A New Paradigm for the Struggling Class
“We’ve got to do something.” I said to Guy Oddo one afternoon.
“Yup” he replied. “The parking lot’s dangerous. There’s going to be a wreck out there one of these days.”
“Actually, there was. Someone ran into my car about 2 weeks ago. Do you have any suggestions?”
“Well, he said, how about we put a volunteer in the parking lot to direct traffic? And, what if we limit the shopping time in the Pantry? Can we make some people park in the town lot down the street?”
So, we did all 3 things. They kept coming. They needed the food.
As I return in my thoughts to the depths of the autumn of ’08, the thing I remember most is the changes brought about by the The Hunger Prevention Nutrition Assistance Program people as they introduced new produce guidelines and called for a 3-day-supply of food for everyone in each household.
AND, I THINK OF MANY THINGS THAT HAPPENED SINCE.
My mind moves to the present, as we overcome (hopefully) this depression. Two things happened for sure:
There are many, many new wealthy people – millionaires, billionaires, kazillionaires whose new money isn’t trickling down yet. Will it ever?
AT THE OTHER END OF THE SPECTRUM, A NEW CLASS HAS EMERGED: THE STRUGGLING CLASS.
MANY JOBS WERE LOST, NEVER TO RETURN. Many people experienced the end of a working life during that time. The lucky ones were able to get early Social Security. Not everyone was 62 yet.
One angry man came to our pantry weekly. He first showed up the day after he was fired. And, of course, it was one of those situations where we all knew he wasn’t ever going to work again. It took him over a year to calm down from the injustice of it all. He was quiet about his anger but anyone with a brain and an eye knew what was happening.
In this case, I felt close to the event. I saw him go through stages of adjustment: shock,
anger,
disbelief,
grief,
resignation.
On a national level, a positive change happened, though: the demise of the Emergency Food Assistance Program. It’s a food assistance program still, and, actually, nobody has even dropped the word “Emergency”. But, when I listen to people in my industry talking among themselves, I’m really aware that everyone seems to know it’s not emergency now and hasn’t been emergency since ’08.
The Struggling Class are hard working singles, families, and seniors who simply lack money for food. The purchasing power of the hourly wage received at the 2 to 3 jobs we hold continues to decrease while food, housing, transportation, healthcare costs continue to rise. There is no job security anymore.
I SEE NO IMPROVEMENT FOR THE STRUGGLING CLASS IN THE NEAR FUTURE. This is our new cultural landscape. It’s our job to navigate this new terrain as positively as possible with new survival skills.
What does this mean?
WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT’S HAPPENING:
PWhen we shop at pantries and eat at soup kitchens, we’re reducing our footprint on this planet.
When we shop at pantries we actively divert food from dumpsters, landfills.
In the new paradigm, we no longer buy the idea that what we are doing is charity. It’s not charity. Charity segregates, stigmatizes, and demeans us.
When we shop at pantries, our tax dollars are at work and we are on the front lines of the movement to develop a cleaner, safer, future.
Pantries strengthen the whole community by assisting those who are most vulnerable.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Charity, What Charity?
“GIVERS GIVE.” – Kim Klein
“Thank you for being so kind. It really helped to come here. You made my situation seem a little better” the woman said as she left the pantry yesterday. We hear words like this every week…every pantry shift. People are grateful for kind words accompanying a three-day-supply of food. At the pantry, they hear kind words and then go home (wherever and whatever that is) and put food in an empty refrigerator if they have one.
KIND WORDS ARE EASY. The most difficult task I’ve encountered in the pantry since 2005 is to teach people that we’re working with a new paradigm.
In the 20th century, our nation offered government-sponsored welfare programs, and volunteerism. Private charity extended stopgap efforts and emergency assistance feeding programs to deal with hungry people.
Now, in the early 21st century, welfare reform offers cutbacks and reductions in public assistance programs. Wages decline. Housing costs increase. Corporate’s favorite method for boosting stock prices is to lay off employees and downsize to increase profitability. While these techniques may increase the Dow Jones Average, they accompany deteriorating economic security and accelerate inequality. Our hopes for eliminating poverty have been abandoned.
People hold down two and three minimum-wage jobs. Paychecks cover only rent and transportation. Food assistance is no longer emergency. People rely on food pantries and soup kitchens for their food. For members of the Struggling Class, there is no money for food…not last month, not this month, not next month.
So, this wonderful new industry is developing which recycles food rejected from grocery stores, food manufacturers, farms. Food Banks divert food from landfills and distribute it to food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters.
THE FALLOUT FROM THIS IS FABULOUS! Money is being saved on dumpsters, composters, compacters, and landfill fees. This responsible method of disposing of unwanted excess food also offers us the opportunity to be kinder to our planet as we improve our environment. Besides, why throw away good food ?
THERE’S ALL THIS FOOD OUT THERE. There’s enough food for everyone. Why can’t we just stop the push back and feed the people? When this happens, our lives (everyone’s lives) will be different.
IMAGINE A WORLD WITHOUT HUNGRY CHILDREN AND GRANDMOTHERS.
Pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, halfway houses are our tax dollars at work. The food effort is mostly manned by volunteers diverting food headed to the landfill. This recycling effort works to keep people from starving in the streets.
YOU CAN BE COMFORTABLE SHOPPING AT A PANTRY. Just walk up, ride a bicycle up, or drive up to your neighborhood pantry and shop for the food you need. Hold your head high, knowing that by shopping at a food pantry, you are helping reduce landfills and you are visiting a facility where your tax dollars are at work.
If you are still uncomfortable shopping at your neighborhood food pantry after a few visits, either try out another pantry or call up the manager and volunteer. You won’t be hungry anymore. You’ll meet new friends, get good exercise, and become very knowledgeable of food. You’ll be doing wonderful things for our planet too.
Thank you for reading this blog/ book.
Please send a comment.
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
