Eyes that see the good in things: Nov. 5, 2018

It was a local food drive that had me shopping in my local grocery store yesterday, using my best judgement on the types of items that I should buy. I tried to be sensitive to the fact that I needed to purchase complete meals, in recognition of the fact that their own pantry may not have the items needed to prepare a boxed meal. However, I didn’t research what food pantries actually need, until after I had purchased and delivered the food items we donated.

Carol Kent told the story about a woman who had used a food pantry for the first time in her life in her book titled, “A New Kind of Normal.” The woman she spoke with had been self-employed for years, supplementing her husband’s income with a direct sales job. However, when her husband lost his job, she started using her sales income to pay for the necessary family expenses. Her parents had been helping out with groceries for months, until she asked them not to. She told her parents they were fine, but she reached the point where her cabinets were empty except for a partial box of cereal and a few cans of vegetables.

She talked about how hard it was to walk into the pantry, but that the people working there were so kind and generous. She walked out of the pantry that day with several bags of groceries and suggestions of organizations that could help them. When she got home that day and started unpacking the food into her empty cabinets, she couldn’t decide what to give her family for dinner that evening. She finally decided on that large can of Dinty Moore Beef Stew and used some of the baking mix to prepare some biscuits to go with it.

She shared how that beefy gravy and the large chunks of meat tasted like ambrosia to a family who hadn’t had meat in weeks. Although I don’t usually buy canned beef stew, after reading her article I always included at least one large can of Dinty Moore Beef Stew in my donations.

Nationwide, more Americans are in need of help to put food on the table, according to a study by Feeding America. Quoting that study in an article called Hunger in America, in USA Today, one in seven Americans rely on food pantries and meal service programs to feed themselves and their families.

“The results are alarming,” says Bob Aiken, chief executive officer of Feeding America. “It means that people in America have to make trade-offs. They end up choosing between buying food for their children or paying for utilities, rent and medicine. Hunger exists in literally every county in America, it’s an urban problem, it’s a suburban problem, and it’s a rural problem.”

The article goes on to say that the stereotypes of the people who need food assistance are misleading. The people coming in for assistance are employed, hardworking people who just can’t make ends meet because they are in some kind of crisis.

“Children are going to school, not looking forward to learning but looking forward to eating,” says Shamia Holloway, spokeswoman for the Capital Area Food Bank.

The weeks around Thanksgiving and Christmas are typically the time of year when more people are making donations to food banks and pantries, something the local food pantries are grateful for. Food pantries often appreciate it when they are contacted to find out what kinds of donations are most needed.

One executive director of a food pantry in Maine said that most of the donations they receive are very helpful, but she advised against cleaning out your own food pantry and bringing it to the food shelter because of the expiration dates. She advises that you purchase items directly from the grocery store and then donate them immediately, to ensure the longest shelf life possible.

Monetary donations are welcome, and the food pantries are able to use the money to best fit their clients’ needs. In many cases, they have access to sources where they can purchase the food items at lower cost than we can by going to the grocery store. They can also use monetary donations to provide vouchers for meat at the grocery store. I will call ahead before I make my next donation. Some of the larger pantries have room for fresh produce and frozen meats but most smaller pantries don’t.

The wish list for most of the pantries include cereal, soups, jarred pasta sauce, pasta, canned meats, canned fruits and vegetables, canned beans, ready-to-eat meals and peanut butter. One executive director requested a supply of can openers, as many of the people who came to her center didn’t have an adequately working can opener.

Food banks and food pantries across the nation are seeing changes, as they have increased their focus on healthy foods and people are understanding the correlation between diet and illness. These centers, especially, are always in need of volunteers because they rely heavily on volunteers. In one center, one of the jobs of the volunteers is to check the expiration date of all donated foods to make sure that the food they are giving out is safe to eat. Volunteers are also being used to give nutrition and cooking classes, something that has gone over well as the clients learn about healthy eating on a budget.

“When people ask me what kind of food does the food pantry want? I say, well, what does your family eat for dinner? It’s vegetables, it’s fruit, it’s whole grains,” said one director of a food pantry. “They need nutritious meals. The people who come to us for help are coming more regularly. We aren’t a one-time emergency stop anymore. We are a staple for them, so it’s very important that we make these healthy foods available.”

If you would like to make a donation to a local food pantry in our reading area, please call:

• Hunger Free Food Pantry at First Lutheran Church in New Rockford. Phone number is 701-947-2478.

• Carrington’s Daily Bread, Carrington. Phone number is 701-652-2333.

• Central Dakota Ministerial, Harvey. Phone number is 701-693-2838.

We would love to share local stories about the good things your eyes are seeing.

Stop in to share your stories with us, give us a call at 947-2417 or e-mail us at [email protected]. Or send a letter to Eyes That See the Good in Things, c/o Allison Lindgren, The Transcript, 6 8th St N., New Rockford, ND 58356.