Food Pantry Blog – The Weekly Trip With Prasida, Roseann, Gene, and Earl the Pearl
When you’re feeding the people, you’re feeding God.” – Desmond Tutu
Every Wednesday morning at exactly 11:30, two vans, each filled with about 1000 pounds of fresh produce pulled up to the pantry door. In order to get enough produce to feed the 500 or so shoppers coming to the pantry, one vehicle was driven North to the Food Bank of Northeastern New York in Latham. The other van was driven south to Cornwall-on-Hudson to the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley.
Each Wednesday, I waited outside the Woodstock Reformed Church building with three utility hand trucks to get a head start loading so we could get the food in the pantry room in the time allowed.
We loaded the carts with onions, potatoes, corn, peppers, salad greens, apples, lemons, baked breads and pastries, and, occasionally mushrooms, goat cheese, yogurt and vegetables donated by a farm, restaurant or grocery store. Much of the produce was organic. The Food Banks owned a farm which produced only organic foods and Hudson Valley farmers donated all they could.
Sunflower Natural Foods Market also donated boxes of produce and bread which was brought into the pantry at this time.
Smells of the fresh food immediately filled the pantry, turning the tiny space into a very inviting environment for the shoppers.
As we all worked furiously to get the food placed in the pantry within the time allowed, there were always the same sounds: Gene, a volunteer shouted “Wait! Wait!” to everyone as the carts were rolled into the building too quickly.
Prasida repeatedly yelled out “HaYAH” as she lifted bags or boxes weighing over 100 pounds.
While this happened, Roseann Castaldo reminded us of the time with “Tick Tock – 23 minutes remaining”.
One quiet person in this whole chaotic hour was Earl the Pearl, a homeless man who managed to hitch hike to the building every Wednesday morning about 10:00. Rain, shine, sleet, snow, 100 degree weather, whatever. Earl the Pearl would be propped up on the little bridge rail outside the building waiting for us to get to the pantry at 11:30.
Earl was a very slight man who, until we found a coat for him, didn’t have enough clothes to keep warm in the cold Upstate New York winters. But, no matter. Earl the Pearl was on hand to help get the food into the pantry. He had a positive attitude and loved being useful if even for a few minutes each week.
After being a pantry volunteer for several months, we noticed that his back was straighter, his voice stronger, and his smile bigger. On our way out of the door at 12:29 p.m., we always made sure he had something to eat for lunch as he sat on the bridge until the pantry opened at 3:00.
One of the regular shoppers got to know Earl and they became friendly. The other guy had a shed and Earl moved in!
The pantry room, a small 12′ x 16′ space lined with industrial shelving, was kept as cold as we could make it to keep the produce and pastries as fresh as possible. From April to November, the air conditioner was set at 60 degrees. After that, the room was cold all on its own because there was no heat. Some of the more outspoken volunteers wore two hats in the winter.
I was always cold to my bones with all my fingers frozen in the winter. Never once did I complain for fear one of the shivery volunteers would quit.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Food Pantry Blog: Leaving the Past Behind – Thurman
In addition to working in the pantry, I was an active democrat and belonged to the Woodstock Democratic Committee. Later I joined the board of Hunger Action Network of New York State (HANNYS).
One afternoon, I interviewed Joel Tyner, a popular political candidate, on Channel 23, our local public access TV station. I was a guest interviewer along with Jeff Moran, Paula Gloria, Randy and Felicia Steel, and a few other local TV celebrities.
Personally, I was flattered that others in the public access TV community felt my skills were good enough to be a guest interviewer.
As it turned out, the interview was not well received by our pantry board’s treasurer, Jim Dougherty. And, to make a point, Jim sent out a letter to many area people about this and resigned. There were several other issues, of course, but the main problem was this interview and the fact that I kept voter registration forms available in the pantry hallway.
He argued that I was threatening the safety of our board and its 501(c)3 designation. Well, Jim was correct that I was threatening the safety of our board designation. He was just incorrect about the details.
Interviewing Joel Tyner, Terrie Rosenblum, his friend Mike Lourenso, Cathy Magarelli, Bill McKnight, Ralph Goneau, Jeff Moran, Jackie Earley, Bill McKenna, Rennie Cantine, or anyone else for that matter, was no threat to the designation. Public access television programs are considered to be public information, nothing more.
Neither was having voter registration forms available in the pantry hallway a political event. In this, Jim simply had not taken the time to distinguish the difference between civic activities and political activities. After all, everyone who applies for a New York State Drivers License is offered the opportunity to register to vote.
If he had looked a bit closer, he would’ve realized that by being a member of the Woodstock Democratic Committee, I was in violation of the political activity section of our designation. As a member of the WDC, I supported and opposed candidates in political campaigns. When I realized this activity was not approved for board members of non-profits, I resigned from the WDC. It took about 2 years before I realized this. Too bad for Jim. If he had been more accurate, I would have resigned a lot sooner.
The truth was there always. I just needed to open my eyes to see the reality.
For me, it was the WDC. For others, it was giving up anger, or drugs, or a whole lifestyle that changed when the house was foreclosed upon, for example.
Thank you for reading this blog/book.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
