For most of us working in anti-poverty programs, it’s the simple, honest moments that mean so much, especially in a day that can be filled with stress, chaos and often times, tears.
I had about 45 of those good moments recently. One of the local schools asked me to address a group of students who are part of a garden project that donates all of the produce to the MOM Food Pantry. Kids can be so refreshing and affirm why I do the job I do.
The students filled out a survey designed to determine their knowledge of poverty and specifically, their understanding of what a food pantry is, who it serves, etc…. We spent time going over those answers and the dialogue was so amazing! The kids seemed to have such a keen sense of understanding of the difference between “hunger’ and “being hungry.” During our interactive discussion, many things came out that quickly made me realize that members of the group understood the MOM Food Pantry mission on a deeply personal level.
We discussed how many pounds of food the pantry gives out in a typical day. One child said that his family uses the pantry and they usually get about 100 pounds of food for their large family. He didn’t seem to be embarrassed about sharing this with his classmates and teachers.
After the presentation, several students stayed afterwards to talk and share with me. One girl told me that her family visits the pantry often and she likes to go there and pick out some of her favorite foods. Another girl, very sheepishly, told me her family also uses the pantry and she “feels kind of embarrassed about it.” She told me how her father always puts on his nicest dress clothing when he shops at the pantry so he doesn’t “look” poor.
What do you say to these kids? How can we erase their worries and fears? I told them that so many of our guests feel ashamed that they need our services but that food is something everyone needs. There is no shame in doing what it takes to provide food for your family and with so much excess food in the world, the real shame is to not share it with those in need.
I shared this story with the entire MOM staff and everyone was struck by the honesty and clarity of the what the kids said. We also realized that we have more work to do to educate our community about the stigmas associated with poverty and how we work together to erase the void that exists between those that have and those that have not.
Cheri
