Today was the day we have all been super pumped for, the reason we flew to NYC. We started doing service through volunteering and we were split into two groups.
My group went to More Grace Redemptive Center. It is a church that provides food pantry services. We packed potatoes and onions together, a box of cereal, one bottle of juice, a source of protein ( canned tuna or chicken), one canned vegetable or tomato sauce, and mac and cheese or mashed potatoes together. We were informed that a bag of each of what we packed is usually handed to people in need every Tuesday from 11 am- 1pm. We were supervised by 2 volunteers who were pretty strict and precise about how they wanted us to go about the packing of the food. Also, we were told that the pantry receives donations from stores when the goods are close to expiration dates.
After today's experience, I got an insight into how the less privileged are thought of as having options when they really don't have any. For example, the pantry provides a limited variety on the types of food they give out. They have no accomodations for people with special dietary needs such as diabetes and allergies. The content of the food that is given out contains so much sugar and if one is diabetic, they are probably better off without it. The question that I have not been able to get answer to is whether a diabetic person who is hungry eat the high sugar content food and get sick Or not eat the food and stay hungry? Neither case works best for them. If they eat the food and get sick,they probably wont be able to afford the medical bill. If they don't eat, they will eventually fall sick and not be able to take their medication. I just couldn't mute the voices in my head of how many times when I saw hungry people on the road and said " Why don't they go to pantries? They have options but yet are being picky."
Today's food packing experience was very eye opening to different perspectives after seeing the nutritional composition of the foods.
Today's food packing experience was very eye opening to different perspectives after seeing the nutritional composition of the foods.
I can't wait to see what the rest of the week has to offer and the lessons that will come with every service experience.
So how are we to accommodate personal preference when there is limited budget? Are fixed or choice pantries a better model? What are the pros and cons of each?
ReplyDeleteChoice pantries are a better model than fixed pantries. Both have pros and cons. The pros of choice of pantries that make it better than fixed pantries are that simple dietary needs can be accomodated and there will be variety in the diet of the people who get their food from the pantries. Through this past week, we have had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to the point that most people got sick of it. If there were more options as they would be in a choice pantry, people can vary the meals that they can have. The con of a choice pantry is that it would require more money and/or donations to set up which can then hinder more organizations from providing food pantry services if they are to set up a choice pantry model only because they may not have enough resources to do so. The biggest advantage of a fixed pantry comes out of the disadvantage of a choice pantry in that it is easier to set up as an organization wont have to worry about alternatives and costs that come with it. More organizations are able to provide a fixed choice pantry and feed more people who are in need.
ReplyDeleteThere isn't an ideal way to accomodate personal prefences and special dietary needs when there is a budget limit. The best solution to this problem is that the government system and the people in the community to help the homeless overcome and get out of their situation so that they are in better positions to cater to their own needs. A model like that adopted by the Iowa Central Homeless Shelter where people need to be striving and are assisted to better their conditions is what I think should ideally be adopted.