I haven't been blogging lately...life happens.
Last Saturday, I went to the food pantry again. The line was as long, but it went more quickly; I was in line only a half hour. It was the first weekend of the month, so not as many people came because they had a different source for food. I can understand wanting to give yourself a break from the line at least one week out of the month
I'm a gregarious person by nature, so my time in line is spent talking and laughing with the people around me. I've learned about some great places to get free second-hand furniture and clothing and some places to look for jobs and great places to find bargains. I've learned more about the Native American belief system and about the four times the earth was flooded. I've learned that people are just people no matter where they are and each of us can fit into any social situation as long as we are not judgmental and are just willing to put ourselves out there.
There is a yard in front of the food pantry where the children always seem to migrate to play. Moms and Dads are in tune to where their children are and what they are doing while slowly moving forward in the line. Once they move past the edge of the building and they can't see their kids playing, they call them to come and stand with them. The protective parent doesn't go away just because the income does. There are good and bad parents in all ranges of the income scale.
I got some really great stuff this visit. I am set for yogurt for awhile because of a donation of expired products that came in. You can freeze yogurt, but it changes the consistency. I use it just for smoothies, so that was fine. I also got some coffee, canned carrots, canned tomatoes, cauliflower, peppers, bread, pork patties and canned pumpkin.
I'm trying my best to augment my resources with healthy choices. It would have been easy to load up on bread and cereal, but that wouldn't have been the healthiest choice for me. With the visits to the pantry, I'm able to get some healthier choices from other sources. I still have a few dollars left to spend on fresh vegetables and fruit. My next "month" starts on the 19th, so I have to make wise choices from here out.
I do want to add that it isn't easy to talk yourself into going to the food pantry even though you may not have anything left to eat. The volunteers and workers at St Francis do a great job, though, of making the experience normal and not shameful. We as a society load too much shame and condescension on those who need social services instead of finding out why they are there in the first place and trying to correct the situation.
Friday, August 9, 2013
Thursday, August 1, 2013
I'm getting fat on the SNAP challenge
I'm putting on weight with the SNAP challenge. When you do the challenge for any great length of time, healthy foods go right out the window and filling foods become the focus. I eat a healthy meal during the day, but by the time I get home from work, I'm really hungry and tend to binge on what is convenient and filling. The problem with that is that what is quick to make is usually high in carbohydrates. My banana muffins are making me have muffin top!
I don't have the money to just go out and purchase more fresh vegetables or some apples as fillers. I blew through the budget early in the month and am left with canned and frozen fruits and vegetables. They are completely unappetizing to me.
My garden isn't producing anything but lettuce and onions at this point. There are some small cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes on the plants, but they haven't developed yet. My beans are starting to bloom, but it won't be until next week that I start to see some production.
I'm tired of soups and stews and casseroles! I want steamed fresh vegetables with a side of meat!
Gawd! I sound whiny, don't I?
I don't have the money to just go out and purchase more fresh vegetables or some apples as fillers. I blew through the budget early in the month and am left with canned and frozen fruits and vegetables. They are completely unappetizing to me.
My garden isn't producing anything but lettuce and onions at this point. There are some small cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes on the plants, but they haven't developed yet. My beans are starting to bloom, but it won't be until next week that I start to see some production.
I'm tired of soups and stews and casseroles! I want steamed fresh vegetables with a side of meat!
Gawd! I sound whiny, don't I?
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
SNAP Challenge reflections
So, I've come to the conclusion that eating healthy on SNAP involves using some of the other assistance available. The food pantry and soup kitchen are great sources for healthy ingredients and meals, but there still is a way to personally coordinate all of these sources for the best impact.
One common tendency for people on SNAP is to use their foodshare benefits right away and then seek out the pantries and soup kitchens. I've done this myself and I can completely understand why people make this mistake. The SNAP money doesn't go that far, and leads to limited menu options. When the beginning of the month rolls around again, it is an opportunity for different menu choices, so we blow through the SNAP money because everything in the store looks good. For me, budgeting and planning go right out the window at the sight of fresh fruit and vegetables and a meat option that I haven't spent the entire last week eating.
The best way to get the maximum health benefits from SNAP is to look at the other sources you seek out and combine these resources throughout the month instead of always at the end. Most food pantries will let you visit once a week, so plan that into your month. Visit there before shopping at the grocery store so you don't buy duplicates and have more to spend on healthy options. I recommend that even at the food pantry you have your shopping list. That way, you are an active participant in your own healthy choices. Don't just grab food and plan to use it later. The worst thing you can do to other food insecure families is take something you won't really use and end up throwing it away when someone farther back in the line would put it to good use.
If you tend to run out of food by the end of the month and spend the entire last week eating at The Community Table, plan those visits throughout your month. If you normally eat there five times at the end of the month, plan at least once a week to eat there. This allows you to work these visits more into your schedule instead of being at the mercy of the serving schedule they offer. Also, The Community Table of Eau Claire posts their day's menu on the answering machine, so if they are serving something you don't like, you can go another day that works with your schedule.
Whether you are on SNAP or not, just making a few changes to the way you use your food resources throughout the month can give you more control over your schedule and your food dollars and can take some of the stress out of food insecurity.
One common tendency for people on SNAP is to use their foodshare benefits right away and then seek out the pantries and soup kitchens. I've done this myself and I can completely understand why people make this mistake. The SNAP money doesn't go that far, and leads to limited menu options. When the beginning of the month rolls around again, it is an opportunity for different menu choices, so we blow through the SNAP money because everything in the store looks good. For me, budgeting and planning go right out the window at the sight of fresh fruit and vegetables and a meat option that I haven't spent the entire last week eating.
The best way to get the maximum health benefits from SNAP is to look at the other sources you seek out and combine these resources throughout the month instead of always at the end. Most food pantries will let you visit once a week, so plan that into your month. Visit there before shopping at the grocery store so you don't buy duplicates and have more to spend on healthy options. I recommend that even at the food pantry you have your shopping list. That way, you are an active participant in your own healthy choices. Don't just grab food and plan to use it later. The worst thing you can do to other food insecure families is take something you won't really use and end up throwing it away when someone farther back in the line would put it to good use.
If you tend to run out of food by the end of the month and spend the entire last week eating at The Community Table, plan those visits throughout your month. If you normally eat there five times at the end of the month, plan at least once a week to eat there. This allows you to work these visits more into your schedule instead of being at the mercy of the serving schedule they offer. Also, The Community Table of Eau Claire posts their day's menu on the answering machine, so if they are serving something you don't like, you can go another day that works with your schedule.
Whether you are on SNAP or not, just making a few changes to the way you use your food resources throughout the month can give you more control over your schedule and your food dollars and can take some of the stress out of food insecurity.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Shopping at St Francis Food Pantry
Saturday, I went to the food pantry for the first time as a guest. The amount I would get on SNAP is not enough to eat healthy, so I decided to augment that with visits to the food pantry. The director at the pantry knows about my challenge and has encouraged me to visit as a guest to be able to see how a food pantry can help food insecure families.
St Francis is open from 11:00 'til 1:00 on Saturday, and I thought if I got there about halfway through I wouldn't have to stand in line long. Boy was I wrong! The line was out to the street and a lot of people were standing in the chilly wind waiting for their chance to get into the building. They allow only six people in at a time to avoid the pushing and crowding and to make the shopping more efficient. The line was so long that an hour went by before I was let into the building for my turn.
The first thing you do when you get into the pantry is sign in. If you already have a card, you present it. Otherwise, they have you fill out a registration form so they can log you into the computer and issue you a card. It was my first time and there was still a substantial line outside, so she asked for a photo ID and told me what to bring the next time I came so I can register then. I was given a slip of paper with my name and the number of adults and children in my household and what number of guest I was for the day. I was the 74th family served, and there were many more families waiting outside in the cold.
Then the "shopping" begins. Having volunteered the day before, I had an idea of some of the produce that had come through, but by the time I got there it was pretty slim pickings. There were a lot of tomatoes and they were unlimited, but I took only five. I didn't want them to spoil. I got a couple of ratty looking green peppers that I can put into a curry; two green chili peppers and two habaneros for my chili; a bag of lettuce that was a day past its expiration, some overgrown cucumbers and a head of radicchio that would be fine once I peeled off the outer leaves for a salad and a lot of blueberries for my fresh fruit.
For the rest, I got some canned carrots to add to soups and stews, a loaf of bakery bread, some baking powder biscuits, a can of water chestnuts and bamboo shoots, a pound of rice, a pound of dry kidney beans, some canned spaghetti sauce, and a can of pumpkin. I also got two small bottles of milk, a dozen eggs, a bottle of grapefruit juice and a two-pound package of ham.
The food will surely supplement my SNAP allotment, but I'm thinking that a person would be better off going to the pantry before doing their actual grocery shopping for the week. You don't know what you are going to find at the pantry on any given visit, and that way you could spend your foodshare dollars on healthier options instead of just cheap, filling food and would be able to take advantage of the weekly store ads.
St Francis is open from 11:00 'til 1:00 on Saturday, and I thought if I got there about halfway through I wouldn't have to stand in line long. Boy was I wrong! The line was out to the street and a lot of people were standing in the chilly wind waiting for their chance to get into the building. They allow only six people in at a time to avoid the pushing and crowding and to make the shopping more efficient. The line was so long that an hour went by before I was let into the building for my turn.
The first thing you do when you get into the pantry is sign in. If you already have a card, you present it. Otherwise, they have you fill out a registration form so they can log you into the computer and issue you a card. It was my first time and there was still a substantial line outside, so she asked for a photo ID and told me what to bring the next time I came so I can register then. I was given a slip of paper with my name and the number of adults and children in my household and what number of guest I was for the day. I was the 74th family served, and there were many more families waiting outside in the cold.
Then the "shopping" begins. Having volunteered the day before, I had an idea of some of the produce that had come through, but by the time I got there it was pretty slim pickings. There were a lot of tomatoes and they were unlimited, but I took only five. I didn't want them to spoil. I got a couple of ratty looking green peppers that I can put into a curry; two green chili peppers and two habaneros for my chili; a bag of lettuce that was a day past its expiration, some overgrown cucumbers and a head of radicchio that would be fine once I peeled off the outer leaves for a salad and a lot of blueberries for my fresh fruit.
For the rest, I got some canned carrots to add to soups and stews, a loaf of bakery bread, some baking powder biscuits, a can of water chestnuts and bamboo shoots, a pound of rice, a pound of dry kidney beans, some canned spaghetti sauce, and a can of pumpkin. I also got two small bottles of milk, a dozen eggs, a bottle of grapefruit juice and a two-pound package of ham.
The food will surely supplement my SNAP allotment, but I'm thinking that a person would be better off going to the pantry before doing their actual grocery shopping for the week. You don't know what you are going to find at the pantry on any given visit, and that way you could spend your foodshare dollars on healthier options instead of just cheap, filling food and would be able to take advantage of the weekly store ads.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
St Francis food pantry volunteer experience
So, this week, I got a feel for the St Francis Food Pantry both as a volunteer and as a guest. Friday I showed up just after nine o'clock in the morning and found Jerry (that day's volunteer coordinator.) He immediately put me to work helping the guys unload the trucks of donated reclaimed food from local grocery stores. We separated it between baked goods, produce, and grocery. The donation is weighed and documented and the dry goods are sent to the aisles for the shelf stocking crew to sort it onto the shelves.
The produce is gone through to separate it to different types and is cleaned and prepped. It is stored in the refrigerator and right before the public area is opened to that day's guests, the produce is brought back out and the produce area is stocked. The scraps of bits that were really bruised up or really wilted is set outside in an area where local animal farmers will pick it up and feed it to pigs and chickens.
The group of people I worked with on Friday is absolutely priceless. They were all retirees who had worked together so long that they were like family. They razzed each other as if they were siblings, (in fact, several were); and as soon as they found out that I could take some ribbing and dish it right back, they included me in the teasing.
There is a frantic time when all the pickup trucks of donations are being unloaded and sorted to their different areas; then we cleaned up this large empty area that had just a few pallets of food in it. A couple of the guys who were filling me in on how the pantry works told me that that area would be filled up again before we left and this food would be distributed in the next couple of days. Sure enough, the truck showed up from Feed My People food bank and the flurry of activity began again. The meat was stored in the freezer right away and the buns in the refrigerator. The non-perishables were left on the pallets in the back storage area for the shelf-stocking crew who would go through them and put them on the shelves.
The Friday crew has worked together so long that they have their own areas they work in. Each area has a system developed to make it more efficient, and they don't usually mess with each other's space. I don't have a usual spot yet, so I just did what they told me and floated from area to area as they needed me and tried not to step on any toes. Each area of volunteers was so willing to train a new person and give pointers on how to do things efficiently and safely that it was easy to pick up the process.
When there is a lull in the action they take a break together and have coffee and snacks. They welcomed me right into the system of volunteering and invited me to come back again. Whenever possible, I will join that same group--they showed that volunteering is not only fun, it keeps you young. Having a purpose to your life is rewarding and will help you live a happier existence..
The produce is gone through to separate it to different types and is cleaned and prepped. It is stored in the refrigerator and right before the public area is opened to that day's guests, the produce is brought back out and the produce area is stocked. The scraps of bits that were really bruised up or really wilted is set outside in an area where local animal farmers will pick it up and feed it to pigs and chickens.
The group of people I worked with on Friday is absolutely priceless. They were all retirees who had worked together so long that they were like family. They razzed each other as if they were siblings, (in fact, several were); and as soon as they found out that I could take some ribbing and dish it right back, they included me in the teasing.
There is a frantic time when all the pickup trucks of donations are being unloaded and sorted to their different areas; then we cleaned up this large empty area that had just a few pallets of food in it. A couple of the guys who were filling me in on how the pantry works told me that that area would be filled up again before we left and this food would be distributed in the next couple of days. Sure enough, the truck showed up from Feed My People food bank and the flurry of activity began again. The meat was stored in the freezer right away and the buns in the refrigerator. The non-perishables were left on the pallets in the back storage area for the shelf-stocking crew who would go through them and put them on the shelves.
The Friday crew has worked together so long that they have their own areas they work in. Each area has a system developed to make it more efficient, and they don't usually mess with each other's space. I don't have a usual spot yet, so I just did what they told me and floated from area to area as they needed me and tried not to step on any toes. Each area of volunteers was so willing to train a new person and give pointers on how to do things efficiently and safely that it was easy to pick up the process.
When there is a lull in the action they take a break together and have coffee and snacks. They welcomed me right into the system of volunteering and invited me to come back again. Whenever possible, I will join that same group--they showed that volunteering is not only fun, it keeps you young. Having a purpose to your life is rewarding and will help you live a happier existence..
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