October 2015 – From a Simmer to a Boil

Barely a Drop in the Bucket

October 29, 2015JeniferLeave a comment

The food pantry where I volunteer operates on an appointment basis. One client is scheduled every half hour. This method of operation ensures a manageable flow of clients receiving food and keeps the waiting area from becoming too congested. Unfortunately it also creates a backlog of clients waiting to receive an appointment for food, sometimes as long a two weeks. When a client is unable to keep an appointment, they go back into the line of clients waiting for an appointment.

The past two weeks, during my time volunteering at the food pantry, something unusual has happened. Clients scheduled to come and get food have not come in for their appointment. I volunteer from 9am-12pm, so usually only 6 clients can come in during that time to receive their monthly allotment of food. Often we have one client out of the six not show up, but this past week only one client came in for food. During that time we were also able to assist someone who came in without an appointment, but was eligible to receive food. The previous week only half of the scheduled clients kept their appointments.

At first glance clients not coming in for food may seem like a good thing. Maybe their situation has changed for the better. Maybe they are no longer food insecure. But after almost a year volunteering in food pantries I have learned this is probably not the case. In the past clients usually fail to keep appointments to get food because their ride fell through or their car broke down. They have missed appointments due to illness, either their own or another family member. During the winter months weather is a factor, particularly for the clients who walk. Sometimes clients schedule their appointments to coincide with a break from work, but for whatever reason that break doesn’t happen as scheduled.

My point in sharing my concern with clients not showing up for their appointments is not to complain about wasted time or denigrate our clients. My intent is to show how this situation perfectly illustrates one of the “Seven Deadly ‘ins'” of the emergency food system, as posited by Janet Poppendieck in her book Sweet Charity. The “deadly in” to which I am referring is inaccessibility. This particular food bank is open from 9am-4pm, 3-4 days per week, but only on week days. Furthermore clients must have an appointment to receive food. They must remember to call two weeks before their eligibility date because of the roughly a two week waiting period for an appointment. If they find at the time of the appointment they can not make it, as stated above, them must start the process all over again. Calling to cancel is helpful for food pantry staff, but usually the cancelation, if it comes at all, is last minute as the reason is usually unforeseen. Consequently, staff is rarely able to reschedule another client on such short notice; therefore, not only has the originally scheduled client not received food, but s/he has also kept someone else from getting an appointment. All of these clients are in need of food, but due to the limitations of the emergency food delivery system it is inaccessible to them.

This example of food pantry clients missing their appointments also highlights another of Poppendieck’s “Seven Deadly ‘ins,'” the inefficiency inherent in the delivery of emergency food. Not only does this method of delivery require a sizeable three tiered system (federal, state and local agencies) to distribute the food, but it duplicates the food delivery system already in place in society–the grocery store. In our rural community there are at least 3 large grocery stores which are open seven days a week, two of which are open 24 hours a day. Additionally, there are several markets in and around town and a weekly farmers’ market during the growing season. Wouldn’t it be more efficient and cost effective to just increase the monthly SNAP allowance and make sure all those who are eligible to receive those benefits are getting them, instead of funding this inefficient, parallel food delivery system? This option would allow those who are food insecure and need assistance to use the system already in place in society when it is convenient for them, given their daily commitments, instead of relying on a parallel food delivery system that is much less convenient to access.

In a chapter from A Place at the Table, the companion book to the documentary of the same name, Joel Berg compares the emergency food delivery system to the fireman’s bucket brigade of the past. Prior to the mid 1800s, when there was a fire in a city or town, bucket brigades would be formed to combat the fire. Citizens would line up from the town well or another water source and pass buckets full of water to the fire, with empty buckets returning down another line. The problem was that these bucket brigades, although well intentioned, rarely put out any but the smallest of fires. To remedy the inefficiency of the bucket brigades local governments stepped in to create fire companies with better fire fighting equipment. Today we would never think of trying to fight a house fire with a bucket brigade.

Hunger in the United States is a fire that we are currently trying to fight with a bucket brigade. Local citizens in food banks, pantries and soup kitchens across the country are trying to put out the building sized fire of hunger with a bucket sized solution. Just like when the government of yesteryear stepped in to create a more effective solution to the problem of fires, the government of today needs to reorganize how assistance for those who are food insecure is delivered into a more efficient, effective method. I enjoy volunteering in the food pantry and the good feeling I get from knowing I am helping someone, but I look forward to the time when the emergency food delivery system of food banks, pantries and soup kitchens goes the way of the bucket brigade. Once that happens, maybe the fire of hunger in America will begin to be extinguished.

Hunger Walk

October 21, 2015Jenifer1 Comment

This past Sunday I couldn’t get the 10cc song, Things We Do For Love, out of my head. (I know. I’m dating myself.) That’s because of this line in the song, Like walking in the rain and the snow, and that is what we were doing, walking in the rain and the snow to help those who were hungry. My sons and I participated in the inaugural John H. Ware IV Memorial Hunger Help Walk to benefit 4 local organizations that help combat the problem of hunger in our area. In past years this walk has been part of the CROP Hunger Walk, sponsored by World Church Service. The local organizers in my town decided to break with that organization and sponsor the walk on their own for two reasons. First, the local entities receiving the funds raised by this walk did not see those funds for several months, often almost a year after the walk. Secondly, only 25% of the funds raised in our town came back to the local organizations. The remaining dollars stayed with the World Church Service, presumably to cover administrative costs and assist with efforts abroad to combat hunger.

Over 150 people turned out in spite of a dramatic dip in temperatures to participate in the walk, which included 3 different loop options–a 1 mile, 5K or 10K walk/run. Participants included people of all ages. I was especially pleased to see a large group of teenagers, many of whom were walking in support of a local youth organization that was receiving a portion of the money raised by the walk. The chilly wind and clouds did not seem to dampen spirits and as we started off, we were greeted with a brief snow shower, followed by a couple of light showers later in the walk. The inclement weather only seemed to add to the sense of camaraderie among the walkers.

I applaud these local organizers for deciding to take on the sponsorship and organization of this walk and keep the funds raised in the community. At the opening ceremonies when this change was discussed, those gathered vocalized their approval as well. Unless people are making a donation to a specific disaster or tragedy relief effort, most people want their donations to stay in the local community. Furthermore, I think this walk helps to make people, who may not be, aware that a hunger problem does exist in their community and that there are resources within that community trying to assist those in need. When I talk to folks about my endeavors and volunteering in the local food pantries, I have been surprised how often the response I receive is one of astonishment that we have food pantries in town. I hope this new model works for the organizers and future years walks will be able to operate in the same manner, with all the proceeds remaining in the local community.

Progress

October 14, 2015JeniferLeave a comment

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I wanted to form a committee to help me work on issues affecting those who are food insecure. That group met for the first time this past Monday evening, and the experience, for me, was very uplifting. First, I was just excited that people had shown up! As I chose people to approach to be on the committee, I tried to select members based on skills, contacts or specialized knowledge I thought they might be able to bring to the group. That evening, as each person introduced herself, I was further encouraged to hear that each of them seemed committed to helping the food insecure. Furthermore, I learned that some had personal experiences that brought them to the table and some had additional skills or contacts I hadn’t known about that could prove to be helpful.

Our first plan of action is to do something about the scarcity of summer feeding programs in our community. We discussed what would be entailed in starting a large program that would require the involvement of the school district or some other parent organization like one of the local churches. We also discussed starting a smaller operation that we could handle on our own. Each option had pros and cons and would require the logistics to be arranged. As we discussed the hurdles of each option everyone participated in the dialogue, offering insight and possible solutions. Each member of the group eagerly volunteered to make inquiries or gather information, and we all left the meeting with something to do before the next one.

Throughout the meeting I was inspired by the eagerness of the group to move this project forward and willingness of people to volunteer to help. I am so glad I decided to put this group together. They will keep me encouraged and moving forward, provide points of view previously unconsidered and share insights I do not possess. We will be meeting monthly, and as we clear hurdles and make progress, I will report on those successes.

Community Meal, With a Side of Dignity

October 8, 2015JeniferLeave a comment

Pinpointing the first example of meals prepared and distributed to the needy proves an impossible task, as societies through the ages have recognized a moral obligation to feed those of it’s citizens who were hungry. Evidence of providing free meals to the needy can be found through out history in most countries. Organizations providing these meals, often called soup kitchens, were in wide use in the United States during the Great Depression. According to Janet Poppendieck in her book, Sweet Charity? Emergency Food and the End of Entitlement, most societies, including the United States, rejected the idea of soup kitchens as a solution to feeding the hungry, because they stigmatized users by demeaning them and segregating them from the rest of society. Consequently the use of centrally prepared and served meals, like those found in soup kitchens, fell out of favor until the emergency food epidemic of the 1980s, when their numbers begin to increase dramatically (Poppendieck, 14).

Today, organizations providing a prepared meal for those in need take steps to reduce the stigma that receiving a free meal can cause. One popular way organizations attempt to maintain the dignity of those receiving a free meal is to have volunteers function as wait staff and serve diners on real dishes. Efforts are taken to eliminate waiting in long lines. Some larger agencies have moved to a café style operation, where diners can place an order after choosing items from a menu (Poppendieck, 247). Another way organizations providing a meal to those in need reduce the stigma associated with receiving that meal is to invite the whole community to partake of the meal. These meals are often referred to as community meals and everyone is welcome to dine. Usually a donation is suggested, but not required.

Once a month the Presbyterian Church in our town holds a community meal. The meal is served at dinner time on the last Sunday of the month and is open to anyone. In keeping with most community dinners, a donation is suggested, but not required. The idea for this meal originated with the Church’s youth group in the spring of 2011 and is now overseen by the outreach committee. In the Church’s Fellowship Hall, several rows of long tables are set with placemats, silverware and glasses. As diners arrive they may sit where ever they choose and are served the meal by volunteers on real plates. The meal consists of a meat, starch, vegetable and roll. For beverages, there is a choice of water, iced tea, coffee or hot tea. Once most diners have arrived and been served, those who wish can receive seconds, provided there is enough food left. When diners finish their main meal, several desserts from which to choose are available. Approximately 120 meals are served to diners each month at this community dinner. During these meals, the Church’s Fellowship Hall lives up to its name, as friends, family, neighbors and strangers from all socio-economic levels sit down to eat together.

Twice this past year I have had the opportunity to help at this community dinner by serving the meal, bussing dirty dishes and participating in the final clean up once the meal is finished. The experience, for me, has been a thoroughly enjoyable one. I enjoy the camaraderie of the fellow volunteers, the exchange of pleasantries with those I know and the satisfaction I receive from helping others, both the church’s outreach group and those eating the meal. Of all the tasks I do, I particularly enjoy serving the meal and clearing the plates away when diners are finished. Regardless of one’s life circumstances, being served is a treat. As a mother, I know how much I truly appreciate when someone in my house volunteers to wait on me. So by serving someone who may be food insecure a warm meal with a smile, I feel like I am treating them and giving them back some of the dignity that gets stripped away when a person has to struggle on a daily basis to obtain enough food to feed themselves or their family.