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.
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Can We Break Down Barriers in this Pandemic? Food Insecure
Starving Seniors? Food insecure seniors? Are those terms too harsh?
Let’s ratchet them down: hungry.
Or maybe: food insecure. Yeah, that’s better. It sounds better anyway.
Call it what you want, the event is the same. It’s your grandmother or grandfather (or me…I’m certainly a grandmother) caught in a situation where there’s simply not enough food in the house. They are food insecure.
In these times, we seniors living on Social Security are finding ourselves routinely choosing between food and medicine, food and transportation.
I have two friends who daily hitch rides to the grocery store because their cars don’t work any more. Here, in the middle of this health crisis, they are in a desperate situation not of their making. Everyone is trying to shelter in place, wear face masks and gloves, practice social distancing, and find a friend to help get food.
Walking to a store is totally out for one: her hip and knee replacements won’t allow it. And, we’re not supposed to be out in public anyway.
And, how can a person buy a used car these days anyway? And, when the car gives up the ghost, how will we get to work? Yes, I know lots of seniors who are figuring out ways to bring in $$$.
The issues with seniors and food insecurity are serious because when seniors no longer have $$$ to buy the food they need for nutrition or when they can no longer buy the medicines they need, they become ill and finally end up being cared for by their children or they end up in a nursing home.
I know many stories about:
The senior in Woodstock living on mashed potatoes.
The older woman in Bearsville who ended up in a nursing home when her take-out food pantry cut her off and she couldn’t get to a grocery store.
The older man who lacks $$$ for enough food and is slowly starving.
There is food available:
If they can get to a food pantry or If they can find a pantry offering takeout
If they can sign up for SNAP (food stamps).
If they have the strength to deal with long lines and frazzled volunteers.
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I spoke recently with a retired man I know:
“Richard, do you get SNAP?”
“No.”
“Why, Richard? SNAP is usually easy to get. All you have to do is apply.”
“Well, I’m getting by without it. Let someone else, needier than me, get the $$$ Besides, I hear the lines are outrageous.”
“Richard, think about getting SNAP. This is a benefit you paid for. Why leave $$$ on the table?”
The barriers to SNAP for seniors are great. Seniors resist going to a pantry, soup kitchen, getting SNAP until they simply cannot resist any longer. I know the feeling. People in my age category grew up and entered adulthood feeling that if we worked hard and paid our taxes, we would end up okay. We worked all our lives with this attitude and now that we’re retired…there simply isn’t enough.
When this happens, we feel inadequate and blame ourselves. “I must have done something wrong. Here I am living hand-to-mouth. I don’t even have enough $$$ for food. What did I do wrong?”
We are a whole generation of people blaming ourselves. I feel like we’re really not totally to blame for being food insecure.
I tell myself the rules have changed. This pandemic has shifted everything. Because we’re retired, we’re not in the rules-making game anymore.
Whatever happened to the Grey Panthers?
Thank you for reading this article. Please refer it to your favorite social media network.
Thurman Greco
