Monday, May 23, 2011

Challenge is over, but it doesn't stop here

It has been 2 weeks now, but the challenge is over.

The Food Pantry 1, Marcus 0.

My blood pressure is still high, and when landscaping I can feel my heart pounding harder and harder. So I know it is a week early, but we are throwing in the towel and calling it quits. I have gathered some great information, it was an interesting experiment and I feel for those who do not have the ability to call it off when they want to.

Over all if this was our lifestyle, I would have traveled to 8 food pantries in a months time. From my house to each of these pantries will be 96.3 miles each month. These are the closest 8 pantries from my house. If I lived further north, then I would double the amount of miles to get food. One of the 8 pantries was opened on Saturday. All the rest were closed by 5:00-except for one that I found open one day a week until 7:30. All together the 27 food pantries in Hamilton County are open 203.5 hours each week-that averages just 7 hours a week/pantry.

The above issues alone are more than an uphill battle. Add on top of it the other stresses of the family and I cant even imagine how people get through it. And we all know what happens when you have to go through frustration over and over again, when this becomes the new norm-how can you handle it. Domestic Abuse! Alcohol and Drug use! Crime! I am not defending any of these issues, but I can see clearly how one not only leads, but drives you to the other.


-Your not a human, your a name.

-You are a number that is helped (for the day-see you next month)

-You are helped in a way that makes me feel better-not you.

-Customer service-not here! We are serving the others-or are we?

-You are hungry? We still have food on the shelf at the end of the day, week and month.

-You can't open your food because you don't have a can opener? Sorry we only give out food.

-You can't afford food, well spend it on gas as you drive 100 miles to get food every month.

-Your family is sick, high blood pressure?-sorry here is another can of corn that has 120% of the daily sodium

-You don't like corn? Well I forgot to ask-so here's some corn.

-I am sorry I forgot your name, I already filed your card after making sure you weren't stealing from the pantry by coming twice this month.

-Here is a bag of pasta and a can of beans-we call that a meal, enjoy its better than nothing.

-You took off work early, lost pay to get here before we closed? Well it's 5:00, sorry you can come back tomorrow.

-I care enough to give you these two surprise bags of groceries, but not enough to even ask what's going on in your life that brought you to my door.


Is this what is has boiled down to? Is this what it means to care for those who are starving and are in need? Is this what Jesus had in mind when he said to feed the hungry, and cloth the naked?
This has opened my eyes to a whole system that use to make me feel good inside. I assumed people needed to give more of their money and time to fix the problem-and they do, but the problem is larger than that.
It saddens me to see what these "christian" help centers are doing and not doing.
It saddens me to see that my own church hasn't been helping Hamilton County.
It saddens me to see that I myself haven't done enough.

So what are you going to do?
The average house wastes 30% of all food that comes into their homes or on their plates. (If you don't think this is you-watch for the next month. Watch how much food is wasted as you cook, as you scrape off your families plates, the left overs you forgot to eat, as you throw away from the fridge that has gone bad.)
The average restaurant is in the 15-19%. Millions of pounds of food are being rescued each month from a few of the restaurants in the area-check out http://foodrescue.net/. How many millions (or billions) are being wasted from the homes?
It's not about finding money in your budget to give food to a pantry.
It's changing your mindset when it comes to food. How we use it, how we waste it, how we share it.
Its about taking care of those around us, those who are in need and are dying. I replaced the word starving with dying, because yes they are starving-but even when they get something to eat-it's not enough-it's not healthy, and they are dying.

I remember standing in the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, TN (if you haven't been to it, you really need to go-you will not be the same ever again). I stood there realizing that the only way poverty and hunger will go away, is the same way the racial issues were addressed. The way people were treated based on the color of their skin was unthinkable, and the way we treat those who are in poverty is unthinkable. Someone needs to stand up and say "NO MORE". No longer will we tolerate the treatment that is being given. This government, our state and our community needs to change-and the church needs to lead the charge. Hunger and poverty are not overwhelming unsolvable issues-and it's time that we stop treating them that way. I too have a dream-and it's one where Jesus' church unites together with the community and takes care of those in need. It's time to stand together and show others that they too can stand together in their community and do the same.

Read through Dr. King's famous speech and let the message of racial reconciliation echo into your heart to change what may need to still change. Then read it again and allow the words and issues change from race to poverty, to those who hunger and need us.

It's time to be the Church!


Martin Luther King, Jr.

"I Have a Dream"

delivered 28 August 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.


I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.

We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."¹

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,

From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

I gave in last night

I finally went to the grocery store! I wanted meat so bad. The 2 cans of tuna and what ever little pieces of meat that are in soup-just wasn't enough for the past week. So I purchased 2-1lb packages of ground beef that were marked down and it cost me $4.78. I used on 1lb in last nights meal which was bow tie pasta and spaghetti sauce. It has been a while since I have eaten canned sauce, not sure what they put into it-but the preservitatives really change the taste of it. The meal looked more like a non boxed hamburger helper than pasta. It was very filling though.












Before I went to the store, I had to go to the doctor because I injured my elbow. When they did my blood pressure, they were very concerned....so they did it three times. 144/94-which is really bad. I have been giving platelets for the past year and it has around 117-120/72-80 (the last was 4-11-11 and it was 118/74). They did say that pain raises the blood pressure, but then asked if I have consumed a lot of sodium? Yes in the past week I have more than ever with this food pantry diet. Now I have to have it checked next week and the week after if it is still high.






That experience yesterday reminded me of "Super Size" the movie and how quickly he became not only unhealthy, but dangerously unhealthy. And we wonder why people in poverty are so obese and sick-this food that they are eating is terrible!






My challenge for everyone reading this is the next time you purchase food for the pantry remember these two things-



1. Only purchase things that you would eat (and think of the health part of it more than the cost)



2. Purchase things as meals, instead of mac n cheese, beans, corn, etc. This will help provide blanced meals as much as possible.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Best meal of the week

I just had the best meal of the week-Tuna casserole. It was a little odd using cream of chicken instead of cream of mushroom-but it was protein!! These past two days have been bagels, crackers, green beans and soup-the last time I had meat was 4 days ago. So the little can of tuna in tonight's meal was perfect.

I have been feeling better, since I have increased my vitamins. Energy still isn't back to normal-probably will not be till this is over.

It has been a week and the only money we have spent is the $6.00 from the other night. I was going to see how long we can go until we hit the grocery store-but I think it will be this week. A nice steak and a huge salad sounds great right now.

I really feel for those who have to live this way. They are not treated well, they are not sure "what's for dinner", they eat what is available, they have to organize their week around the few hours the pantry is open, they eat unhealthy food, feel miserable and get sick often.

When ever I think about complaining or giving up, I think about those who don't have the choice to do so. So far we have traveled 13 miles to get our food. That's a huge difference compared to driving 3 miles to Kroger. With the price of gas I cannot imagine how families are getting by doing this.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Sorry the Blog was down

Sorry I was trying to post yesterday and blogspot.com was down. Now that they are back up, I am missing posts from Thursday as well. If you read them great-they said they are working to get them back up on here.
Now I will try and catch up on what you missed.

It has been an interesting few days, Thursday I started to not feel well. I realized that I don't have to be a nutritionist to realize that this food isn't good for you. Full of salt and sugar, most nutrients have been "processed" out of them. So now I am taking a multivitamin along with some other vitamin supplements. I am hoping that this sinus infection will go away.

Yesterday we were getting to the end of the supplies. Only odds and ends are left, so we planned on hitting the pantry again. We did see a sign that Domino's was doing a $5 pizza so we splurged $6.34 (with tax) last night for dinner. This is the first of the $75 that we spent so far. I miss meat and veggies the most!

So we entered into the pantry and there were 6 others
in there. It was really sad to see our neighbors hurting and in such need. They were so quiet, no one talked in the waiting room. As one person passed us they said excuse me, very quiet and nicely. Other than that it was the only words spoken. We signed up on a list, filled out the forms and waited to be called. The sign in list had 19 other names on it, you could see all who came that day. Not a good way to give privacy or be discrete.

Then our names were called and out the door we went with 2 young boys carrying our food. I told them we could take it, but they insisted. That was really nice to have someone take your groceries to your car.

As we drove home we wondered "what's in the bag"?

So here is the new food items that we received from the new food pantry.

3 cans of green beans
1 can chicken noodle soup
pasta
1 can of spaghetti sauce
boxed potatoes
Hamburger Helper (scared)
Cream of chicken
Pork and beans
can of oranges
cherry pie filling (really?)
can of mixed fruit
Choc. chip cookies
and....ready for this.....22 bagels-for 2 people!!

There was way less food compared to the first pantry. This will be more challenging to piece things together with this load of food.

So far today was cornflakes for breakfast and a package of saltine crackers for lunch. I'm not that hungry, I just have no energy at all.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

What's in the bag?

I bring in the two bags, but have no idea what was inside. I wanted to check while I was in my truck, but I didn't. One bag was heavy, maybe that meant there would be a lot of food?

So what if the next time you go grocery shopping, you walked in said hello and they handed you your bags. No shopping, just hello and you have to wait until you get home to find out what you have.

There is one food pantry in this county that allows you to actually shop-all the others...you get what you get. So if your family doesn't like corn, you could open your bag when you get home and find 4 cans of corn. What if the family behind you likes corn? So does it matter, I mean if you are hungry enough you'll eat it right? What if it isn't a preference, but someone in the family is allergic to the corn? Now its a waste. But the bigger concern is where is the dignity?

Wikipedia states......Dignity is a term used in moral, ethical, and political discussions to signify that a being has an innate right to respect and ethical treatment.

So why not let people select the food they need? Most pantries will tell you "its to control the food that goes out and the amount of it", also they don't have to say no to someone who wants something they don't want to give out. There is a space issue allowing people to shop. But you can work around this issue. But they don't for a reason!


Warning this may be harsh!!
The main issue is what drives the decision being made. Where is the heart or the posture that is being taken? I can tell you there is no dignity in handing someone two bags of food and not letting them select it.
The message is loud and clear as if someone was yelling "unclean, unclean"! You are in need, and I have the food. I am helping you so I get to decide how you get it, what you get, how often you get it and when you get it. It's almost as if "I will not trust you from the moment you walk in". Instead I will do my good deed, by my standards. I will sleep better because I at least helped. But did they really? If you look at it through the lens of hunger only-yes there is more food in their stomach than when they came through the door. If these pantries no longer exist it will be a huge issue for hunger-so please don't get me wrong. But punch me in the gut and hand me food at the same time, doesn't make it right.
But I have a name, I have a story, I have needs, and I need someone to share Jesus with me. (more on this later)

If decisions and policy is created based on "let's make sure we don't get taken advantage of, or lets make sure there is always food on our shelves-BY-not giving it all away. There will never be dignity, you will always have food-yes, but you are missing out.

Instead why not look at the person walking in the door the way Jesus would. With compassion, with dignity, with humility and with Love.


Dinner?





Please don't take this post the wrong way. Your first thought might be food snob-but come on powder cheese? Dinner last night was Mac n Cheese with Tuna. I thought I would eat half of it, so I can track the nutritional elements, but I couldn't even get 1/4 of it down before my stomach started to act up. So it isn't my taste buds-those I controlled well-it was my stomach.



Now people have said its because it wasn't Kraft Mac and Cheese, others say its because I didn't use milk and butter (I used the pasta water). My response is cheese isn't suppose to be powder!


I am listing the nutritional stats below, because I have a dietitian who will give me her assessment to the health and nutritional elements of eating at a pantry.


Stats
Cal-310
fat cal-20
Fat-2g
Chol-10 mg
Sodium-770 mg
Total Carbs-51g
Fiber-1g
Sugar-1g
Protein-21g

Satisfied (rating 1-10, 10 being highest)=1
Would have this meal again (1-10, 10 being highest)=1 (I couldn't use negative numbers)

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Different


There are many topics or issues that I could begin with prior to explaining my first experience with a Food Pantry, but I will settle for one and hold back the others for a later discussion in this experiment.

The grocery store that you and I regularly shop at is open during hours based on the customers; this is simply not the case for Food Pantries. I really didn't want to start off on a negative thought, but this topic will be difficult not to begin with a negative experience.

No Food Pantries are open past 5:00pm - not a single one. So if you work, good luck! I realized that this morning, so I had to leave work early to make the 5:00pm cutoff. As I left work at 4:35pm, I called to make sure I had everything I needed. After she told me about a picture ID that had my current address, or a utility bill with my current address, she proceeded to explain that the Food Pantry would close promptly at 5:00pm. I told her that wouldn't be a problem since I was 5-10 minutes away. "Well if you don't think you will make it here and get your food by 5:00pm, maybe you should come tomorrow." Really? I have no food for tonight and I am sure there are people who are in the same boat. Waiting until tomorrow simply is not an option. I told her thanks and asked where to go when I got there.

As I pulled in, I couldn't find any signs directing me where to go. Thankfully, I see the 8"x11" sign that reads Food Pantry. I hurry inside to see two lovely ladies who welcome me. They were very nice and I could tell right away that I must have been talking to the church receptionist and not either of these two. I filled out a simple index card (how many in the house, full names of the people in the house, etc), selected items from a list that I liked and didn't like, and gave both back to them with my ID. About 5 minutes later they emerged with two bags of food. I thanked them, gave them the envelope with the letter and donation inside, and said goodbye. The two sacks were hard to handle because of the plastic bag on the bottom of the paper bag, but I managed to get them to my truck.

As I got home and found out what was inside, reality hit me...this is going to be a long three weeks. Here is a picture of what was in the bags. I purposely didn't select certain items: sweets; fruit juice; paper products; soap; etc. I did however get four of those items, so I am not sure how close they looked at the paper I circled.

Quickly I made an inventory and started to plan out meals for lunches and dinners of what went together. The first 4 meals were easy, then it got hard thinking of what went together with what?

Tonight is boxed macaroni & cheese (water-no milk or butter) and can tuna-I cant wait!!

Here is some stats I am tracking.
Pantry-6 miles round trip open 3 days a week from 3-5:00
2 cans veggies
2 cans fruit
2 cans beans
2 cans soup
2 cans tuna (1 large)
1 can tomato sauce
1 package spaghetti
1 pasta roni
1 box potato
2 boxes mac and cheese
1 apple juice blend (not sure what blend means)
1 french loaf
1 box girl scout cookies
1 pack of choc pudding
1 box of crackers
1 loaf of oat bread
1 box of corn flakes
1 peanut butter
1 jelly

Here we go

A few months ago I was asked to do some research on the Food Pantries in my area. After my interaction with the third Food Pantry, I realized how little I actually knew about them. I quickly found myself noticing issue, while hastily fixing them in my head with thoughts like, "If they only did this".

With each new thing I learned, I grew increasingly curious to learn something more. I had to learn that I couldn't fault them for two main reasons: First, they were doing more than I, or my church, was doing; Second, I didn't have a full picture of what was actually taking place. So I decided that I would learn about what was actually going on, with hopes to begin making a difference on my own.

But one initial question loomed: how much food was needed for a family to live on? There are (notably outdated) government studies, but they really didn't give me a realistic picture.

Think of it this way. We need water to survive. There are daily recommendations given to us by the government. Then there is how much we actually drink. Some drink more than what is recommended, but most drink less. Yet with where we live, it isn't a problem to drink as much as you personally want.

So when it came to daily food requirements, I wanted to get a "more accurate" view of how much was genuinely needed. I went to 5 families (that I knew were minimalist when it comes to food, meaning they live within their means) and asked them to track what they consumed for a period of 4 weeks. I chose different family dynamics as well as sizes. The various demographics would give me a more realistic picture of what families actually need.

There were things that never even crossed my mind when it came to helping provide food for those who are in need. So I decided to do a little research! I talked with about 25 people, letting them know what I was wrestling with. In doing so I received feedback which helped me with the project you will see on this Blog (thanks!!).

I am going to spend the next three weeks living off food from, and experiencing, the food pantries. The only food that I will eat that is in the house is the perishable food (it's not a lot, but I didn't think it would be wise to waste it). I will follow the rules and go to the pantries that I am permitted to based upon my location (county or township), document what they give me, talk about the experience of getting my food from a Food Pantry, and the experience in eating the food. I am also using a form of food stamps (cash) for the perishable items. Based on the government food stamp program, I am allowed $150 in food stamps. I have decided to cut that in half and will limit myself to $75.

For those who are worried about me taking food from those in need and misleading the pantries..... Upon completing this project, I will provide a letter to the Food Pantries I visited explaining my project, including a donation to cover the cost of the food that is given to me.

If you know me, my love for food, and my desire for quality food, the quality of food will be the first hurdle I think I will need to get over!!!