Soup Kitchen - The Hidden People

This past week a political maneuver to create a buzz of moral responsibility failed tremendously. It wasn't just that the politician forced his way into a soup kitchen that was closing after a long day of service. It wasn't just that pressure was put on tired volunteers to remain for a photo opportunity that they may have been politically, personally, or morally opposed to. It wasn't just that the politician fumbled his way into an apron that had just been put away and washed dishes that had already been washed.

It was more than this. The politician missed the point. He missed that the volunteers who worked that long day had just made and served hundreds of meals to the homeless, the mentally unstable, the drug addicts and alcoholics, the elderly, the folks with young children, the folks looking for meaningful employment, the lonely. Folks so desperate for a hot meal that they troop down to this location and stand in a cold hallway waiting to be allowed to enter, their belly's grumbling from the smell of hot food wafting through the closed doors.

He came after they had been served. He came after they had left. He came not to touch lives. Not to listen to the stories of sorrow and suffering. Not to contribute with his time, resources, or experience.

He is not the only politician to use the soup kitchen or pantry to create a buzz, and unfortunately he will not be the last to use people to create a false history about themselves.

Yesterday I went to Central City Cafe at 200 East Eagle Street located in the outskirts of downtown Buffalo. I went unannounced. I didn't pull out my camera. I didn't make any waves. I bowed my head along with everyone else when the kitchen head said prayers. I sat and ate my plate of lentils and roast pork on rice and my icy cold brown banana and my bitter coffee while sitting across from Kelly. Kelly has been coming to this kitchen off and on over the last three years. Every time he stops taking his medication for schizophrenia he's admitted to ECMC and eats very well there, but he says he really likes the meals here. With shaking hands he struggles with the creamer cup and finally gives up. He eats what he can but the meds make his stomach queasy so he eats like a bird, though you can see he really needs to eat it all. He trembles and scatters rice across the table, his occasional "Fuck you man." tumbles uncontrollably, tic like, out of his mouth. But he lucidly smiles and says, "It's good food here. You don't drink, you don't smoke, and they feed you good food here."

This is what the politician and others like him have missed. The sour milk scent, the worn out strollers with sleepy babies in twenty year old consigned clothing, the shoes worn so thin you can see the color of socks peeking at the heel, the rheumy yellowed eyes of long time drinkers, the warm smiles of the grateful. It's nerve wrenching for those who come for the first time. They look so obviously out of place. You can see the look on their face. "How they hell did I end up here? How the hell can I get out of here without feeling like I've groveled for a bowl of rice and limp vegetables?"

This is why I am so adamant about improving the types of food donated at my International Dinners. This is why I want to honor the work that Food Not Bombs does. This is why I encourage people to donate time as well as money to their local kitchen and pantry. This is not about coddling or being permissive, this is about supporting the community you live in. The first world concerns of malfunctioning phone apps, doggy day care issues,  not having enough money to put eyelashes on your car so you put it on a 21% interest credit card just boggles my mind. There are people in your neighborhood that don't eat or don't eat enough. Don't have access to clean water, to bathrooms, a place to do laundry. Have you ever scrubbed a t-shirt in a public restroom and dried it using the hand dryers? Have you ever bathed using a container of wet naps?

I don't want you to feel guilty. I want you to feel inspired to do something. Even if you can only contribute four times a year. Pick times that are not connected to a holiday. Holidays are easy. Too easy. It's the times in between that help is needed. It's not an all or nothing endeavor either. You do what you can, when you can. You do it quietly, unobtrusively, without thank you's, without that tax return slip for write off purposes. You can't write off your neighbors, you can't write off their lives, you can't make a profit off of their suffering. You do the work without expectations. When you do this, you discover it brings it's own rewards. I can only guarantee that this much is true.

If you want some ideas on how to help, you can contact me through email. I would be happy to suggest different ways in which you can make the greatest impact in the smallest of ways.

Make an impact Monday

Very often we think about our impact on the world at large. Not recycling or composting. Not re-using bags or buying water in a plastic bottle. Today I want you to consider the impact you make in your own neighborhood.

Everyday you meet people just like yourself who are going about their day. Going to work, to school. But one thing separates you from them, food insecurity. One in five children in the whole of the United States is considered food insecure. That's approximately 17,000,000 children who have one meal or less per day. The World Health Organization defines food security as having four facets: food availability, food access, food use, and long term stability. Food availability is having available sufficient quantities of food on a consistent basis. Food access is having sufficient resources, both economic and physical, to obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious diet. Food use is the appropriate use based on knowledge of basic nutrition and care, as well as adequate water and sanitation. The stability of the first three dimensions of food security over time is most critical of all.

Could you imagine going the whole day with nothing but what you might eat at school. That's if your school participates. Unfortunately, besides extracurricular activities, school food programs that include free or reduced meals are often the first cut when district budgets are short. Lunch programs during the summer months are scarce (more so for adults), run only during certain hours and/or on certain days, you can only eat the meal right where you receive it in front of the person handing it out, and you may not take it with you or share it. It is usually highly processed and high in sugar, filled with preservatives, artificial flavors, and colors. You are required to be grateful and you may never ask if there are other options. If you are a vegetarian or have an allergy, you eat considerably less of what is offered, if at all.

In Buffalo there are a number of programs run by groups who attempt to meet the daily needs of the hungry. From Loaves & Fishes' bagged lunches at their temporary St. John location, to Buffalo Food Not Bombs Monday and Saturday's Lunches, to Central City Cafe's wholesome hot meals; they and other outstanding food providers work hard for little or no pay.

They too have issues with budgets but even more than that, there is a need for donations beyond the major holidays, as well as providing services in a facility that has an up to code kitchen, a clean and safe dinning area, and having volunteers on staff that have the experience to work across the gamut of needs.

One small way that you could help is to donate goods to a pantry or soup kitchen. Consider locally sourced and/or organic foodstuffs such as rice, beans, whole wheat pastas, fresh fruits and vegetables. So often donations consist of foods you yourself wouldn't eat. How often have you cleared out your cupboard of items nearing expiration and donated them? You didn't eat that cranberry sauce, why would you donate it? Think instead, "I am so hungry! I wish I could have a hot meal with...." When you stop to consider what actually happens to those cans and boxes, you start to alter the types of foods you donate. Cans that have pull tabs are easier than hoping the client has a can opener or a stove to heat it on. Items that can be heated in a microwave or added to a stew pot are highly desired. I frequently hear how nice it is when a pantry adds a head of lettuce, a bag of potatoes, or a bar of butter. There is also something special about having a bar of soap, a roll of toilet paper, or a tube of toothpaste added to the bag.

This month consider, at least once a week donating two or three items that you would never have thought of donating before. If you are uncertain of where to donate, take a look at the 20 Soup Kitchens located here in Erie County. Also be aware that money donations are welcome at the smaller pantries where they are often used to purchase things like school supplies, or body care products like tooth brushes or feminine products, or food for pets.

I'll be featuring a different kitchen or pantry once a month, so check back in the middle of the month for  more information on ways you can help in your community.

Thank you and have a great week!