The Power of Food and Love

Last week our Explorations of Urban Poverty class packed as much fun and service as we could into our trip to NYC. The trip as a whole was a great experience and taught me much about poverty. The day that stands out to me is the day Group A served with Muslims Against Hunger. We arrived at our destination around 9:30 a.m. and were unable to find the correct unit, mostly because a tiny little juice bar, Goloka Juice Bar, was the front for the nonprofit’s operations. As our instructor called our contact another regular volunteer showed up and let us in. Mario immediately put us to work. We helped frost and cut cakes and I helped him finish preparing the main dish. It was a kind of lentil stew with roast vegetables and rice. My job was to stir the rice into the lentils as he poured it in. This was no simple task as the pot holding everything was about 4 feet high and 2 or 3 feet in diameter. A small adult could have easily fit in it. After finishing the stew and cakes Oddey (not sure exactly how it was spelled), the head of the operation, showed up. He was extremely kind and welcomed us. After that we loaded up an SUV with all of the food made and drove it a few blocks to Thompson Square Park where we would be serving. We set up a table. On it we placed jasmine tea, lentils and rice, salad and banana blueberry cake with chocolate icing. All of the food looked and tasted delicious; we were allowed to try the food after we served everyone else.

This service experience was unique in my eyes for a few reasons. The only instruction given to us by Oddey was to give people whatever they wanted. Some people only wanted cake, others wanted everything and some even brought Tupperware to take some home as well as eat some there. This was a stark contrast compared to other soup kitchens I have served in where everyone gets a specific amount and no more. As a result, some people went through the line three or four times and had multiple containers to fill up. What effects does the “give the people what they want” attitude have on the psyche of the people being served? 

Another thing that was interesting to see was the diversity of people coming to get food. Some, if I had to judge, were probably homeless, some were dressed for work and others were dressed in suits and ties. The people being fed ran the gamut from abject poverty to being seemingly wealthy. Why serve everyone and not focus on the population that arguably needs it more? Don’t those in poverty have much more potential benefit than those who are already well off?  In talking with Oddey and Dimitri, one of the other regular volunteers, I learned a lot about their philosophy. They didn’t feel that feeding the hungry was going to suddenly pull the people they were serving out of poverty. They were very accepting of the fact that people were going to be homeless. All they hoped is that some spiritual hope and enlightenment could be brought to their lives through the food. Oddey prayed for hours before preparing the food and whilst preparing it was sure to keep his mind calm and prepare it with love otherwise, his negative thoughts and energy would get into the food and the people who ate it. So to answer my earlier questions, the food isn’t necessarily about actually eradicating hunger. The food is meant to bring love and happiness into people’s lives to maybe give them the little extra boost they need to make it through the day or get through whatever hardships they are enduring.

Today’s service was a great teaching moment for me and gave me a minor epiphany. I realized that service such as Muslims Against Hunger and others that fed or clothed people weren’t going to solve poverty. They are just a bandaid on a much larger issue. What these organizations can strive towards is bringing a little happiness, hope and dignity to the people they are serving. They can do this by simply treating them as fellow human beings, by looking them in the eye and acknowledging their humanity. This leads to the more root issue of how the average person treats people in poverty. Many people we served last week had their heads down and would not meet your gaze. Most people ignore and won’t even look at people who they might consider to be homeless or poor. So much can be done for the psyche and mental and emotional resources of people if they are treated kindly and a few nice words are said. Something as simple as that can have much greater impacts than a meal can.

Just as Mark challenged our class, I am challenging everyone reading this, not just those directly serving, to say a few kind words to somebody, give them a smile and look them in the eye. It doesn’t have to someone you think is homeless or poor. Looks can be deceiving and you have no idea what their situation may be. Picking people up through words and love, exemplified by Oddey, are powerful tools that need to be better utilized.
                                                                                 -Ryan Wilbur