Food pantries share ways to improve

By Tanya Connor |  The Catholic Free Press

WORCESTER – What’s it like to need food that you can’t afford?
What’s it like to seek food from people who don’t speak your language, don’t know your culture and make things difficult for you?
How can those providing food advocate for longterm changes?
These were among issues raised at the Second Annual Food Pantry Summit, which drew about 30 people to St. John Parish’s St. Francis Xavier Center Monday. An invitation to the summit described it as “an afternoon in open discussion on how to improve food pantries in Worcester County.”
Kevin Kieler, founder of Partners for Feeding the People, which sponsored the event, said he’s worked in food pantries since he was in college. He’s a member of St. Luke the Evangelist Parish in Westborough.
“Nobody is doing anything to help you guys out,” he told listeners, some of whom work at food pantries. “So we formed Partners for Feeding the People.”
He said the organization, which is seeking non-profit status, launched a website –  www.partnersforfeedingpeople.com – last month. Pages from the website were projected onto the wall, and he and board member Tracy Paul explained how food pantry representatives can share their needs and surpluses on it and its blog and the organization’s upcoming Facebook market page. They can also email the organization their information and questions at partnersforfeedingthepeople@gmail.com. Ms. Paul said the website will be updated every 24 hours.

Insignificant but indispensable
Father John F. Madden, St. John’s pastor, read a scriptural account of a paralyzed man’s friends bringing him to Jesus, who healed him. He said the story points out that “what we do is insignificant” – God does the healing – but “it is at the same time indispensable.”
Father Madden told about the free meal St. John’s started offering in the church basement, and how it outgrew the space and, with help from generous people, moved to the nearby building where the summit was held.
“We serve hundreds of meals a day here now,” he said. “It’s one act of God after another that this place came to be.”
Maydee Morales, Catholic Charities’ Food Pantry and Nutrition Center Coordinator, talked about showing sensitivity to people of different languages and cultures who come to food pantries.
She spoke in another language, then asked listeners how they felt when they didn’t know what she was saying. When talking with people who don’t understand much English, she speaks slowly and avoids slang and idioms, she said. She gets materials in various languages that they can read and tries to welcome them with a smile.
It is also important to know something about their culture, such as that Africans cook with much peanut butter and that, when speaking in Arabic, “you’ve got to talk to the man,” she said.    
“Be human,” she said. “They’re human beings. We’re human beings. … Put yourself in their shoes.”
Audience member Patricia Reardon, who coordinates the food pantry at Sacred Heart-St. Catherine of Sweden Parish, said clients seem reluctant to disclose their source of income, and asked for suggestions about how to ask that question.
Ms. Morales said they might fear that if they answer that question they will not get any food, and suggested evaluating how important that information is.
Ms. Reardon said she needs it for required reports.
Another audience member suggested that clients might be afraid to answer because of their immigration status. One said he informs clients of services offered before asking them questions, watches their body language, tells them the conversation is confidential and asks, “Any source of income?” and “Roughly, how much do you make?”
Another person told how a client was upset when asked whether she had a physical or mental disability. Other participants questioned whether that question needs to be asked.

Advocacy is important
Maggie Cawley, advocacy coordinator for Worcester County Food Bank in Shrewsbury, which provides food to food pantries, said what listeners do – providing “food for today” – is important.
Also important is advocacy, which doesn’t need to take a lot of time, she said. But legislators and others in power need to hear from those familiar with people’s needs.
She said advocacy can be done through traditional and social media, rallies, petitions, telephone calls, emails, visits to legislators and invitations to have them come to you.    
Ms. Cawley asked listeners to discuss questions with one another. Roberta Watson, co-director of the food pantry at St. John Paul II Parish in Southbridge, expressed disappointment about how people unfamiliar with the situation sometimes judge harshly those who come for food, thinking they have lots of money or are too lazy to work. Ms. Reardon said people don’t know what else is going on in clients’ lives, like a person temporarily out of work who asks to come for food more often.
In response to a question about the government shutdown Ms. Cawley said the food bank is concerned and is monitoring the situation.
Jean McMurray, the food bank’s executive director, said if people run out of food stamps they will be coming to pantries. She invited pantry representatives to contact the food bank as needed.
She talked about limits of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly called food stamps. She told about food bank staff and board members briefly living off a SNAP diet budget and telling legislators about it.
“It was very powerful for our board members,” she said. They found they could not buy healthy food and felt sad. Now they feel they can relate better to those who live with such limitations.
Ms. Cawley invited listeners to share their stories on the food bank’s advocacy web page, sign up to receive information when issues requiring advocacy arise, and attend advocacy workshops.  

– Editor’s note:
Partners for Feeding the People can be contacted at partnersforfeedingthepeople@gmail.com or 508-254-1060.  
Worcester County Food Bank can be contacted through its website, foodbank.org, or by calling 508-842-3663.