Round 2 in the Food Pantry World – Food, Sex, and Money
ARE YOU OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER HOW WE ACTED IN HIGH SCHOOL? Everyone in class knew the which students were acting right, following the rules, and those who were not. There was no privacy, really, and no secrets.
WELL, GUESS WHAT. The same mentality exists in food pantries. Everyone knows which pantries play by the rules and which ones don’t. There are no secrets.
FOR ONE THING, THE SHOPPERS CAN TELL BY WHAT KIND OF FOOD THEY’RE GETTING. Is the food on pantry day composed of bent cans, stale bread trimmed in green, and frozen food which has obviously been refrozen more than twice? If the answer to that question is “yes”, then it’s pretty obvious someone besides the shoppers is getting the fabulous produce, the wonderfully fresh Bread Alone Bread, and the quick frozen meats and veggies. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the volunteers are taking it all for themselves and their neighbors.
PANTRIES COME EQUIPPED WITH GUIDELINES, AND RULES SIGNED OFF BY EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS AND COORDINATORS. The rules are clear.
PANTRIES COME EQUIPPED WITH COORDINATORS WHO ARE TAUGHT THE RULES . These coordinators are trained by, supervised by, and evaluated by the Food Bank. Boards,
Church Committees, and volunteers are often surprised to learn that Food Bank supervisors do expect certain levels of performance from coordinators.
Until now, the Food Bank was quiet about what was happening. Well, that attitude has changed.
IF YOU WORK IN A PANTRY THAT FORGOT THE RULES, or if you know about about a pantry with volunteers who forgot the rules, be prepared to expect a surprise or two in the coming months.
THE FOOD BANK HAS RULES. The rules have teeth. The Food Bank is no longer interested in keeping secrets. After all, our court system is pretty open. Misdemeanors and felonies are part of the public record.
Over the past few months, the Food Bank has terminated a few agency memberships. Why?
Volunteers:
sold Food Bank products for their own profit.
kept food for themselves or gave it to family and friends or other volunteers.
used products for unapproved activities.
forgot there are health standards and that pantries and pantry storerooms should be kept clean.
THANK YOU FOOD BANK. Those of us working in honest pantries have hoped this would happen. Personally, I feel that there are very few pantries operated by people who make up their rules as they go along and have no respect for the Food Bank. These people are, however, ruining the whole scene for all of us.
If you shop at or volunteer at a pantry where the rules are not followed, please call 1-518-786-3691 and report the issue.
On behalf of honest pantry volunteers and hungry shoppers everywhere, thank you for reading this blog/book.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Take Outs – Why People Can’t Get To The Pantry
“Thurman, why are you delivering food to her house? She’s got children. One of them has a car. He can bring her. ”
“Thurman, nobody who has a car should get food delivered.”
“Thurman, he’s got some money. You can’t take food to him.”
THERE ARE ALWAYS THOSE WHO CANNOT MAKE IT TO THE PANTRY. Delivery service is not always available in every pantry. And, there are always others who feel delivery service is an exclusive experience for the freeloaders.
My stance is that those who need delivery service are the neediest of all.
“Hello, Mr. Roberts. How are you doing today?”
“Thanks so much for coming Thurman. I’ve been getting meals from my neighbors but they didn’t make it over yesterday so I’m out of food and haven’t eaten since yesterday morning.”
“Well, have you got any snacks to tide you over when this happens?”
“Not really. And, anyway, I can’t walk anymore. I can barely make it to the bathroom.”
“What about Meals on Wheels?”
“Can’t afford them.”
“Aren’t you getting hospice? When is the hospice lady supposed to come?”
MANY HOME BOUND PEOPLE ARE ELDERLY. The —–(you put in the body part here) no longer works, the person becomes home bound. Unless this older citizen has a large support group, life can be challenging.
The best approach for dealing with the needs of the home bound, especially the elderly, is to encourage them to use the pantry before they are home bound. But, this can be a real challenge.
GETTING A SENIOR CITIZEN TO USE A PANTRY CAN BE DIFFICULT. But the food is there and they should be encouraged to use not only the pantry but the soup kitchen and SNAP. Then, when they become home bound, they will already have a support system of sorts which can be adapted to their needs.
Current statistics, from the Feeding America survey, for seniors in our country tell us that one senior in seven does not get enough food. When this happens, the senior is at risk of illness.
WHEN THE SENIOR GETS SICK THE CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN MUST TAKE CARE OF HIM/HER. Proper nutrition is a good disease prevention measure.
Thank you for reading this blog/book.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
Food, Sex, and Money In The Food Pantry
“We all come to our work, whatever it is, with our own peculiar set of biases, programmed into us by all we have experienced throughout our lives, including both everything done to us and everything we have done to others. – Susan Rabiner and Alfred Fortunato
If I’ve learned anything it’s that there are three words/issues more concerned with a person’s core beliefs, emotions, and spiritual attitudes than anything else. The big three are: sex, food, and money.
THESE THREE WORDS OFFER RULES FOR EVERYONE. We each have core beliefs around these subjects with opinions about what’s okay and what’s not okay. We have attitudes about food, sex, and money based on what we were taught by family members and peers when we were children. We may have attended classes on these subjects. Also, we have guidelines we’ve made based on life experiences.
Reduced to their lowest common denominator, these words are the same. They touch our core beliefs in ways going straight to the heart and soul.
Reduced to their lowest common denominator, our attitudes, opinions, and feelings about feeding the hungry may or may not be based on facts, statistics, or reality. Nor can our attitudes be changed by facts, statistics, information.
Finally, you have beliefs about who it’s okay to feed and I have beliefs about who it’s okay to feed. My beliefs are based on life experiences, facts, statistics. Your beliefs are based on your life experiences, facts, statistics. I may take classes, go to therapy. You may take classes, go to therapy. And, your reality about what’s okay and my reality about what’s okay may differ. In the end, no amount of conversation, arguing, books read, TV programs watched will change these two perceptions. In the end, I have my beliefs and you have yours.
WITHIN A YEAR AFTER I BECAME THE PANTRY COORDINATOR, EVENTS CHALLENGED FOOD AND MONEY TABOOS IN OUR COMMUNITY. Prior to this time, pantries weren’t expected to raise money. With the economic downfall of 2008, Food Bank employees realized that pantries were going to need more than they could get from the Food Bank. The solution? Raise money!
And, raise money I did. Using my own funds, I drove to Rowe in Vermont and took a Kim Kline class. I also bought, and read, her books.
SOON AFTERWARD, I WAS OUT ASKING FOR MONEY EVERYWHERE.
Volunteers sat at a table weekly at the summer farmers’ market. Volunteers were in front of the Sunflower Natural Foods Market monthly. We rented a post office box. Mailers went out. Tom Pacheco held a concert. Scott Petito, and Leslie Ritter gave a holiday concert one Christmas. (When they tried it again the next year, a snow storm interfered.) Gioia Timpanelli organized a story telling evening. Inyo Charbonneau sponsored a dance. Harriet Kazansky produced a music festival.
The first large donation came in at $500. It was a generous donation made to the Good Neighbor Food Pantry after I made a strong appeal to the Town Board. It was my first public attempt to educate people about the plight of hungry people in our area. I took the money, divided it among the different pantry congregations, and gave it to the pantry representations of each church.
“I raised this money. Here is your share to use when it’s your congregation’s tour in the pantry.”
Carmen Adler at the Christ Lutheran Church graciously accepted the money.
A woman at Overlook Methodist Church took the money, stared at it, then stared at me and then stared back at the money again.
When I went to St. John’s, the pantry representative received the funds for her congregation and asked “What can I use this money for, Thurman?”
“Use it for whatever your congregation needs in the pantry when it’s your congregation’s turn” was my naïive answer.
When it was St. John’s tour, the volunteers all sported fancy new aprons embroidered with “St. John’s” on the front.
Thereafter, when the pantry received donations, I took the money to Pastor Bode of the Woodstock Reformed Church. He opened a bank account. I spent money for food, office supplies, and gas used in pantry activities. I took the receipts to Pr. Bode for reimbursement.
Money spent on gas was used to get the food from Latham and Cornwall to the pantry weekly. And, thanks to the generosity of local residents, we kept the pantry well stocked with food. This is extremely important when one realizes that a round trip to Latham costs about $45 to return with 1200 pounds of absolutely free produce. AS FAR AS THE PANTRY WAS CONCERNED, 1200 POUNDS OF PRODUCE COST $45 AT THE FOOD BANK. What a deal!
We set aside money for a building. I finally decided, privately, that the funds needed came to $500.000. A committee headed by Peggy Johnson began looking high and low for a building. She finally came up with the same number. It seemed as if the building owners in the Woodstock were sitting back, rubbing their hands together and waiting to see which building owner was going to win the money we were trying to raise from the townspeople.
OUR BIGGEST CHEERING TEAM, I THINK, WAS THE WOODSTOCK REFORMED CHURCH BUILDING COMMITTEE.
Those people acted as if they were soooo tired of having a pantry in their building.
Those people acted as if they were soooo tired of having Thurman Greco as the pantry coordinator.
Those people acted as if they were soooo ready for their pantry to return to the glorious pre-2008 days when the pantry was open a couple of hours one morning a week, with a parking lot that was not overcrowded, and the unworthy hungry weren’t in the hallway.
Whatever. We raised money. And, thanks to the training provided by the Food Bank of Northeastern New York, our pantry weathered the storm following the downfall.
Food – That word caused more problems than any other for me as a pantry coordinator.
Who is it okay to feed?
How much?
When?
What?
How dare you serve that kind of food to this kind of people?
How dare you serve the unworthy hungry people?
How dare you feed people from outside of town?
Money – That word caused the second most problems for me as a pantry coordinator.
How dare you ask people for money at the farmers market?
How dare you send mailers out asking for money?
How dare you have fundraisers?
Peace and food for all.
Thank you for reading this blog/book.
Please share this article with your preferred social media.
Please send a comment.
Thurman Greco
How About Another Round?
“Why should there be hunger and deprivation in any land, in any city, at any table, when man has the resources and the scientific knowhow to provide all mankind with the basic necessities of life? There is no deficit in human resources. The deficit is in human will.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
In my quest for clarity about feeding the “unworthy hungry”, I spoke with several knowledgeable people, spent yet more time on computer searches, and read even more.
I made an appointment with the Rev. James Reisner, the minister of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Albany, located just one block from New York State’s Capital building. I met with him one Friday afternoon on a perfect New York State autumn day. This historic old building on a tree lined street could not have looked more beautiful. The building itself has a rich heritage dating back to the early 1800’s.
The Rev. Reisner’s congregation, while housed in a building very comfortable with our past, is focused on present-day issues and community needs; not only of Albany but also the surrounding area.
Even though he didn’t know me from Adam, Pr. Reisner graciously agreed to see me. We met in the church library, a cozy, bookfilled room just inside the building entrance. He was polite, thoughtful…and very knowledgeable of the Bible. I knew within just a few minutes that I had chosen the right person for advice and information.
He listened to my questions and went to a Bible in the room and turned to 2 Thessalonians 3:10-16 and read from the passage which offered a significant shift in the dialogue.
“For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: if anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.”
Now, here was a viable argument…finally. He had me on the right track.
When I returned to Woodstock, I put notes together:
According to Dr. Grant Richison, Paul’s team taught that working for meals is a Biblical principal. the rationale was that as some Christians were waiting for the imminent return of Christ they gave up their daily pursuits: jobs. Then, when they ran out of money, they tried to sponge off their neighbors, friends, and relatives.
So, Paul was writing about those who could work but were taking advantage of the graciousness of others. Paul was pretty straightforward here. He was not talking about those who cannot find a job or people unable to work because of disability or illness.
The quotation: “For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: if anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.”
This statement isn’t hard to understand. I submit to you this statement still doesn’t apply to people in the pantry line.
It’s estimated that, in our pantry line, one child in five eats only at school.
Seniors also have problems with sufficient food. One senior in seven does not have enough to eat.
Fully 75% of the people visiting pantries are ‘food insecure’. They lack access, at times, to enough food to go about their daily lives. About one third of people shopping at pantries suffer from very low food security. Many live in rural areas or ghettos where there are no real grocery stores. Their food comes from gas station food markets, convenience stores, and pharmacy grocery shelves.
Many served by pantries experience poor health and lack access to medical care. Easily 50% of pantry shoppers have unpaid medical or hospital bills.
It’s estimated that 10% of the households visiting pantries are homeless. Many of these homeless people have jobs. They simply don’t make enough money to pay rent.
During the summer of 2010, I realized the attitudes of the Building Committee members, some other congregational representatives and volunteers were escalating. I felt pressured.
On one hand, I was trained by, evaluated by, reported to, and inspected by the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley, and the Food Bank of Northeastern New York. The people who trained me and evaluated my performance were using guidelines set down by the Hunger Prevention Nutrition Assistance Program (HPNAP). I was doing everything I was being trained to do. People were getting fed…hungry people who needed food were getting a three-day supply of food which they had to make last for seven days. Some people in the community were beginning to recognize that I was doing a good job.
In the meantime, Ed Jabbs, the chairperson of the building committee of the Woodstock Reformed Church called the Food Bank.
“I’m calling from the Woodstock Reformed Church in Woodstock. I’m calling about the Good Neighbor Food Pantry. Thurman Greco, the coordinator is bringing a lot of fresh produce into our building. We feel that the food is infested with vermin. We don’t want this food in our building. I’m on the building committee and I’m complaining about her.”
I was really in a vise. What did I need to do. Well, for one thing…I needed to get comfortable with the reality
that the town was angry. After all, if my superior at the Food Bank was happy with my performance and the people who shopped at the pantry needed the food, what else did I need to worry about?
So, I needed to do some work on myself…to become more comfortable with my situation and my reactions to wholesale community anger focused at my job performance.
I did two things. First, I scheduled a weekend at Peace Village, a local retreat house having an Anger Management class. Friends encouraged me to not attend this class but it was all I could find that even remotely dealt with my situation. The weekend was transforming. I arrived on a Friday evening in August and met fellow attendees. The class was packed, the room full.
By 8:00 that evening, I learned we were all in the same situation. We were all, without exception, trying to function in a work situation in which a very angry person was extremely unhappy with our performance. We felt that the person unhappy with our performance was being as angry and obnoxious as possible under the circumstances.
As each attendee told why s/he was at Peace Village for the weekend, I heard the same story repeated over and over. Only the setting was different.
“My supervisor at work hates me. She does everything she can to make my life miserable. I feel that I do a good job. Other people feel that I do a good job but she yells and screams at me whenever she sees me.”
“I work in a kitchen. The chef took a knife to me. I know kitchens are tough but this guy is scary.”
This weekend, taught by two very professional women, not only gave insight into our individual situations but taught us about the personality types of those unhappy with our individual performances. I learned how these personalities developed and how these people became who they were in adulthood. Knowledge is power, they say.
The second thing I did was schedule classes with Richard Genaro, an experienced teaching actor in the area. Richard teachess his techniques to corporate senior executives, community activities, actors.
Richard teaches people to cope with bullying.
Richard teaches skills which are inspirational, instructional, therapeutic.
Richard helped me dig deep to find hidden talents I could use in stressful situations in the pantry.
Richard hauled out a huge yellow bat at every class for me to pound on the furniture. He used this technique to release stress.
Whap! Whap! Whap! We could hear the sound of the bat hitting his sofa all over his neighborhood.
Richard, very professionally, never asked for funds to replace his sofa.
I learned how my anger and frustration manifested and how to deal with these emotions. I also learned I was in a good place with my job at the pantry.
“Thurman, are you getting your produce from our Food Bank?”
“Yes.”
“Our produce is very fresh and clean. Thanks, Thurman, for serving the fresh produce. Are you purchasing the HPNAP produce?”
“Yes. The shoppers love it.”
“Well, we can’t get any better than HPNAP produce. I sent Mr. Jabbs some flyers and brochures highlighting the need for fresh fruits and vegetables.”
At the end of the summer, my head was in a much better place. I had a better understanding of my job description and how I should react to the attacks.
To the outward eye, there was no real difference. However, within, I was much calmer. Each day that I didn’t hear from Ed Jabbs, I knew from my training that he was terrorizing someone else. While I was sorry for that other person’s plight, I breathed a sign of relief that I wasn’t on his list for the day anyway. In short, I was doing much better in September than I had been doing the previous June.
Thank you for reading this post.
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Thank you for sending a comment.
Peace and food for all.
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
Food Pantry Blog – Hunger, Homelessness
Do you remember the recent story about Mary-Faith Cerasoli? Probably not. In today’s world, it’s easy to forget a story with so much information coming at us all day long, every day. Well, for my money her story is one of the most important local articles to appear in the New York Times this year.
Ms. Cerasoli, an adjunct professor of Romance Languages at Mercy College in Westchester is homeless. Corey Kilgannon recently covered her story as she (Ms. Cerasoli) painted a sign – “Homeless Prof” – on a white ski vest, and went to Albany, alone, to lobby our politicians there with a protest against her working conditions.
Her story brought up many questions for me:
Did she make it to Albany?
If so, with whom did she speak?
How was her situation received?
How successful was this trip overall?
What kind of push back did she receive at work as a result of the publicity she received?
Is it possible, now, that someone in power will understand that many people are underpaid?
Is it possible, now, that someone will realize educational institutions need pantries?
Is it possible, now, that other employed homeless people will be motivated to go to Albany and lobby?
Is it possible, now, that she will find affordable housing as a result of her story being made public?
The very short detail in the New York Times pieceabout the unnamed psychology professor who gathers leftovers from departmental luncheons speaks volumes in its brevity. It highlights how little we, as a nation, care about those who teach our children and fellow adults.
Whatever the outcome, the important thing which makes this story so extraordinary, is that Mary-Faith Cerasoli protested. Finally, a hungry person is refusing to be voiceless.
With any luck, Mary-Faith Cerasoli has started a trend.
With any luck, more employed poor and hungry people will travel to Albany.
With any luck, some politician in power somewhere will realize how disgraceful it is that we treat our professors this way…and do something about getting more income for professors and teachers.
Peace and food for all.
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Please send a comment.
Thurman Greco
