Hunger Is Not a Disease

Politicians – the Season Begins Again!

The political season begins again.  In Woodstock, the politicians come calling.  They knock on the door – their smiles open, their outfits perfect.

And,  they don’t want to hear any questions – not from me, anyway.

I answer the door and listen to their message.  I’m waiting to pounce, really.  Because, I know they don’t know anything about hunger in our area.

And, I do know about hunger in our area.

The minute I open my mouth, they start to run for it.

Well, not so fast politician.  Not so fast.  You can’t leave my front door without taking a copy of one of my books with you.

I really know more about the economics of this area than they know. I know about children who go to school hungry.  I know about families who routinely choose between food and transportation, food and housing, food and healthcare.

The politicians know their dance is up for today.  Because I know about homelessness.  I know the difference between shelter and housing.

Woodstock is a community where people working here come from somewhere else.

Each year, I figure that some kind of message will go out and no  politicians will knock on my door.  I’m wrong every year.

So, I sit – waiting to pounce.

Lord, I apologize.  I simply can’t help myself.  Someday, I’m going to apologize and know its the last time because I won’t act this way next time.  I’d be lying to you now, Lord, if I even pretended that I won’t do it again.

I love pouncing on these people who knock on the door.  I love to tell everyone how hard it is for the elderly to get food when their shoulders and knees don’t work anymore.  I love to talk about friends I have who don’t drive anymore and who live in a food desert.

Lord, as seniors, we routinely pay more, get less, and do without.  The without part comes because we’re outliving our savings.

I feel like everyone needs to know these things.  How are the politicians going to know about them if I don’t tell them?  I’ve convinced myself that its part of my job as a food pantry volunteer.

Food pantries are mostly hidden services.  People shopping at one certainly don’t tell anyone where they get their groceries.  And, the volunteers don’t talk either.

In the beginning, I was bothered about this but I’ve come to realize that food pantries are places where miracles happen.  And, miracles are much easier if no one knows about them.

Lord, on behalf of everyone who shops or volunteers at a food pantry, I offer gratitude for the many miracles You perform on our pantry day.

And, Lord, thanks for sending these politicians over to my house every voting season.  I love to pounce and then send them away with my books.

Thank you again Lord.  I offer gratitude on behalf of everyone who shops or volunteers at a food pantry.

Amen

Thanks for reading this article!  If you enjoyed it, check out some of the older articles.  Hunger is not a Disease is an fascinating story about hunger in a small town food pantry.  This blog has been relating stories and events for ten years!

I’m amazed when I read this.  I never, in my wildest dreams, thought I would be writing about hunger and homelessness for over 10 years.  And yet, here I am, plugging away!

What a journey this blog has been – and continues to be.

What was I thinking?

Please share this article with your friends and family.  Forward it to your preferred social media network and post it on Facebook even.

Check out my books on www.thurmangreco.com.  The website is being repaired so contact me at thurmangro@gmail.com to purchase one or more of the books.

 

Let’s Live with Thurman Greco is a program aired weekly on Woodstock’s own educational TV channel 23.  This show is an informative, upbeat hour with no rehearsals.  Some segments support the blog information and highlight Reiki Therapy, Hand and Food Reflexology, and other wellness subjects.

Guests are various people whose lives have brought them to Woodstock for a day, a week, an hour, a decade, or more.  I can truthfully boast that guests report they enjoy the experience.

Let’s Live has been running for over 15 years with an occasional intermission now and then.

Enjoy interesting and fun programs while getting a peek into Woodstockers being themselves.  Search “Let’s Live with Thurman Greco” on YOUTUBE and check out the ever growing list of videos.

Please contact me at thurmangreco@gmail with comments or questions.

Thank You for the Small Pains I Get in the Pantry

Lord, you know I do need them, of course.

For each sore shoulder pain or back spasm that goes away after a while:  THANK YOU!

The small pains remind me of all the pantry work that needs to be done every day. When the small pains come around, they remind me to pray for more volunteers.

So, thanks for the sneezing fits and scratchy throats I get every delivery day.

The last time I had a sharp pain on delivery day, I caught myself praying in surprise.  And, guess what!  The entire Roberts family showed up to help.  It was just a miracle – that’s all.

And, one afternoon, I had a shoulder pain during the pantry shift and a volunteer stepped out of the line and helped us all that day.  And, he kept returning every week for several months.

For me, these small pains are reminders that I should ask for help and be ready for it to show up!

What these pains mean is that I should also hold out hope for the coming miracles.

After all, miracles happened and I couldn’t hide from them.  I was in denial for the longest time but, eventually, I had to face facts.  When I finally owned up to their reality, I saw they were special miracles for a food pantry.

Stigmata, relics, icons, and visions weren’t appropriate for the pantry.

Nobody controlled how or when they happened, only whether or not they were seen for what they were.  I wasn’t focused on the miracles because I was busy paying attention to lifting boxes, stocking shelves, filling out forms, driving to the dump with the trash.

And, so, Lord, I promise to try to ask for help when the pantry needs it.

Meanwhile…thank you…and…Amen

THANKS FOR READING THIS POST!  It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?

I have a whole volume’s worth of meditations, devotions, short stories filled with gratitude and thanksgiving.

Please let me know what you think:  thurmangreco@gmail.com.

“Miracles” is on sale at thurmangreco.com.

“Let’s Live with Thurman Greco” – the YOUTUBE channel is a place to stay on top of Thurman’s video productions.

My guests are various people whose lives have brought them to Woodstock for a day, a week, an hour, a decade or more.  I can truthfully boast that my guests report they enjoyed the experience and will be happy to return.

Subscribe today and never miss a show!

Both the blog and the show are a means to healing for viewers.

Thanks for reading this article.  Please share it with your friends and family.  Forward it to your favorite social media network.

This book is available at www.thurmangreco.com

It is my latest book about food pantries, hunger, and Woodstock.

ENJOY!

 

“Shadow of a Seagull” – It’s Time for Tom Pacheco!

I just read the news – over 500,000 people are now homeless  in Europe, thanks to current events.

In times like these, I always turn to the music of Tom Pacheco.  His songs are prayers, heartfelt prayers of understanding and appeal.

When I went to www.tompacheco.com, I heard a perfect song for our situation!  Thank you Tom Pacheco!

He wrote the song below for sisters and brothers everywhere.  We all need a little help now and then, especially those of us in war-torn Ukraine.

SHADOW OF A SEAGULL

Heavenly father, spirit of all I can see

Watch over my sister the way you have watched over me.

Give her protection, through any danger she meets.

Though she may stumble, let her always land on her feet.

She’s been unlucky.  She’s been betrayed.

This time, please give her a good hand to play.

Make every cloud she cannot outrun

be just a shadow of a seagull in the sun.

 

I have been worried, knowing she’s out there alone

searching for something inside that is deeper than bone.

How long can somebody suffer so much for so long,

before they believe there’s no reason at all to go on.

Show her, her value, to her own eyes.

Give her the wings that will help her to fly.

Make every cloud she cannot outrun

Be just a shadow of a seagull in the sun.

She has taken far too many falls.

Worked so long and hard just to lose it all.

Every crop she planted did not yield.

This time, let a treasure fill her fields.

Guide her through valleys, clear a few trees from her path.

Spare her the merciless winds and the cold winters wrath.

Lead her to someplace of beauty where healing can start.

Let the moon shine off the rivers and into her heart.

Let her find purpose and let her find peace.

From every prison, may she be released.

Make every cloud she cannot outrun

Be just a shadow of a seagull in the sun.

These lyrics and music are copyrighted by Tom Pacheco.

I urge you to listen to some of Tom’s songs.  He is good.  His heart goes out to the men and women and children suffering in Europe now.

Tom’s energy and work is just the person to motivate us to bring peace in our hearts for Ukraine.

I know this, first hand.  Tom stepped up to the plate in Woodstock to help those in need more than once.  Tom only knows to give for the benefit of others.

I wrote a memoir about hunger and Tom is in it twice, I think.  He is going to be in my upcoming book “Ketchup Sandwich Chronicles”.

Do you have any of his CD’s?  If so, play the music to receive peace.

This book sells on my website, www.thurmangreco.com. When you purchase a copy, I’ll send it to the address you give.   And,  I’ll forward the proceeds to Tom as a small tribute to the goodness he brings to the planet.

Tom’s energy ripples out everywhere and this is something we can all use in these times.

My T-shirts are also available now.  We need more of this energy and the proceeds can ripple out as well.

It’s possible that some of you will not understand this appeal.   But, some of you will.

Keep on!

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU ARE DOING TO PROMOTE PEACE ON OUR PLANET.  EVERY SMALL VIBE COUNTS AND MULTIPLIES THE STRENGTH.

Thurman Greco

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Find out more about Thurman at www.thurmangreco.com.

“Shadow of a Seagull” by Tom Pacheco

Grief in the Pantry Line

When I think of grief, Lemon Balm Betty surfaces from my memory banks.  She ran around the parking lot outside the food pantry as fast as her feet would carry her, yelling at the top of her lungs “Thurman Greco is a f*** a****!

She carried anguish and anger like twins.  When anger bubbled up and yelled and yelled, anguish followed.

“I don’t think she’s ever going to smile again.” I thought to myself whenever I saw her run her circle around the parking lot.

One day she brought an armload of peppermint.  I put it out in the pantry for shoppers.

When she saw her donation in the fresh produce section, a smile lit up her whole being.  Finally!

In days past, we all looked for security and some of us found it.

But then, things spun out of control and our lives began over in the pantry.

Despair was unavoidable.

Fearful shoppers were uncomfortable and felt hurt in their hearts, clear down to their first chakras.

When we realized how vulnerable and insecure we were, distress happened.  .

No one talked about it much, but people working and shopping in a pantry lost a lot:  jobs, family, (not to mention the house and everything in it), friends, self-respect, self-love.

They lived an ongoing series of losses.

In the pantry, we all just ducked our heads and pressed on. Hungry people lived with the specter of what if:

What if I hadn’t lost my job?

What if I hadn’t come down with cancer?

What if I hadn’t lost my car?

It was all loss:  a lost job, the death of a loved one, a foreclosed home.  Loss triggered feelings and it was all incredibly lonely.

Occasionally I saw people crying in the pantry.  And, truth be told, I cried in the pantry a few times as well.

Sometimes I cried silently.  Once I wailed loud, earth shaking, tears.  I was intensely afraid the pantry would shut down.  I knew there was no other place to feed the people.

I don’t remember what made me become so emotional that day.  The reason I cried escapes me now because why I sobbed wasn’t important.

More important, the pantry was a safe place for us all or no one would have shed a tear.  Safety allowed me to let my guard down for just a moment to shed tears I needed to cry.

This I do remember:  I cried tears for us all in the building that day as  numbness wore off.

Wounds needed tears to heal.  Once this happened, we tried to move forward again.  Drugs numbed and masked the pain, but there were no pills to heal wounds.

This journey confronted traumas, and finally resolved things lost.  A despondent person moved forward never leaving grief behind.  The pain and the journey relied on emotional suffering.

Weekly trips to the pantry left us all with unfinished business.  It was impossible to lose so much with a clean break.

Travelling to the pantry, our lives were up and down.  We carried happy and sad memories with us in the pantry room.  Disaster was the new normal.

Tears paved the way for the good luck we experienced after the feelings of sadness and loss diminished.

Sadness had to be experienced.

The journey attracted spine and joint problems, respiratory problems, irritable bowel syndrome, bronchitis, asthma, pulmonary issues.

Our situations needed to be experienced honestly.  Denying grief got no one anywhere.  I was honest with myself about the sorrow I felt for the pantry.

If I hadn’t been, I would have lost it to those who didn’t approve of me and the hungry people the volunteers fed.

We each faced a challenge:  How to figure out who we were at the moment and who we hoped to be in the future.

In the middle of all this, we carved out a place in the new reality we found.  Then we could each define who we were in our new surroundings and in the community.

When we wrote our new stories and tried on our new identities, we saw the past, the present, and the future blended together.

The new stories brought depended on newly discovered talents and strengths.  A new voice surfaced.  I felt it drowned out the negativity.  When this happened, we were ready for a new life.

Maybe.

What about a new home, family, pet, job, car?  We all had different relationships to repair and rebuild.

Each person working in the pantry or walking through the shopping line felt loss differently.

This was our spiritual work.  Some were lucky enough to move on to a different town, a job, a different family.

But nobody  walked away from this loss , pain, and grief.  So, it was okay when we stayed in town together as we picked up the pieces of our lives.

I recognized this new voice whenever I heard “I won’t be coming again.  I got a new job and I’m moving on.”

Things didn’t always make sense because the voice was filled with anxiety, struggles, and disappointments.  In the end, it all came down to discovering what worked and what didn’t.

Each of us saw this uniquely.

 

Rita lived in the Saugerties/Palenville area before Hurricane Irene.  That storm cost her everything.  One day her life was normal and the next she had nothing.

The most anyone could say about Rita was that she was homeless.

A mutual friend, Lorene, found Rita a worn-out pickup somebody couldn’t  sell or even give away.

Until I looked closely at it, I didn’t even know what color it was.

I knew what color the tires were, though:  slick and bald.

Rita got the pickup and the key that went with it.  She put the key in the ignition and turned it.  The motor came to life.  It got her to the gas station.  Hurrah!

She began her life over by doing anything that anybody needed to have done for $10 an hour and lunch.

She cleaned out flooded houses and sheds.  She hauled trash to the dump.  She used her computer skills when somebody needed administrative savvy.

Her clothes came from Family of Woodstock.

She rented a room in somebody’s house and was finally not sleeping in the pickup.

Whenever she worked in Woodstock on Wednesdays, she shopped at the pantry.

I’ll say this about Rita.  She never grumbled.  With a smile on her face, she always acted as if the pantry food was the best she had ever eaten.

And never, not even once, did she complain about the ancient jalopy pickup rig she drove around.

As far as I could tell, she never lost hope.  Without hope, I don’t think she would ever have made it to the other side – wherever that was.

I never once asked her how she got the pickup repaired and I never even looked near the inspection sticker.  Frankly, I was afraid to ask.  I was afraid she would tell me.

Truthfully, Rita was no different from any of the rest of us shopping and volunteering in the pantry.

She had to figure out how much of her past she could rebuild.  And she had to figure out how much of her past she was simply going to close the door on as she moved into the future after Hurricane Irene.

Rita gave up much beyond her material possessions.  She gave up everything that she felt stood in the way of a successful future.  For Rita, quitting was something she couldn’t afford.

She gave up rear vision.  Looking into her past simply didn’t happen to Rita.  She gave up bitterness and seeing wrongs.  This meant she gave a person a second chance, and even a third if they needed it.

She gave up waiting and putting off something beccause the stars and planets weren’t properly aligned.  She gave up criticism.  This included self as well as others.

Rita was the right person in the right place in the right job to be able to unfold her path in front of her.  She carried on each day as if she truly believed it was better than yesterday.

She walked as if blessings were all around her.

Each day, every day, Rita risked whatever was necessary to rebuild her life.  Rita embraced the future while renouncing her past.  She never quit.

Rita was our poster child.  She found meaning each day, even in the worst situations and the most inhumane conditions.

Thank you for reading this article.  Please refer it to your preferred social media network.

Share it with your friends.

Because of its spirituality, this article could fit easily in www.reflexologyforthespirit.com.  Because of the food pantry setting, here it is in www.hungerisnotadisease.com.

Thanks

Thurman Greco

 

Winter Solstice – 2020

December 21st is the Winter Solstice for 2020.

The Winter Solstice is the annual celebration of the yearly rebirth of the sun.

Please take a few moments today to send healing, acceptance,  regeneration, and rebirth to all living beings – both plant and animal.

Visualize a world in which all living beings have enough food and water to nourish themselves into wellness in 2021.

Take a moment to release those things which no longer positively serve our planet and its inhabitants.

Find a few minutes sometime today to reflect on our planetary needs.  Reflect on how it will feel to live on a healthy planet where all beings experience wellness and coexist to honor and support one another.

Thank you for your healing thoughts and prayers.

Thurman Greco

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Share it with your friends.

Paul, Duct Tape, and Homelessness

Paul has been on my mind all week.

One of my oldest friends,  I  knew him and worked with him when I worked and lived in Virginia – just outside Washington D.C.

Back then, we had Kelly Girls.   Paul was my very best Kelly Girl.  I could send him anywhere – well, not to the male chauvinist lawyer  who would only pay for a cute legal secretary.  But all the others loved his work.

He showed up on time for his assignments and he turned out a perfect work product.  He was a bargain.  Whatever he did, he made the client feel that Paul gave more than the money’s worth for every job done.

Everyone knew  Paul was homeless.  Nobody cared.  He was the best typist out there.  (This was before computers, you understand.)  A quality work product counts for a lot when it comes time to pay the bill, after all.

So why have I been thinking about Paul all week?  It was the Duct Tape that did it.  My watch band broke and I need the watch.  I drove over to Genter’s Jewelry Store in Saugerties and discovered a “for rent” sign where the “open” sign used to be.  Mr. Genter always fixed everything .  He didn’t care whether it was a watch band, a clock, a necklace.

He also sold silver and gold chains at bargain prices.  And, he custom designed a coin for me.  His work was exacting.  Genter’s  was my go-to destination for all things jewelry.

Genter’s is a statistic of the Coronavirus.   With Mr. Genter gone, what was I going to do?   I physically grieved when I saw the sign in the window.

I went straight for the Duct Tape.  I now wear a watch held together with Duct Tape.  I’m getting used to it, actually.  My sense of urgency  diminishes a little more each day.

I’m sure I’ll get along just fine with the Duct Tape.  Paul Did.

Duct Tape adorned most of Paul’s clothes and anything else he used.  Duct Tape held Paul’s shoes together.  Duct Tape held the watch on Paul’s arm.  Duct tape even kept Paul’s eyeglasses going.  Finally, Duct Tape held Paul’s winter coat together.

So, following in Paul’s example, Duct Tape will keep my fitness watch going.

I rather like my new Duct Tape look.  And, I like remembering Paul.  He always made me smile.  And, smiles these days are hard to come by.

Thanks Paul!  You set a good example.  This Duct Tape will work until I can find Mr. Genter, just as Duct Tape held your shoes together until you could find a newer used pair  of shoes.

And, thank you for reading this article.  Please forward it to your preferred social media network.

Thurman Greco

Woodstock, New York

PS:  You can order one or more of the fancy T-shirts pictured in this post today at :

www.thurmangreco.com.

I also wrote about Paul in “No Fixed Address.”

 

Hungry People

When an economy tanks, hungry people find the food pantry.   The tanked economy of 2008 has been referred to many times in the past few days on the news.  References to past broken economies  are made every day.

The situation is very different this time, but for the  hungry people, the situation  is the same.

In 2008, New York got with the program quickly, it seemed. The Hunger Prevention Nutrition Assistance Program people handed down guidelines mandating specific foods for the pantry room.  Produce, whole-grain bread, eggs, dairy products appeared on the shelves.  Crowds and an ever-lengthening hallway line became the norm.

In Woodstock, the pantry attracted several hundred hungry people to its basement room every pantry day.  The line formed outside the door at 1:00 for the 3:00 opening, regardless of the weather.  Hungry people who visited the pantry a week ago and took home groceries, would today be out of food and need more.

Today, in 2020, some pantries are closed.  That puts even more pressure on the pantries that are open.  Food pantry volunteers are not only serving more and more hungry people because of the layoffs of the pandemic.  They are also serving people who shopped at the now-closed pantries.

When people live close to the edge,  they have no reliable cushion.   They’ve lived in a situation where they make choices every day:  food or medicine, food or rent, food or gas.  Now, when the coronavirus strikes, they have no either/or choices.

Food pantry volunteers take precautions.  They take temperatures as volunteers enter the pantry.  Volunteers wash hands repeatedly and  adhere to the six-foot social distancing guidelines.

But the need for food is not imaginary.

Volunteers are realistic.  They can’t kid themselves into believing nothing will happen to them because they feed  hungry people.  They know they’re taking chances.  They also know they are doing a needed job.  For many volunteers, it’s something they need to do.

There are no words for this feeling.

I have a small thank-you gift for you.  All you have to do is email your name and mailing address to me at thurmangreco@gmail.com and I’ll send you, free of charge, with no strings attached, a small book about a food pantry I used to work in – “Miracles”.

Thank you for all you do…not only for volunteering in a food pantry but also for shopping at a food pantry.  Your actions are courageous.  Following your inner moral compass is also courageous.

Please refer this article to your preferred social media network.

Thurman Greco

 

 

Good Neighbor Food Pantry and Woodstock Library Close

 

“Woodstock is completely packed with Coronavirus refugees from Brooklyn.  We’re doing more business here in the post office than we have every done.  This post office is busier than any Christmas rush has ever been.”

What a day!

I got a call from someone earlier today.  “The food pantry is closed, Thurman. How can this happen?”  As I went by the Woodstock Library, I saw a sign:  “Closed”

The Coronavirus affects us all.  We cannot avoid the reality.  People jokingly call our community Brooklyn North.

As long as you have a car and money and an apartment and a cell phone and a  computer, all you have to worry about is the spread of germs.  But, that’s not how it is with everyone.  Without a car and money and an apartment and a computer and a call phone, your life tells a different story.

Without those luxuries, your lifeline requires a food pantry and a library.

The library is essential because it’s your ticket to information about  food, housing, and anything else you need to find.  A library will help you find everything you need to survive.  And, while it’s giving you information, a library roof keeps you dry.  The walls of the library keep you warm and comfortable while you seek all that you need.

And, of course, the library has one other luxury people don’t talk about much: a bathroom.   If you are without food and a roof and a computer and a cell phone, a bathroom is essential.

So, while the Woodstock Reformed Church has closed its doors, most of the food pantries in New York state are figuring out how to get food to people.  They are receiving support from the Food Bank.

In fact, the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley reports that volunteers are responding to every emergency request received.  This includes food deliveries to seniors, quarantined and high-risk individuals, school back pack programs.

If you can get to a phone, there are a couple of phone numbers you can call.  Try 845-399-0376 or 845-633-2120.

Sources tell me that many  food pantries and soup kitchens are not closed.  I truly hope you can find one.

So, what can we do?  Well, for starters, try to contact people you know but seldom see and find out how they are doing.  Do they need anything?  Is there anything you  can do?

Contact food pantries and soup kitchens in your area and see if they need anything.  My bet is that they do.  My bet is they need food.

Times are serious.  Your help is needed!

If you run out of ideas, contact me at thurmangreco@gmail and I’ll send you, free of charge, my three action guides with practical tips for fighting hunger and homelessness.

Thank you for reading this article.  Please refer it to your preferred social media network.

Thanks again!

Thurman Greco

Hunger and Healing for Ourselves and our Planet During this Spring Solstice

Throughout the month, and especially on March 19th, whenever you find a time and place that fits your schedule…sit quietly for a few moments and visualize a world where positive renewal and growth exists for all beings.

Invite adequate housing, nutritious food, and reliable quality healthcare to become a reality for  all.

Plant spiritual seeds to nurture goals and dreams of everyone.  Reflect on all the wonderful opportunities available in our world for growth and hope throughout our planet.

Spend a moment including  goals for housing and food and healthcare for those who have insufficient resources

Honor the mystical and magical change of seasons creating space for the spiritual growth for everyone.

Check in with yourself now.  Give your spirit the support it needs and seeks to bring housing, nutrition, and good health to everyone on our planet.

Quiet your mind as you bathe in this new energy created by spring.  Invite universal balance, and abundance into our world.

May all beings on this planet live and thrive in peace and harmony.

Thank you for reading this Meditation.

Please refer this article to your preferred social media network.

Thanks again

Thurman Greco.

 

What Inspires me in the Fight Against Hunger

Well, actually, it isn’t necessarily what.  It’s more likely who.  The first line of leadership inspiration is the hungry people in the food pantry line.  A food pantry really is all about the people grappling with hunger.

But, where did this whole thing actually begin?  For me, it all started with Robert F. Kennedy.  In 1967, he traveled to Mississippi to see poverty and hunger for what it was.  Being a wealthy man from a wealthy family, he actually had no idea.

Down there he saw  hunger and poverty for what it was, not what he thought it should be.  He saw people, elderly people, adults, children.  He saw people with no jobs, no welfare, no surplus commodities, and no food stamps.

If the history books tell this story  correctly, it was the children who got to him.  He saw the hunger as it was. Seeing children hungry to the point of near starvation,  Robert F. Kennedy came face-to-face with malnutrition.

Robert F. Kennedy was both moved and angry.

There is a book out there  telling the story of their  hunger.  You may or may not ever have heard about this book.  “So Rich, So Poor” was written by Peter Edelman.

In reading about Robert F. Kennedy, I read a paragraph which has meaning for me:

“All of us, from the wealthiest to the young children that I have seen in this country, in this year, bloated by starvation – we all share one precious possession, and that is the name American.

“It is not easy to know what that means.

“But in part to be an American means to have been an outcast and a stranger, to have come to the exiles’ country, and to know that he who denies the outcast and stranger still amongst us, he also denies America.”

Those words resonate with me.  They may  mean nothing to you.  But, whether or not they have meaning for you, they are powerful words and they tell a story I see in the food pantry line.

I thank you for reading this blog post.  I thank you for your interest in fighting hunger.  I know that distributing food in a food pantry is not going to do away with hunger.

But, this I do know:  Distributing food in a food pantry will keep the shoppers in that line from starvation for three days.

This is all I can do.  This has to be enough until a better option comes along.

Thurman Greco

Please refer this post to your preferred social media network.