Hunger Is Not a Disease

Miracles – Because Hunger is Not a Disease

Miracles happened in the food pantry.  It took me a while to realize this and then it took another while to accept that such a thing could happen in the basement of a small town church in Upstate New York.

I sneaked miracle stories in on the blog posts.  I sneaked them on the pages of   “I Don’t Hang Out in Churches Anymore”.  Finally, I gave them their own pages – as much as I had the nerve for anyway,  in a short book “Miracles”.

Research on miracles taught me some things.

I learned that miracles often include weeping statues, broken legs healing  straight,  relics, stigmata, and visions.  The pantry miracles included none of those things.

Our miracles never really cured anyone.  I never saw a statue weep, and no one came down with stigmata.

Instead, they  showed us all how to grow and love and forgive.  It was giving away the food that was the tip off for me.

As far as I can tell, the food pantry miracles were not the result of prayer.

God just showed up and brought food.  Once he came disguised as a fireman.  Each miracle was a complete surprise, a unique and different event.  God came when the pantry shelves were bare and the lines were long.

I don’t think the miracles proved that any of the shoppers or volunteers were more  faithful than anybody else in town.   Frankly, I think that some of us saw the miracles as coincidences or something.

However they were seen, these events made an impact on a small number of people who saw them as they happened.

The clincher for me occurred when I finally realized and accepted a few basic things:

Carloads of food never showed up when we didn’t need it.

Boots never appeared on the shelves disguised as toothpaste in the summertime.

Nobody ever brought a handful of nails to fix the barn when the wall wasn’t falling.

Two books appeared on my desk out of the ethers:  “Miracles” by Tim Stafford and “Looking for a Miracle” by Joe Nickell gave a feeling of legitimacy to my thoughts and memories.

Because of Tim Stafford,  I wrote my book entitled “Miracles”.    He was direct about a few things – one of them being that people should not spread “miracle gossip”.  Because of his feelings about what he called “miracle gossip”,  I’m compelled to relate the pantry miracle stories.

To sneak them in  blog posts  does not do them justice.

Thank you for reading this blog post.  Please refer it to your favorite social media network.

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.

 

 

It’s Vacation Time!

Your vacation time is here!  It’s your last chance to get a break this summer.  That means it’s time to go to the beach – to the mountains – to the city – ANYWHERE!

What do you have to do to get away?  Well, first, find a place to go.  Second, pack your bags.

FINALLY,  drop off loads of food to your neighborhood food pantry before you take off on your vacation..

August is the most challenging month of the year for food pantries because it’s the month with the least amount of food available at the food bank.  Food pantries get most of their food from donations and very few people donate in August.  And, sadly, this carries right through to September.  September brings school openings with parents getting ready for school lunches.  Food pantries are often empty.

It’s my opinion that people don’t donate food to food pantries in August because they’re focused on their own activities:  vacation, getting kids ready for school.

But, your neighborhood food pantry doesn’t have to be empty.  There are things you can do.  You can organize a food drive in your neighborhood and take the food to the food pantry.  You can keep the food flowing right through to October.

Thank you in advance for thinking of things you can do for your food pantry during the leanest months of the year.

Please refer this article to your preferred social media network.

Thurman Greco

I Don’t Hang Out in Churches Anymore – Coming Soon!

IT’S COMING SOON!

After countless reams of computer paper, dozens and dozens of writing classes, three computers and two copiers, the book about hunger is at the publisher’s!

And, I actually heard the word “done” today!  I’m ecstatic beyond words!

Somebody else could have done it with only one computer disaster  and  one copier blow up.  But, I never claimed to be a writer.

This endeavor took years.  And, it was worth it.    I felt  this story needed to be told when I started writing it in 2013 and I’m sticking to my opinion.  Hunger in America was then and is now a national event which needs to be shared.

A real Woodstock story, “I Don’t Hang Out in Churches Anymore” tells about   the people in the pantry,  channels my grandmother,  and reveals a few  miracles.

I’m proud to say that “I Don’t Hang Out in Churches Anymore” will, within days, be available in paperback and eBook editions on Amazon.

I am already scheduling book signings for this book.  If you are in the area, I look forward to seeing you at one near you!

You can purchase this book by going to my website at http://www.thurmangreco.com.

Order your copy, and please share this unbelievably exciting news!

Thurman

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The Big Picture

Lord,

As I work in the pantry week after week, I encounter problems.

There is not enough food, not enough space for the food we have, and not enough time to feed the hungry.

There are too many hungry shoppers, too many cars in the parking lot, too many cases of fresh fruits and vegetables, and too many cardboard boxes.

And, as I listen to the car radio when I drive back and forth to Latham on Fridays, I’m aware that I, like those around me, am concerned with problems and challenges in my own small, personal universe.

You, Lord,  see the big picture.  You see everyone’s problems and issues.  You take everyone’s world and make it all work somehow.  What we have, as humans, is a stew.  You have us all together in this universal stewpot.  In the Army, Lord, there’s a name for it:  Mongolian Stew

You are beyond all of us in scope and size.  Somehow, you stoop down and get in the stewpot with all of us and get involved in our details as You take on our problems.

Through your vision and wisdom, You see the needs of everyone and You send us love, kindness, and miracles.  You take the troubles off our shoulders.

Help me Lord, surrender to Your kindness, love, wisdom.

Help me just give the pantry over to you 100%.  Help me turn the problems of the building, the hungry, the volunteers, the church, the community, over to you.  You do the perfect job of problem solving.  After all, you are the God to whom we all pray.

How can I do anything less?  When I do this, Lord, I’ll walk in love, with a strong heart, and a solid faith.  I’ll receive a spiritual awakening.  This will bring glory to you.

Amen

The manuscript for the memoir will go to the publisher on Tuesday, January 9th!  I’m ecstatic!  I’m excited!

Thank you for reading this blog post.  Please share it with your preferred social media network.

Thank you

Thurman Greco

Ho Hum – Just Another Miracle

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No question about it, miracles do happen.  Maybe you don’t believe in miracles.  I do.  I was in denial for the longest time.  But, after awhile, I had to face reality.  There were simply too many coincidences:

One September pantry day a few years ago the lines were longer than usual and the shelves were emptying out fast.  “I think we’re going to run out of food” I mentioned under my breath to Marie Duane, a volunteer from St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church.

“Do we have a plan for this kind of event?” I asked myself.

Then, to quote the Reverend Mike Huckabee, “God showed up.”

I know this statement is  applicable here because  the moment I began muttering under my breath, it was  as if someone had blown a whistle.  A red haired woman drove up in a tan SUV filled with bags and bags of food she collected from Congregation Agudas Achim in Kingston.  Harriet Kazansky unloaded enough canned and boxed food to get us through the day with some food left over!

One December, the Wednesday after Christmas, to be exact, John Mower drove up with a car trunk filled with canned vegetables for the pantry.  What a gift!  Our pantry was completely bare that December.  Then, the next day, along came another trunk load.  He finally quit after three trips to the pantry.  He filled the shelves for the next pantry day.

One Tuesday morning in the pantry, Peggy Johnson was upset because she didn’t have enough food to prepare the take out bags for the fourteen families she delivered food to every week.  Food had been scarce and this week the take out area seemed  empty.  A large man suddenly walked in the door carrying an extremely large box filled with canned and boxed food.  A Kingston fireman who grew up in the Woodstock area, he made Peggy promise to never reveal his name.  However, she didn’t have to keep his gift a secret:  in one trip down the pantry hallway, carrying a box large enough to hold everything needed, he single handedly provided all the food for the home bound families that week.  Our pantry has never heard from him since.

In the pantry hallway, we had an Item of Dignity closet.  where shoppers could take a roll of toilet paper and one other item each time they shopped.  We were forbidden by the building committee to have clothing in this closet.

One Wednesday afternoon I noticed a pair of new boots.  I have no idea where they came from.  They certainly didn’t come in disguised as deodorant or shampoo.  Anyway, Prasida needed a pair of winter boots.  One of the volunteers took them off the shelf.

“Prasida, can you wear wear these boots?”  Prasida came over to the closet, looked them over, and put them on.

“Ahhh – a perfect fit!  Thank you Amma!  Now I won’t have cold feet this winter in my summer sandals.”

At one point, I was reading Doreen Virtue’s book “Archangels and Ascended Masters”.  One night I read about Saint Therese, also known as the Little Flower.  The story goes that if one prays to St. Therese, she will send a rose as a sign that the request has been heard.  The next day, I found a rose on the pantry floor as I walked into the room.

But, the real miracle happened repeatedly in the pantry as the shoppers and volunteers both began to heal and change and grow from the community, their commitment, and the experiences in the pantry.  When people first started coming to the pantry, either to volunteer or shop, they were focused inward on their own problems, issues, health.  After a short time, they began to focus on their friends in the pantry.  They became concerned about something bigger than themselves and their private struggles.

In short…they became new.

Thanks for reading this blog/book.  The stories are true.  The people are real.

Please share this article with your preferred social network.

The book is still in progress!  It’s going to happen!

 

Food Pantry Blog – Ho Hum, Just Another Pantry Miracle in the Good Neighbor Food Pantry

“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
Well, maybe you don’t believe in miracles. I do. I was in denial for the longest time. But, after a while, I had to face reality. There were simply too many coincidences.
One September pantry day the lines were longer than usual and the shelves were emptying out fast. “I think we’re going to run out of food” I mentioned under my breath to Marie Duane, a volunteer from St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church.
“Do we have a plan for this kind of event?” I asked myself.
Just then, as if someone had blown a whistle, a red haired woman drove up in a tan SUV filled with bags of food she had collected from Congregation Agudas Achim in Kingston. Harriet Kazansky unloaded enough canned and boxed food to get us through the day with some food left over!
One December, the week after Christmas to be exact, John Mower drove up with a trunk load of canned vegetables for the pantry in his car. What a gift! Our pantry was totally depleted in December. Then, the next pantry day, along came another trunk load. He finally quit after three trips to the pantry. He filled our shelves for the next pantry day.
One Tuesday morning in the pantry, Peggy Johnson was upset because she didn’t have enough food to prepare the take out bags for the fourteen families she delivered food to. Food had been scarce and this week the take out area seemed to be empty. A large man suddenly walked in the door carrying a very large box filled with canned and boxed items. A Kingston fireman who grew up in the Woodstock area, he made Peggy promise not to tell his name. However, she didn’t have to keep his gift a secret: In one trip down the pantry hallway, carrying a box large enough to hold everything need, he singlehandedly provided all the food for fourteen homebound families that week. Our pantry has never heard from him since.
In the pantry hallway, we had an Items of Dignity closet where shoppers could take a roll of toilet paper and one other item each time they shopped. We were forbidden by the building committee to have clothing in this closet.
As luck would have it, Prasida needed a pair of winter boots. One Wednesday afternoon, I noticed a pair of new boots – in her size. They were hidden in a dark corner of a shelf. One of the volunteers took them off the shelf. “Prasida, can you wear these boots?” Prasida came over the closet, looked them over, and put them on.
“Ahhh – a perfect fit! Thank you Amma! Now I won’t have cold feet this winter in my summer sandals.” Ho Hum. Just another pantry miracle.
At one point, I was reading Doreen Virtue’s book, “Archangels and Ascended Masters.” One night I read about Saint Therese, also known as the Little Flower. The story goes that if one prays to St. Therese, she will send a rose as a sign that the request has been heard. The next day, I found a rose on the pantry floor as I walked in the room.
But the real miracle happened repeatedly in the pantry as the shoppers and volunteers both began to heal and change and grow from the community, their commitment, and the experiences in the pantry. When people first started coming to the pantry, either to volunteer or shop, they were focused inward on their own problems, issues, health, etc. After a short time, they began to focus on their friends in the pantry. They became concerned about something bigger than themselves and their private struggles.
In short, they became new.
Thanks for reading this blog/book.
Please share this article with your preferred social network.
Please leave a comment.
Peace and food for all.
Thurman