They Come, They Come, and Just Keep Coming.
THEY COME, THEY COME, AND JUST KEEP COMING
They come, they come, and they just kept coming. From 7:30 AM when I park my car in the church parking lot and walk across the street to see the first pickup truck pulling into where the participants park, they are coming. We begin at 10:00, but it is rare when someone is not there already in the lot when I arrive. They just keep coming until 11:50 AM when the lady in the registration area, standing outside to meet new registrants with an umbrella said, “Linda, I am not registering any more. We close at 12:00. I estimate we have registered 130 families.” The area outside is packed with people still waiting their turn to enter the building. I agree and 30 minutes later another man came up to inquire if he could register.
What were they all coming to? Was it a football game? A funeral? a reception? a wedding? No, it was the Thanksgiving distribution for our church food pantry. The temperatures were predicted to be in the 60’s, but it’s cold as the participants sit outside waiting for their turn to enter the building. We have folding chairs that participants sit in to wait and an unheated garage that will shelter some from the wind and rain for our waiting area. Our food pantry is located in a 1920’s house with no room inside to accommodate the numbers who come. On Saturday, I never felt the temperature rise to the 60’s. It may have, but it didn’t feel like that to me.
Preparations for this event started weeks-even months ago. First, we planned what would be extra in the things that we distribute on the Saturday closest to Thanksgiving. It was decided that we wanted to give turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, rolls, green beans, eggs, pickles, cranberry sauce, assorted vegetables, some type of boxed dessert that could be made. Other items that they would select from would include fruits, fresh vegetables, frozen meat and frozen vegetables. We sent our shopping teams to the Food Bank to see what items could be obtained from them over a period of several weeks that we could use for the Thanksgiving distribution.
Next, how would we pay for it. One of our food pantry volunteers and our pastor are always reminding me to, “Have faith.” I do, but I still plan and am concerned about how we will finance and pay for what is needed. Three weeks prior to Thanksgiving, we bring out our wooden turkey with multicolored paper feathers that can be plucked that we place on the altar at our church—Salem United Methodist. The following message is on each feather:
Side One: Turkey Stock—Sponsor: A full size Thanksgiving meal for a needy family. Your $25.00 donation along with the help of Food Lion, Eastern NC Food Bank, and our amazing shoppers will provide a very nice family meal. Thank you so very much for being so generous and helpful. Thanksgiving is best when shared with others.
Side Two: Turkey Stock: Please write your name here _____________________________ and turn in cash or check made payable to Salem UMC, For: Turkey Stock If you would like to support more than one Thanksgiving dinner, you can do the math. We thank you so much for giving to families who have less ability than many of us to provide a Thanksgiving dinner for their family. You are now a part of their thanksgiving blessing.
Turkey Stock raised over $1800 dollars this year. Another one of our food pantry volunteers secured a $250.00 grant from Thrivent Financial. One of our church members is the manager of a local Food Lion and we ordered through him the additional turkeys we estimated we would need with the trimmings. He gave us the lowest price for each item. When the bill was rung up, it came to over $2000. When he finished discounting our bill, it was less than $1,000. Another volunteer worked with the Food Bank accumulating and buying needed items @ 19 cents per pound. Another team went to Food Lion in Winterville, along with their regular donations of fresh vegetables and fruit, two days to pick up 121 five-dollar boxes that have been donated by shoppers for Holiday meals. Each box contained cans of string beans, rice, spaghetti, spaghetti sauce, mac & cheese, and chicken. On the side of the box it says, “No one goes hungry for the holidays.” One of our community neighbors sponsored a neighborhood food drive. She said that she felt God wanted her to do something this season to help with food. G.R. Whitfield School held a food drive and gave the contents to our food pantry—over 1000 pounds of food!
Saturday, November 23rd came. Our volunteers arrived. First a core group from within our church to set up at our location called The Hut. Another team went to Food Lion with pickup truck and trailer to pick up the turkeys, eggs, and rolls. We do not have enough storage space to store that amount of food on site. Another team had worked earlier in the week to make 110 bags for the distribution with all the dry/canned goods; another two teams had collected fresh produce from Food Lion donations; still other teams had made 23 deliveries into the community to individuals with no transportation or who were not physically able to come; others went to the GR Whitfield and picked up those donations; other volunteers loaded/ unloaded the vehicles from various gathering points as they came into the food pantry—over 10,000 pounds of food distributed on the one day!
From East Carolina’s Pulse program to provide volunteers to the community came three students to help; another student volunteering from the NC School of Math & Science; friends who knew someone in our church; the core group of 12 managing different aspects of the day. At Salem UMC we say, “it takes a congregation” to do something. Not only does “does it take a congregation,” working on food insecurity, “it takes a community!” By 10:00 I knew when I looked at the registration numbers, we would run out of turkey—76 families had registered who were return participants; another seven were on a list of new families. I made the announcement to the waiting families; however, assured all we would NOT run out of food. “They” just kept coming. By 10:30 we had registered 88 regular participants. We didn’t run out of food; however, our volunteers kept making more bags filled with 12 items per family weighing about 15 pounds per bag.
We planned for 110 families, based on our previous experience and numbers. On our distribution day came 139 families, including 16 new families that had never been to our pantry before. Who are the “they”? Who are these people? What are their individual stories?
First, there is Miss Louise. She is an elderly widow who is missing front teeth, has a keen sense of humor, and always needs a hug. I inquire, “How are you doing today?”
She answers, “I’m getting away with as much as I can; therefore, I’m good.” Miss Louise moves quickly from person to person talking in the parking lot. She whispers in my ear as she is leaving with her food, “I appreciate the help.”
I spot Mr. Fields coming through the line. He is looking good. Mr. Fields is a big man who has had a difficult year—first the death of his wife, then a heart attack, surgery, and several weeks in hospital, followed by weeks of recuperation at home. He has six children and while he was sick, other food pantry participants carried food to his house from the pantry for his six children who were being looked after by the oldest sibling—a 17-year old. I have observed that the people coming to the pantry help each other. “They” are a community.
Then there is Gretel with her 20-year old autistic non-verbal son John who cannot be left alone. Someone from the pantry watches him in her car while she dashes into the Food Pantry to select the items they can use. Every item she selects or doesn’t select is always “John likes this or he won’t eat that.” She never takes anything that he will not eat. One day she was looking at a container of cottage cheese. She said, “I like it, but he doesn’t.” I could see her reluctantly put it down. As she left, I placed the item in her bag and said, “Take this for you.” Her stove does not work and she cooks on a hot plate and toaster oven. She says the rent is too high where they live and she is seeking a cheaper place. They exist on John’s Supplemental Security Income check. It is not possible for her to work. Often, she receives calls from his school to come and pick up John because of behavior issues.
Miss Annie passes me in the hallway, stops me, and says, “They want to remove my lung. They say it has cancer. I don’t want surgery. I want them to try radiation.” I tell her I will remember her in my prayers as she meets with another specialist this week. I don’t mention that we have lost four of our pantry participants this year by death.
Then there is Derrick. He is a tall—probably a 6’5” man who in the past always said, “I can’t eat pork. My doctor said not to eat it.” I find something else to place in Meat Bin #1 for him to select—ground turkey or chicken. When he reaches Bin #3, it has bacon and turkey sausage in it. He always selects the bacon. I point out the turkey sausage and say, “Bacon is pork.” Derrick says, “Bacon is bacon; pork is pork.” These days Derrick does not come into the pantry anymore. Someone brings him and we are notified he is in the parking lot. We prepare a bag for him and make his selections. We send it to the car. Derrick has had a stroke. If there is bacon, we include it with the ground turkey or chicken. After all, as Derrick says, “Bacon is bacon.”
Miss Iris is a heavy-set woman who has trouble walking or standing on her feet. She is also the one I have thankfully passed on all my “too big for me clothing.” Miss Iris sits in a chair by a table outside and passes forms/food pantry rules on as people arrive. She volunteers her time to help us in the waiting parking area. She is an elderly widow who is a retired school cafeteria worker. Her daughter is in prison for being involved with drugs, and Miss Iris is the caretaker for the four grandchildren living with her ages 6-10. The father is somewhere in the area, but takes no responsibility or contributes to the care of the children. It is a struggle. As she said to me, “I don’t know how I would manage to feed all of us without some help from this food pantry.” Her food selections are usually child centered. On the rare occasions when we have yogurt cups, she always picks them out because “the grandchildren LOVE these.” She does not have a car and has to find a ride with someone. Her brother-in-law comes and picks her up after he finishes his school bus route. She is usually among the last to leave as she tidies up the outside, sees all the chairs are stored in the garage, waits for her ride.
Then, there is Mrs. Lois. With her white hair and neat appearance, she could be anyone’s grandmother. She drives a van. Her family numbers keep changing. Sometimes she has six; sometimes three; sometimes seven. There is a daughter who has teenage sons who appears to be in and out of the picture. The teenagers are in school and usually one will come and help his grandmother by carrying her bags. The daughter apparently is not in the home at this time—appears to be in and out of prison. The teenagers are articulate, well dressed, mannerly, and handsome.
All the” They” have names and stories that I can’t tell or don’t know. Our food pantry participants demographically are about 1/3 elderly, 1/3 children, and the other 1/3 a mixture of persons with disabilities, homeless, unemployed, or people working several part time jobs at minimum wage. From my observation point “They” represent a microcosm of our society. “They” sometimes receive food stamps. The food stamp amount for one-person–$16.00 per month. You do the math. “They” keep coming. Why?
Food insecurity in our nation affects more than 800 million people who live without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable nutritious food each day with hunger as their constant companion. Some skip meals; others make choices of paying for medicine, rent, utilities or buying food.
There are 34,010 people in Pitt County, NC who experience this food insecurity which is 21% of the county population. We have 14,160 children who receive free or reduced-price school meals. There are no school meals for children during holidays. Holiday times are pressure times for food insecure families. So, “they come” to our food pantry. They may go to more than one food pantry because a family would not receive enough food to feed a large family. Even when federal assistance through The Emergency Food Assistance Program, provides food, it is never enough. So, “they come.” Some walk pulling wagons to carry the food home, others, use bicycles, SUV’s, cars, or have friends/family drive them. “They come.” Sometimes we see whole generations of families—mothers, adult children, their siblings. “They just keep coming.”
Often, I have been asked, “How do you know if the people really need the food?” My standard reply is, “I’m not the Food Police. That’s between them and God.” One of our volunteers shared with me, “I get a blessing out of being here.” Still another said, “I have so much. I see it always with the needs that come through the door.”
I’ll be back again on Wednesday and others on Thursday (Thanksgiving Day) picking up Food Lion donations, sorting, and restocking our empty freezers hopefully from the Food Bank. On Friday we will have our regular distribution day’.
It’s nearly 2:30 My core group of volunteers finally has finished our day at the Salem’s Share the Bounty Food Pantry. The numbers have been counted, the chairs returned, the floors
swept, the garage locked, and the parking lot and freezers are empty. I lock the door and walk across the street to my car. We have provided food for 139 families comprising of 315 adults and 124 children in our Thanksgiving distribution. If you ever wonder if what you do makes a difference, I can tell you that that today it made a difference to 439 people. As I drive, I am thinking about the next time. You see I understand, “They come, they come, and they just keep coming.”
Linda Marsal, November 24, 2019