OT: The hungry in your neighborhood

[AngryScientist]

I have a heavy heart this morning, and feel compelled to write something on this forum. Last night i went out with the wife and bought a bunch of food staples and donated them to a local woman.

my wife works at a school, and, one of the young girls who attends, who is always dressed in tattery old clothes has been acting up. the mother eventually confides in the staff that she hasnt been able to afford the necessities of life consistently. they have been hungry at home because she just cant afford to put enough food on the table every night. of course she breaks down and cries, etc etc.

here in NJ, in the NYC metro area, the cost of living is so high, it can be overwhelming. this young lady is a single mom, trying to put herself through community college program to become a dental assistant, and working as many hours as she can at a crappy paying job. without outside support from family or friends, the ends just dont meet up. living expenses, utilities, rent. sometime the pennies just dont add up every month, and the trip to the grocery store can be daunting.

my wife is a social worker and is trying to get this woman some help. unfortunately she seems to be just on the edge of where she qualifies for certain programs.

it's heartbreaking, and when we added a box of cookies to the heap of staples we are coordinating to give to this young lady, i nearly lost it. how does a young mother tell her 6YO daughter: "there is no more food" when they are hungry? for a young mother, just trying to get a grip on life, that's more than most could handle.

i have been so fortunate in life to have things like "campagnolo" that it's easy to forget that people who live so close to home might be going to bed without a good meal in their bellies.

i've resolved to find something i can do on a consistent basis to help. i love the idea of programs like city-harvest which take leftovers from supermarkets, farmers markets, restaurants, etc and move them to people who can use them immediately to offset hunger. seems that in high dollar neighborhoods like NJ and NYC that a lot of GOOD food might be going to waste.

I'm rambling, i know. it saddens me. no one should go to bed hungry, and no one should have to tell their kids "there is no food". i know it's a big, comlex problem, and i know it's bigger than my head can even wrap around. sigh.

[buldogge]

Thanks for posting this AS.

It's overwhelming at times, the human condition…especially when "we" aren't directly affected by it.

People often lambast others for trying against insurmountable tasks/goals/whatever…against a tide, but all you can do in life if try to be a positive force.

Do what you can on a micro level, with whatever issue, and hopefully we can all do the same resulting in a macro effect.

-Mark in St. Louis

[pbarry]

Great post. Thanks for the perspective.

[laupsi]

Thanks for the post. We all need to consider those less fortunate, especially during the holidays, of course me saying so doesn't do anything to help out and we all say and feel this way when confronted.

Action. What you're doing is to be commended. Hopefully this woman can catch "a break" and keep herself going w/the help and support of others like you and your wife until things become more stable for her and her daughter.

[Fishbike]

Angry -- NIck --

Your post strikes a chord. There is tremendous hunger in this country. A very high percentage kids do not have enough to eat. Yes, many folks who have food insecurity have made bad choices; many more work.

I am the president of a non-profit that runs a food pantry as part of its mission. Every year I send out an annual appeal letter. A few years ago I wrote about a little girl who came to the pantry with her parents. She started to cry. When asked why she was upset, she said she was so happy because the family had food.

[Vientomas]

Good on ya Angry. We all can make a difference.

[Ahneida Ride]

The processes of creating $ outa nothing and charging interest on nothing
is the core of the problem. Even more nothing has to be created to pay
back the interest on nothing... the cycle continues, and it's called
price inflation ... when in reality it is exactly the opposite ... money
dilution. The poor can never escape it's insidious grip

End Debt slavery and more people can afford to eat.

[christian]

Oh, for f@ck's sake, can you get off your gold standard Fed horse for once. We're all,frankly, tired of it, and in the context of a thread like this it's tasteless and off topic.

Angry - good on you, mate!

[malcolm]

Moving post. I grew up poor, single parent family, mom working two jobs with two kids. Thankfully never hungry or unclothed. Actually only realized how little we had once I was grown.

For many the response is why did she have kids when she clearly couldn't care for them. I think that is not an unreasonable question to ask and probably needs asked and discussed. It does not however even begin to address the problem and humans have and always will do things not in their best interest.

I often feel guilt over the life I lead. We are comfortable and our kids want for little. My wife and I both try and make them aware that many people are not as fortunate and I think they get it to some degree but occasionally they respond in a manner that makes you realize they have no real idea what it is to do without.

We normally take a trip over the Christmas holiday but this year we have decided to stay home and plan to take our kids to a local shelter to help serve meals for the holiday.

We should all attempt to give back, but with day to day living of life it's easy to overlook the suffering of others. I know I'm guilty of it and hope to do a better job in the coming year. Thanks for the post.

[Saint Vitus]

First of all kudos to taking action, inertia is our greatest enemy. Living in San Diego, we have a large homeless population in addition to many who live at the fringes of society which taxes the city and every one of the NGOs in town.

Another thing to consider (and I am not making this a political point or a discussion), is the rollback of the foodstamp program will be making it tougher on those who use them, further taxing the system in place as they will now be looking to NGOs to help them subsist.

Bottom line is that it's all the more reason to give to food banks and other such entities as they are in the trenches and can best serve those in need. My father tells of the depression era days when his mother would gladly feed whom ever asked at the backdoor without question. I remember my mother taking me to outreach centers in Minneapolis to bring food to the needy. As was once pointed out a couple thousand years ago, the poor will always be with you, please help them.

[54ny77]

Poignant thread.

If you're in CT, I would recommend these two organizations, where any donations are welcome:

http://www.foodbanklfc.org/

http://www.kidsincrisis.org/index.php

[William]

Good on ya Nick.

It's a good reminder that there are those who are less fortunate for whatever reason. Especially tough for many people going into the Winter months, not only trying to put food on the table, but trying to keep their families warm with clothes and fuel.

There are many charities and volunteer opportunities out there that one can donate $$ or time to help out. We have been donating to the Portland Rescue Mission for years. We started when we lived in Oregon and saw the number of homeless people living in Portland and Corvallis. We continued even after we moved to the East Coast. The Wounded Warrior Project is another program that is close to our heart so we help out there as well when we can. It may not be a lot, but we believe in giving back and helping others when we are able.




William

[norcalbiker]

What puzzle me is many of our local churches and non-profit organization spend a lot of time and money helping, feeding and clothing people in another country. I do understand about the third world country because I came from such a country. But we also have a lot those homeless and hungry people here in our own backyard. Some of them just need a little help to back on their feet. Believe me I know when I said that. It is a big problem and no one seems to know how to solve it, including our government.

Anyway, for you AS, bless you and your wife's heart.

[carpediemracing]

I'm fortunate to have grown up in relative comfort - suburban home, food on table, stuff like that. My parents grew up in Japan during WW2 so they understood the idea of "not having much". Both my parents came from what I'd call upper middle class families but they were reduced to eating sawdust bread and such. Both emigrated to the US shortly after the war, mainly because my mom's dad was sort of asked to relocate to the US (and my dad followed my mom). Both struggled mightily at the beginning - we found old budget note pads - my mom remembered one week because they bought milk and normally they couldn't afford to buy milk (water was free).

I've experienced the hunger thing a little. I owned (or was in debt over, technically) an LBS. I had no money. I literally didn't buy anything in a retail establishment for 3 years because I couldn't afford to. I wore bike schwag because I got it for free - t-shirts, mountain bike shorts, and, in the winter, pants that I'd had for eons. My gf bought me a coat (I wore a leftover cycling jacket). I even wore old mtb shoes during the day. Etc. The bagel place 50 yards away gave me a left over bag about once a week, stuff they were going to donate. Bagels and sweets (croissants, muffins), that would last me most of the week. A deli traded me bike service for food but I prepared my own food there so I didn't take away from their labor time.

When I was single I had to scrounge for food on the weekends. I remember one day pretty distinctly - I finally found a can of corn or green beans or something in a kitchen cabinet, it'd ended up in the back of an unused cabinet. That was all I had that day.

[Vientomas]

Originally Posted by christian

Oh, for f@ck's sake, can you get off your gold standard Fed horse for once. We're all,frankly, tired of it, and in the context of a thread like this it's tasteless and off topic.

With all due respect to the Gentleman who needs a ride - I have to agree with the sentiments express above.