Amy

*All names have been changed.*

Last week I spent some time talking to Amy. She is new in town, widowed, with two twin 13 year old girls. She does not yet have a job. Beyond that, I don't know her situation, particularly why she is still unemployed.
What is interesting, and yet hardly unique about Amy is that she is still trying to master the learning curve of getting the help she needs.

One of her requests for us was that she was having a hard time finding the help she needed. Since our first meeting, she has been approved for SNAP benefits of over $100 a month, which is a big help, but hardly enough to feed 3 people for a month.
I asked her if you daughters received free or reduced price breakfasts and lunches. They do not. At first glance, it seems like a no-brainer. Apply for it. Get it. Done.
But I think she is still settling in to being "needy." Her girls really don't like to buy lunch because the lines are long and once they get their food, they don't have time to socialize with their friends. I know, it's easy to tell them to get over it and eat their free lunch. It's easy from the sidelines. It's hard when you haven't had to deal with your kids in this way. I told her it was maybe time to let them in on the fact that they really need to work together as a family in this tough time, and they are old enough to understand the need to eat their free lunches. I suggested she even make a deal with them to buy lunch 4 days a week and she would pack 1. Start somewhere. Strike a compromise. I understand middle school girls. I live with one. But don't give up free food.
They don't get to school early enough to eat breakfast there because of when their bus drops them off, and she doesn't feel she can spend the gas money to drive them.
Seeing the answers, sometimes, when you are in the thick of it, is hard. I simply did the math. Two kids X 2 meals per day, 5 days per week. Twenty meals a week she wouldn't have to provide. Even if she truly couldn't afford the gas to drive the girls to school every day, 10 meals per week would be an awesome help.
I think the numbers convinced her.

Feeding America & The Chew

So happy for The Chew and their partnership with Feeding America. I love the focus they had today on affordable meals. I wish I had seen that back when we randomly had limes in our food pantry, because they even addressed this.
I'm also happy that they showcased using ground turkey, because right now we have a lot of ground chicken we are passing out, and it inspires me to let people know some ways they can use it. Frankly, just because you suddenly get in a tight spot and find yourself in need of a pantry, you don't also suddenly become a genius at learning how to prepare foods that you might not have worked with before.
Learning to work with a diet primarily of canned foods is something we need to start educating people about. Not only do you need this skill when getting food from a pantry, but it is also an important way to help people learn to manage their food budget.

Anyway, here is the link to the promo on Facebook (since I can't find it anywhere else):
The Chew partners with Feeding America

Elmo and hunger

I love Elmo, and I love Sesame Street.
This makes me love them even more.

On October 9, Sesame Stree will air a special on childhood hunger.

Please watch this with your kids, or your friends kids, or DVR it and save it until you find a kid to watch it with.
While it certainly isn't going to be a look at some of the grittier realities, it will be age appropriate for the 7 and under crowd.

Catherine

** All names have been changed. **

Last night, I got this email from someone who was referred to our pantry:


"I am a single working mom barely making it on a teacher's salary. I just recently had child support reduced which will cause me to struggle to put food not he table and pay bills for the next few months until I can rearrange some things in order to make my money go farther."

I got this email from an elementary school teacher at a school in a relatively affluent area of town.
I don't think most of us expect our children's teachers to end up needing a pantry to put food on the table.