other beverages served during the evening were donated by Pepsi Cola.
Fresh flowers were on every table.
An agency is honored every year. The 2014 honoree is Helping Hands Food Pantry of Dover Plains. A table full of volunteers from Helping Hands came to the dinner. They brought their longest standing volunteer who has been serving at Helping Hands since it opened over 30 years ago.
Roberta Sherman and Tom Coons, two Food Bank volunteers, were honored this year.
So what is the moral of this story? The moral is this: even though employees of the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley are focused on getting food to the hungry, they have space in their schedules and their hearts to honor people who themselves are so immersed in feeding the hungry that they don’t even realize they need this recognition.
When people are totally focused on give, give, give, they forget they might need to have their own spiritual tanks refilled occasionally. So, then, along comes the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley offering a banquet meal to fill not only the body but the soul.
To the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley, I say “Thank you.”
To the rest of us I ask “How can we help the people of the Food Bank refill their spiritual tanks?”
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Food Banks Are All About Distributing Food To The Hungry.
When I visit the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley or the Food Bank of Northeastern New York, the thing that comes to mind is that everyone is focused on feeding the people.
Food Banks are all about getting food. The warehouse has bays for large 18-wheelers to bring in loads of food for distribution.
The produce area is always packed with both food and agency representatives shopping for food.
Food. Food. Food. That’s all that’s going on.
In the midst of all the hustle and bustle, in the midst of all the people trying to get as much food loaded into their rigs as quickly as possible, there are four women at the Food Bank of Northeastern New York who are on the front line focused on keeping the food flowing to the hungry.
Kathy, Bonnie, Michele, and Nora are on the job every single day.
They are the hub of the operation.
Everyone who calls in or walks into the Food Bank of Northeastern New York meets Kathy first. She’s got an infectious smile, a winning way. When I talk to Kathy, I know that all is right with the world.
The phones are ringing off the walls all day long everyday. But, when Kathy answers my call, I know that she’s got all day and a special message for me and me alone.
When I give a food order to Bonnie, Nora, or Michele, I know they’ve got my pantry’s best interest at heart.
Frankly, this attitude, this treatment, this mannerly approach is special. It’s also quite rare. When was the last time you spoke on the phone to someone who cared about you and your needs? It’s been years for me.
The Reservoir Food Pantry is new. The Reservoir Food Pantry is still small. The budget of the Reservoir Food Pantry is even smaller. So, it’s imperative that every order reflects the very best deals.
When I call the Food Bank, I’m looking for the new arrivals on the USDA front. This food is free and because of the pantry’s size and newness, we’re only allowed two cases of whatever USDA comes in. Other than that, I’m after the best deals to be found on the Donation List and the Surplus List. So, I call two or three days each week to get whatever is available.
Then, on the following Monday morning, Prasida and Roseann drive to Latham and Cornwall and pick up as much produce as they can load in their vehicles.
Prasida also gets the order from the conveyor belt (We have a standing 11:00 a.m. appointment for boxed foods).
“Hi Chris. What have we got today?…WOW! Look at those oranges! And those organic apples! What a prize! Onions. Carrots. Salads. Chris, thanks so much for all you do.”
It’s crowded out in the produce room also. Again, everyone who comes in contact with us is there to help us, to serve our needs, support our efforts to feed the hungry.
Inside the building offices there is a whole army of people working hard to see that food gets to the Food Bank so it can be distributed to us. It’s very comforting to know that, no matter how difficult our tasks are in our pantries, shelters, soup kitchens, we have strong support for the jobs we do.
With support like that, we can’t lose.
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Peace and food for all.
A Summer Storm in New York State: Hurricane Irene and Super Storm Sandy
If we can conquer space, we can conquer childhood hunger.” – Buzz Aldrin
With hurricane season upon us again, I’m reminded that weather was always an important consideration for both pantry shoppers and volunteers in the Good Neighbor Food Pantry in Woodstock. Winters were important because of the cold, cold, cold waits in front of the building before the door opened.
But, summers were another matter altogether. Storms confronted us several times every summer. They ranged from gentle showers lasting a few minutes to hurricanes of historic proportions.
Always a concern in these summer events was the stream running along the side of the church building. Actually, the building was constructed right into the stream and the parking lot was on the other side of the stream. Drivers crossed over a tiny bridge to park.
Often, when rain came, the little stream rose. On several occasions I feared for the pantry. I didn’t fear for the building. It was built many years ago and had weathered many storms and high water events. I feared water would come into the pantry room which was on the lowest floor and right on ground level.
Luckily, this never happened. At one point, during a storm, we were distributing food to the shoppers and keeping an eye on the water level at the same time. The water came up to within two inches of coming into the building.
“Please shop quickly folks. That stream is rising very fast. I want us all to get our food before I have to close the pantry for our safety.”
I repeated these three sentences over and over and over. (As if the people could have shopped any faster. They were already being pushed to their limits regularly in an effort to get as many people through the pantry as we could during shopping hours.)
Then, in August, 2011, Hurricane Irene blew through. The seventh costliest hurricane in U.S. History, Irene landed at Coney Island on August 28th as a category 1 storm and then moved through New York State on its way over New England.
Throughout the Catskill Mountains and the Hudson River Valley, Irene caused floods described as five-hundred-year-floods by The Weather Channel.
On the next pantry day following Irene’s visit, people flocked in. They had no power in their homes, apartments, rooms. Some had lost everything. Others were inconvenienced by what was to be a week or more without power.
But, all were grateful for the food they received at the pantry.
Some in the line were visibly upset. It was painfully obvious that some of the people were never going to spiritually, emotionally, and financially recover from Irene. One couple, renting a place near Boiceville, lost everything, including their car. Someone they knew had a room in a shed further up the road on a hill. They moved in. They’re still there. They still don’t have a car. They walk to the Reservoir Food Pantry now and pick up what food they can carry to their home each week.
Within a short time, the Food Bank was making both Clorox and water in gallon jugs available.
The lesson I learned from Irene was to be prepared in the summer. Now, I order cleaning supplies throughout the year whenever they become available at the Food Bank. We try to keep bars of soap and toothbrushes on hand in the Items of Dignity section of the pantry.
Water is available in the pantry throughout the year. At a minimum, shoppers can take a bottle when they shop. In time of crisis they can, of course, take much more depending on what we have stacked in the back.
Having bottled water in the storeroom caused both problems and criticism when people who didn’t understand our ordering system saw case after case after case of water just sitting in a corner. This was particularly troubling to those who saw us allowing people to take only one bottle weekly throughout the year when we had so much in the storeroom.
When criticized, I simply refused to move off the dime. Two things with their own clocks: Food Banks and Hurricanes. I learned to work with both schedules.
When Superstorm Sandy hit New York City on October 29, 2012, the volunteers at the Good Neighbor Food Pantry were more prepared than when Irene visited. And, it was a good thing. Sandy was much larger and deadlier, affecting states from Florida to Maine. Sandy was both the second costliest hurricane in U.S. History and the deadliest.
At the pantry, we really didn’t skip a beat. As the shoppers filed in for food we asked each one about how they’d been affected by Sandy.
Probably half of the people coming through our doors in November were affected by Superstorm Sandy. As with Irene, some Sandy victims were unaware that food pantries even existed the week before. They just woke up one morning to discover life as they knew it to be totally different. To make matters worse, they soon realized they were in a new sociological category: situational poor. Not only were they homeless and scrounging for food, they were soon painfully aware they needed huge amounts of money to even begin the climb back to what they thought was normal.
“We’ve lost everything, our home, our car…everything.”
“We’re doing better than some Thurman. Part of our house is still standing. Our car is not gone.”
“Everything is gone, our home, our car, my job.”
On and on the stories went. Standing in the hall waiting to get food was calming for some. Others were not so calmed during their first visits. They looked around in the line and saw some of the people for what they were: alcoholics, artists, child abusers, children, crazies, the disabled, druggies, drunks, the elderly, hardworking people juggling two and three jobs, homeless, mentally ill, messed-up people, musicians, schizophrenics, terminally ill, thieves, Woodstock’s colorful characters, volunteers.
The Food Bank of the Hudson Valley shipped truckloads of food to our community in the weeks after Superstorm Sandy. In a short time, we served lines of people from the parking lot at St. John’s Roman Catholic Church off route 375 in West Hurley. In all, ten truckloads of food were distributed. This was in addition to food we were distributing to people on regular pantry days.
For months after Sandy’s visit, we ruminated over how to improve our disaster operations. Rich Allen devised a system he called “Buddy Up.” He asked each volunteer to contact another pantry and be prepared to communicate with these people in future storm events.
I went to the Town of Woodstock Board meetings several times and tried to involve the town in our efforts. I was never able to engage the Town Board in an effort to feed people in the event of a disaster.
The Good Neighbor Food pantry had the backing of the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley. We had volunteers trained to deliver food during emergencies. What we lacked were community officials who believed Woodstock would ever get hit. And, also, we had demonstrated that we could/would deliver large shipments of food to hungry people without involving the community in any way. Why should they bother to participate? A free ride already existed.
What we did not have and what we needed was for the Town of Woodstock to allow us to deliver and distribute large amounts of food to hungry people from a community property location if a damaging disaster struck our area.
When I requested this, I was met with glazed eyes, stares, and silence. And, really, why should they cooperate? The Catholic Church in West Hurley hosted these emergency mass food distributions now. Why change things? They simply didn’t to get involved if they could shove the job off on someone else.
My argument was that the community had a responsibility to offer a location. In the event of a serious future disaster, the parking lot of St. John’s Church was not big enough. I argued that preparation for a disaster would not hurt.
This story does not have a positive resolution. To my knowledge, no one stepped forward with a provision for emergency food distribution in Woodstock in the event of a catastrophic event.
The Reservoir Food Pantry and its location in Boiceville is now the focus of any disaster prevention efforts. Fortunately or unfortunately, Boiceville residents are familiar with superstorm aftermath.
Restoring normalcy to Upstate New Yorkers in the aftermath of both Irene and Sandy has been lacking. Many destroyed homes and businesses in our area are still not restored. A motel next to our Reservoir Food Pantry distribution point on Route 28 in Boiceville has been abandoned. Shoppers are coming for food who will probably never experience life as they knew it before Irene and Sandy.
Sadly, mold and rot advance without any help and buildings and vehicles do not repair themselves. We need to figure out how to facilitate rebuilding homes and businesses while preparing for the next disaster.
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Thurman Greco
Support a Homeless Friendly Pantry
“In a land of great wealth, families must not live in hopeless poverty. In a land rich in harvest, children just must not go hungry.” – Lyndon B. Johnson
So, what is a homeless-friendly pantry? What makes a pantry homeless friendly, anyway? And, how can I support such a pantry?
For starters, a homeless friendly pantry doesn’t require discriminatory identification. Homeless people living in their cars or on the porch of an unoccupied home, or in an abandoned building cannot offer proof of address. Nor should they be asked to. A shopper’s address does not belong on the list of needed information.
A homeless-friendly pantry stocks foods which homeless people can eat. Those foods include fruits and vegetables which can be eaten raw. Canned goods for homeless people have pop tops which don’t need can openers.
A homeless friendly pantry offers salads in containers that homeless people can eat out of. Salad dressings are best in small packages or containers.
Individual containers of yogurt, cottage cheese, are good choices along with small containers of milk, juice, and packages of cheese.
Peanut butter, jelly, crackers, and bread are essential. Protein bars and cereal bars should be available at all times.
A homeless-friendly pantry offers at least five items of canned/boxed/bagged food per person to a household.
A homeless-friendly pantry offers 50% fresh produce to its shoppers. Produce which can be eaten raw such as carrots, cherries, lettuce, celery, sweet peppers, is very important to the health of a homeless person to have access to fresh fruits and vegetables.
The most important thing a homeless-sensitive pantry offers is a respect for all shoppers regardless of their living conditions, their health issues, and their disabilities.
The best way to support a homeless-friendly pantry is by sending money and donating food.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
What About the Pantry Line? Well…What About it? Info for the New Shopper
Food pantries are all about lines. Unless the food pantry you visit is brand new and nobody knows about it yet, the chances are you’re going to stand in a line. Maybe for only a few moments…maybe for an hour or more.
Don’t fret. This is your time to look, listen, and learn.
How long has the person in front of you been coming to the pantry? What advice does this person have for you?
People in lines have a tendency to speak about what’s going on in their lives. You, as a new pantry shopper can learn a lot by just listening and asking questions.
Are you going through a a foreclosure, for example? With luck, you’ll meet a person who’s walked down this street and who is willing to share his/her story. You may learn some helpful information.
Are you trying to get registered for SNAP? You’ll find tips from people in this line?
Perhaps you need your car fixed and don’t have the money for the expensive dealership repairs. The pantry line is a good place to network for names of two or three people who fix autos for less.
You will meet many, many kinds of people in the pantry line and the tendency the first two or three visits is to feel like you’ll never fit in here…and also to feel like you don’t want to ever fit in.
That’s a totally appropriate feeling. But, one of the big things happening at a pantry is meeting all kinds of people. I, personally, feel like it’s an important part of the journey.
Ideally, a pantry line is a safe space. It’s an opportunity to feel unafraid and to feel as if you are part of a community…which you are.
Thank God for the opportunity to meet the people and be a part of this community. The pantry line offers you an opportunity to enrich your life.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
7 Things to Consider When Searching for a Food Pantry
All food pantries are different. You need to shop for a food pantry as you would for a car, a major appliance, or any other big ticket item.
THE FIRST THING to look for in a pantry is the location. Where is the nearest food pantry? Will you be comfortable shopping at a pantry in your neighborhood? There are some real pros and cons to this decision. If you shop at your neighborhood food pantry, it’s inevitable that you’ll be seen by people who know you. For some, this is going to be the worst moment of your life. For others, not so.
One nice thing about choosing a pantry near where you live or work is that you’ll save on transportation costs. Also, pantries usually take a while to visit so the less time you spend traveling to and fro, the easier the whole event will be.
THE SECOND DECISION to make is about the hours the pantry is open. It does absolutely no good to know all about the pantry nearest you if it’s open on Tuesday and you can’t get there on Tuesday. So, know right from the beginning of your search when you have time and transportation to get to a pantry.
THE THIRD DECISION to make is about the food itself. The Reservoir Food Pantry, for example, is a vegetarian pantry. So, at our pantry, you’ll be hard pressed to find meat, fish, etc. You will, however, find yogurt. We’re currently offering 9 cups of yogurt per person in the household. I’m sure that luxury won’t go on forever but, for now, life is good.
Because we’re a vegetarian pantry, we offer a large variety of fresh fruits and vegetables and many items are organic.
We also have a freezer and refrigerator which further expand what we can offer on pantry day.
Of course, you can’t really ask pantry volunteers questions like “Are you vegetarian?” and “How many freezers and refrigerators do you have?” However, when you finally get to the pantry for your first visit, you can certainly use your eyes to decide about these things.
A FOURTH DECISION to make about a pantry is whether you’re going to try to find one that’s open weekly, bi-monthly, or monthly. Reservoir Food Pantry opens weekly. Most pantries in our area serve a three-day supply of food. So, if you choose a pantry that’s only open one day a month, it’s for sure you’re going to need to connect up to at least two or three pantries.
For some, this is a good thing because it offers more variety in the foods you’ll find.
A FIFTH DECISION to make is whether or not you want a client choice pantry or not. Some pantries pass out bags of food. You take home what is given to you. Other pantries, like the Reservoir Food Pantry offer client choice. What this means is that you choose the foods you take home. Personally, I think the client choice pantries take more time to visit because the shoppers are actually choosing food. So, it’s a trade off. You spend more time in the pantry but you take home food you personally chose, food that you and your household members can eat.
A SIXTH DECISION involves the paperwork. Just how much paperwork do you want to fill out? You are only, really, required to sign your name for the food. However, some pantries want much more information. Some pantries want to see a lot of identification. Others never ask. One thing they can’t do though: they can’t ask to see your Social Security Card. And, they can’t ask for the number.
Frankly, if the pantry is client choice, if it’s open when you need it, if the volunteers are nice and treat you with dignity, fill out the paperwork and get the food.
A SEVENTH DECISION is all about you…and your attitude. Keep in mind as you travel down this path that you are a trailblazer. You’re moving into a part of our culture known only to those who use the service. You can be embarrassed, ashamed, depressed, angry. Or, you can realize that you are a forward thinking person who is adapting to life in the 21st century and embracing a new habits which many of us are already using.
I like the second way best. Life is easier with a coping attitude.
Pantry shoppers understand that pantry food is our tax dollars at work.
Pantry shoppers understand that money not spent for the food at the pantry store means there are a few more dollars that can be spent on other necessities like toilet paper and tooth paste.
Pantry shoppers understand that pantries offer foods which we can, in many instances no longer afford.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Reservoir Food Pantry Launches May Food Drive
The Reservoir Food Pantry in Boiceville, NY is launching an early summer food drive beginning today and running through the end of May.
All food and items of dignity you donate go directly to the needy who visit the pantry or to the needy who receive food packages delivered to their homes.
Funds donated are used to purchase food, items of dignity, and gasoline to go to Latham, NY to pick up food.
The Reservoir Food Pantry opened its doors last September 9th. Volunteers began by delivering food to homebound individuals and households in the area of the Ashokan Reservoir in Ulster County, New York. The numbers of people asking to use the Reservoir Food Pantry services has steadily increased since that time…so much so that the pantry is now distributing food three days weekly. People visiting the pantry or receiving food receive a three-day-supply of food.
People using the Reservoir Food Pantry are making hard choices. They’re choosing between food and medicine, or food and transportation, or food and rent.
Many are food insecure. They are struggling to have enough food to eat. And, they are going hungry.
Children are not exempt from this situation. Volunteers at the pantry work hard to see that the children of families using the pantry have enough to eat.
To donate food or items of dignity, please drop them off at the Community Bank in Boiceville, and the Olive Town offices.
If you prefer to send a check, please make it out to the Reservoir Food Pantry, P. O. Box 245, Boiceville, New York, 12412.
It’s easy to include the Reservoir Food Pantry in your gift giving plans. Simply send a check to the Reservoir Food Pantry and include the name and address of the person receiving the gift. We’ll send them a lovely card telling them that a gift was sent in their name.
Traditionally, donations of food and/or money to food pantries decline in the summer. Often, by August, pantries are dangerously low on food. Their supplies are depleted. We are determined to avoid this situation in the Reservoir Food Pantry if we possibly can. We are working to have enough food on hand to meet the increased need throughout the coming summer months…and beyond.
We thank you for your generosity. We thank you for supporting a local charity. We thank you for thinking of those around you who are in need at this time.
For more information, please call 845-399-3967.
Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
What, Exactly, Can I Get With a Food Stamp Card (SNAP)?
Hunger is not an issue of charity. It is an issue of justice.” – Jacques Diouf
This post is dedicated to anyone whose money is just not going as far as
it used to go.
This post is dedicated to anyone who has more month than money.
Are you getting food stamps?
If the answer to this question is “no”, please read further to figure out how to get a SNAP card.
Please don’t be embarrassed or shocked by this. People just like you and me are receiving and using SNAP everyday. They use SNAP to help make ends meet while buying nutritious food. This is the new way we live in the 21st century.
Many people over 60 years of age are having trouble finding money for food…every month. When seniors don’t get enough to eat, they eventually get sick. When this happens, a burden is placed on children and grand children.
I, for one, don’t want this to happen to me and I’m sure you feel the same way.
We’ve all worked for many years and paid our taxes dutifully. Now that we’re retired, our incomes are fixed but our expenses are not. Now is our chance to receive some benefits.
Here is what will happen if you apply for food stamps (SNAP). If you hit the jackpot, you’ll get enough funds each month loaded onto a debit card which you can use to purchase all the food you and your household members need.
If you win less and don’t really get the jackpot, you’ll get something. Either way, you’ll get more food than you had before you applied.
And, when you use SNAP you may save enough money to have a little cash in your wallet that you didn’t have before.
If you apply for benefits and are denied, please find out why. You may have mistakenly answered a question incorrectly.
Food Stamp funds come in a debit card which can be used at a grocery store, gas station convenience store, farmers market or other food outlet. With this little card you can purchase fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, dairy products, bread, cereal. You can purchase food that is fresh, frozen, or canned.
What you cannot purchase is inedible products such as toilet paper, soaps, tooth paste. You are also prohibited from purchasing restaurant food. You cannot purchase foods or meals prepared for in store dining. Beer, liquor, wine, and tobacco are prohibited.
It does take some effort to get this card. You need to apply for it. A form needs to be filled out.
You’ll be asked to give your name, address, date of birth, social security number, the names and ages of people who live with you, your total household income and your monthly expenses.
If you are asked to provide any documents, please only use copies. You keep the original documents in your own files.
SNAP uses your income, shelter costs and medical expenses to determine your benefit amount.
You can apply for SNAP benefits by mail, fax, or in person at your local Department of Social Services office.
If you live in New York State, call 1-800-342-3009 for the address of the office nearest you.
If you want, you can have another person apply for you. An interview is required, but you can have a telephone interview if you cannot go to the office.
You may qualify for SNAP even if you work, receive Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and/or retirement benefits.
You can apply for SNAP even if you own a house or car, have money in the bank, or live with other people.
If you know someone who might be able to benefit from having a SNAP card, please share this information with them. Statistics tell us that one senior in seven doesn’t have enough to eat.
There is no excuse for anyone in our beautiful nation to go hungry.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Reservoir Food Pantry – Then and Now
One thing about our pantry that makes us different is that we’re feeding people on a weekly basis ” – Deborah Nigrelli
I walked through the torn plastic curtain covering the entrance to the produce room exactly at 10:30 last Monday morning, just like always.
Except, it wasn’t like always. We hadn’t shopped for produce at the Food Bank in six months.
We parked the van in a slot, raced over to the edge of the Food Bank building and grabbed the only metal flat bed cart available – a 3′ x 5′ wheeled platform to hold all the precious cargo we hoped to find here.
For a few moments, it felt as if we’d shifted into another dimension. Everything looked the same – but it wasn’t. It was as if someone had built a theater set of the Food Bank produce room to trick or fool us. My knee jerk reaction was to ask myself “Where am I…?” Fifty or so years ago, I would have said that I had dipped into the Twilight Zone. But, we don’t say that anymore and I don’t know what people say now anyway.
Then, reality hit. This was the same place with six hard months of wear and tear later. The produce area had simply been “rode hard and put up wet” as my grandmother used to say.
Even the produce cart wasn’t right. It had seriously aged in the last six months. Two wooden slats were missing and one wheel appeared to be about to fall off. We wheeled it over to the produce area. Even though the distance was less than fifteen feet, we doubted the cart would make it. As soon as we got the cart to the produce, we got excited.
Smells waked up our noses: pineapple, oranges, lemons, limes, bananas, onions, tomatoes, asparagus, spinach, lettuce, potatoes, onions, eggplant, broccoli, bread, cakes. We piled it all on the cart as quickly as possible before one of the younger, faster, stronger pantry volunteer shoppers crowded in the room could swoop down and grab all the precious food before us.
It can happen. It has happened. More than once.
“Hey Thurman, look at those pineapples! How many should we get?” she asked as she loaded food onto the cart as fast as she could get her hands on the boxes.
“Listen grab all those carrots. They’re organic.” As I spoke those words, I hefted the 100-lb bag onto the cart.
“Well, look at the apples. They’re organic too.” On the cart went three cases. And, on and on it went. We walked down the line.
In truth, most of the food is organic. It’s also “past its prime” so it’s donated to the Food Bank. Everything given to the Food Bank has been left on the shelves at the super market because it was too old, too big, too small, bruised, misshapen, and left on the shelves at the super market.
In truth, it’s all diverted to the Food Bank on its way to the the landfill.
In truth, I have much in common with this produce. I’m too old, too misshapen, too big, and I’ve been passed by a a few or so times in my life…especially in the recent past.
Shopping here today was like seeing an old friend after a long absence. “Wow. She’s aged. Wow. We’ve all aged.”
For a moment I felt myself aging.
For a moment, I saw myself for what I am – an aging crone accompanied by a retired Woodstock herbalist turned Hindu (Amma) devotee – struggling to lift case after case of food that I shouldn’t lift. But, who else was there?
This haul was some kind of miracle (they all are, actually.) We loaded all this precious food along with cases of cereal, whole wheat pasta, canned green beans, and canned fruit cocktail in the hold of Vanessa, an also aging Dodge Grand Caravan, and returned to Boiceville. We arrived just in time to set up our tables in front of the Wastewater Treatment Plant before the first shoppers arrived.
They trickled up, slowly, some a little hesitant, trying to figure out how to act at a food pantry. Soon, people were visiting, chatting, getting to know one another over apples, asparagus, onions.
In a pantry, we feed alcoholics, artists, child abusers, children, colorful characters, crazies, the disabled, druggies, drunks, elderly men and women, hardworking people juggling two and three jobs, homeless, mentally ill, messed-up people, musicians, normal people, people battling terminal illness, politicians, schizophrenics, thieves, veterans, writers, and volunteers.
Today was a little different from other Mondays, however. We doubled our numbers this week.
This event could have “thrown” other volunteers, just as the appearance of the Food Bank “threw” me earlier in the morning. But, not this crowd. Because all of us working at the Reservoir Food Pantry are experienced, we just went into expansion mode. Before 3:00, we were discussing where we’re going to put the new shelves we’re buying and what specifications our next truck is going to have.
Because, we all know one thing: census numbers rise in a pantry. They don’t go down. The Boiceville area has needed a pantry for awhile so we’re prepared to expand to meet the demand created by the increasing number of shoppers.
Our job is to make sure that we get enough food on our Monday morning trips to Latham…no matter what
Peace and food for all.
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Thurman Greco
