Hunger Is Not a Disease

Help the Homeless

The world of people who are homeless may seem very foreign – But, it’s actually very near.  We meet people every day who are just like us, only they don’t have a roof over their heads.

We can all find ourselves without a roof when we lose a job.  Or, maybe a spouse  dies.  Possibly an accident which leaves physical disabilities is the cause.  In short, all it takes is a personal tragedy.

 

There are many things we can do to help end homelessness.  There are many, many things we can do to help those who are struggling with homelessness.

One easy way we can help is to take a little extra food along when we go out of our home to work or on errands.  A few extra sandwiches will help.  When a person asks for change, offer him or her a sandwich.

A couple of times each year, gather the clothes you are no longer going to wear and donate them to shelters and pantries providing services to help those who are homeless.

While you gather clothes for the homeless, look at your family’s toys, books, and  games and select those that are no longer being used.  Children living in shelters have few possessions and will enjoy them.

Can you spare an hour or two?  Tutors can make all the difference.  Volunteer to tutor children in shelters.

Celebrate your birthday or anniversary and ask the people you invite to bring items for the homeless.

Carry fast food certificates with you when you are going out.  Hand them out to people who are homeless.

Hold a food drive and take the food to a shelter or a pantry in your area.

Donate your collectable recyclable cans and bottles to people who are homeless.  Donate a bag of groceries to a soup kitchen, shelter, or food pantry.

Volunteer at a food pantry or shelter.

Volunteer your professional services.  Lawyers, doctors, psychiatrists, counselors, and dentists can all use your skills when you volunteer at a pantry or shelter.

Ask your company, church, school to host a fund-raising event for a pantry or homeless shelter.  Items of dignity are really needed by the homeless.

Thank you for reading this article!

Please refer this article to your favorite social media network.

Thurman Greco

PS:  The hunger book is really moving along.  Things just never get finished as quickly as we all wish.  Writing a book requires years and years of research and writing.  In writing the hunger book, I have gone through thousands and thousands of sheets of paper and three computers.  I have spent years and years getting this story moved  from an event in my life to a book which will attract you or not in less than two  minutes.

Whew!

Why I work in a pantry…even after all these years.

RT 28 at Boiceville
“This is perfect weather for a flood” she said casually. “It’s good to see the county out cleaning the ditches by the roads. We need to be ready.”
As I write this post, my mind travels back in time to the 1st pantry day after both Hurricane Irene and Super Storm Sandy. I managed a pantry in Woodstock, NY then. What pantry days they were! People came in looking for anything and everything they could find. They were upset, scared, coping with loss. Many had lost everything – car, house, job. They didn’t know where to turn.

Sadly, neither did I. As they filed in the pantry room, they asked questions that I couldn’t answer. So…I referred them to Family of Woodstock down the street. I simply didn’t know what else to do.

So, now I fast forward to the present where I manage a pantry in Boiceville, NY. Residents here are still recovering from Irene and Sandy. At this pantry, I see some of the same people I saw in Woodstock. Recovery is slow.

Reservoir Food Pantry volunteers work to assure that quality food is available for the many individuals and families in Ulster County. They struggle with food insecurity, homelessness, and underemployment. About 40% of our clients are transportation challenged and we deliver food to them.

Hunger comes in several categories in our area:
elderly poor
employed poor
ill poor
infant poor
generational poor
persistent poor
resource poor
situational poor
struggling poor

Regularly, without even a second thought, volunteers at our pantry located in the Ashokan Reservoir area of Upstate New York, work hand-in-glove with UlsterCorp volunteers, Rondout Valley Growers’ Association. Together, they make an an ongoing effort to provide enough food for those struggling daily with hunger.

Now, in 2015, area pantries are working to be a cohesive group with food storage and safety procedures known by everyone. We know, even if no one else does, how much the area hungry and homeless need the food. Hunger alleviation cannot be effectively carried out in a vacuum.

Our success depends on long term commitment and collaboration. We need to be able to escalate services when needed. Volunteers in our group are here for the time and effort necessary to fight hunger and homelessness in our area.

www.ulstercorps.org
www.familyofwoodstockinc.org
www.goodmorningwoodstock.com
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Peace and food for all.

Thurman Greco

Who Volunteers? – Working in a food pantry

RFP-Tent (1)

THE SHORT ANSWER?   Everybody.  But, of course, that’s not the whole story.

Can you:

drive a car?

drive a truck?

say “Welcome” to frightened people?

stock food on shelves?

direct traffic in the parking lot behind Robert”s Auction?

address envelopes?

stuff envelopes?

call people up and ask them to help deliver food ?

sit at a table in front of the Kingston Walmart?

But, really, whether or not you can do anything on the list is irrelevant.  If you want to get a close look at the ideal volunteer, simply go over to the nearest mirror and take a look.

DOES THE MIRROR YOU’RE LOOKING IN HAVE A CRACK?  Is it chipped?  Are there a few spots?  So much the better.

GNP55The ideal volunteer is you and me and our neighbors down the street.  We’re all qualified for the job.  And, if someone has just remarked on how old you are, that just makes you even more qualified.

Remember, in a pantry, there are no overqualified people.

The better question is not “Who” but “Why”?

PEOPLE ARE SEEKING AN OPPORTUNITY TO SOCIALIZE.   Humans are social beings and it’s important for our mental, physical, and spiritual health to stay connected to our community.  There is no better place to maintain this connection than working in a pantry.

IT’S IMPORTANT TO STAY PHYSICALLY FIT.   Working at a pantry  offers  fun exercise without the cost of going to a gym.

DO YOU NEED FOOD?   Many pantry volunteers use the pantry.  This is important.  We’re bringing the very same food into the pantry and distributing  that we are also shopping from.  We’re not asking anyone to take home food that we consider inferior.  People are happy to come to the Reservoir Food Pantry  because the quality and variety of the food is the best we can get.  This wouldn’t happen if we didn’t shop at the pantry ourselves.

Have life’s circumstances caused you to feel as though you’ve been put out to pasture?  Not to worry.  Retirement and/or loss of a job happen to all of us.  The absolute  backbone of the food pantry industry is  retired people.  Retired people are an indispensable part of the entire business of feeding the hungry.  In fact, I’m using every one of my life skills in the pantry and I’m in my 70’s.

WORKING IN A PANTRY OFFERS US ALL AN OPPORTUNITY TO SOCIALIZE.   When you work at a food pantry, you are surrounded by people  doing things.  You are with people who care.

Working at a pantry offers volunteers an opportunity to be around people who are different from ourselves.  Working at a pantry will put you shoulder-to-shoulder with  people who are different in age, race, education, first language, religious belief, political outlook, and social class.  In a pantry, we’re people from all walks of life working  together to feed hungry people.

All THE DIFFERENT THINGS HAPPENING WHEN YOU WORK IN A PANTRY CONSPIRE TO KEEP YOU YOUNG.

Everyone works with a single goal:  to feed the hungry.  Goals give us  meaning and purpose in life.

There is a downside, though.  The blessings  we all receive from this work distract us from 2 harsh facts of life:

deteriorating economic conditions and

increasing inequality.

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Please send a comment.

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Peace and food for all.

Thurman Greco

 

 

 

Food pantries are a little quirky.