Take the Food Bank Challenge

The errand took 10 minutes, but it took fewer than that to have me in tears. I visited the food bank at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Beaverton.
Beaverton, Oregon is situated 7 miles west of Portland. It is home to Nike’s world headquarters, among other successful companies. If you have money to spend, it’s a livable suburb with upscale shopping, nice homes and good schools. It’s nearly 90,000 residents have a median income of over 66K a year – or so the city website says.
All I see right now is need.
“We serve over 100 people a day,” our Priest announced Sunday and urged us all to try to give to the food closet. My husband and I decided as long as we can that we are going to shop for the things requested in the weekly bulletin. A few bucks at a dollar store netted 4 cans of tuna, a box of crackers and 2 cans of vegetables.
As I pulled up into the lot, I saw an elderly woman put a box of groceries into her car. I wondered how many people her hard earned tax dollars put through public schools, how many pot holes she’d paid to have patched, how many elections she’d studied for in better times – when she was younger, able bodied and gainfully employed. Now her social security checks don’t even feed her.
Inside, the place was a beehive. I’m talking a lot of activity, and this food bank is in a trailer like the ones used at overcrowded schools. Do they need volunteers?
“Tuesdays almost never, Wednesday’s sometimes and Friday’s almost always,” was the answer.
Here’s the question: Can I handle this emotionally?
Leaving, I ran into a cute young couple pushing a cart full of food to their car. They were smiling. Yes, smiling. They found the Positive Image in being broke: God provides. She took a cell phone picture of him loading the groceries into the car for her Facebook page. They wanted to share the good news. God provides.

Friday morning starts with a prayer for the earthquake victims in Japan, and a Hail Mary. Then it’s time to get busy. There are 7 or 8 people helping today. Some will help customers shop the narrow isles packed with everything they need while others will keep supplies moving out of the stock room into to the public area. I have no experience, so I worked the stock room. My job was to break down large bags of dog food and put them into baggies for the customers who have pets. This makes me feel good. No family member is left out.
Out front, the customers are warmly greeted by a receptionist. Their needs are assessed here because some who come live alone while others are in households with as many as 15 people.
Volunteers guide them through the tiny shopping area. It’s amazing how much good stuff is packed into so little square footage. There are refrigerators filled with eggs, chicken, ground beef and milk. There are boxes of toothpaste, laundry soap, diapers. Soup, canned vegetables, rice, potatoes, pinto beans, juice, pancake mix, fresh bread. Some of this is donated by parishioners, and the variety is appreciated. But director Kathy Brasington tells me that a donation of money is equally important. She can buy huge quantities at significant discounts from the Oregon Food Bank. Grocers give. The dollar stores donate. Even the beer distributors locally give boxes in good condition.
The generosity is amazing. The need is staggering. A steady stream of customers comes through the front door 3 days a week. This recession is far from over, and now uncertainty over Japan’s nuclear meltdown is sure to swallow up some hoped for job relief in the second quarter.
This isn’t 2004.
These people can’t just go out and find jobs. I know.
For every opening posted at a grocery store, 300 people might apply. Employers are saving money busting full time benefited jobs down to part time jobs. These pay less by the hour than the unemployment benefits some are still able to collect. Some of the unemployed are highly experienced “over qualified” candidates, and they are tough competition for the earnest, hard working but not so educated blue collar people who were easily able to earn an honest living in better times.
The bottom line is that we’re all in this mess together and we can all help by takingThe Food Bank Challenge.
*If you are out of work, volunteer for a day at a local food bank or rescue mission.
*If you were out of work and found a job in the last year, give 10 bucks
*If you saw co-workers shown the door, but your job is still safe, give 20.
*If you terminated someone’s employment in the last year, give 50.
If you do any of this, God bless you. If you don’t God help you.