Last Thursday, I went to a terrific State Network Conference sponsored by the Good Shepherd Food Bank. The conference was conveniently held in Augusta, and JoEllen and Mike, the Winthrop Food Pantry’s director and the president, respectively, also went. The conference was well attended—150 people came from 80 agencies, and every county in the state was represented. The drive to Augusta from Aroostook or Washington County is quite a drive, and I admire the dedication of the folks, often volunteers, who travelled that distance to come to this conference.

It’s not hard to understand why people from various food pantries, soup kitchens, and other hunger relief agencies came from such a distance—feeding people is serious business. While those of us who volunteer at food pantries like to keep our message upbeat, the challenges of what we do cannot be underestimated. Most of the money we receive comes from donations, and that money has to stretch further and further as more people need help. (As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, in the past few years, the number of recipients coming to the Winthrop Food Pantry has doubled.) At the same time, the Good Shepherd Food Bank, which once provided 90 percent of the Winthrop Food Pantry’s food for 16 cents a pound, no longer gets the large donations of food it once did. Groceries stores have become more efficient and thus waste less. In the larger scheme of things, it is a good thing to waste less, but for food pantries, this puts a strain on already tight budgets. And looming dark and large for all food agencies across the country are the proposed cuts to the federal food stamp program, now known as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.) Even if only the “moderate” cuts are enacted, this will have a huge effect on food agencies, and there was a feeling of dread at the conference as this was discussed.

However, the feeling of dread passed, and overall the mood at the conference was upbeat. After all, everyone was there because they like feeding people, and there is always a joyful feeling around such people.

The day was divided into breakout sessions, and my favorite was Media Relations 101 led by Clara McConnell Whitney. In 45 minutes, with the effective and snappy use of a power-point presentation, Whitney gave us a crash course in how to use the media to benefit agencies who work to relieve hunger. I took notes like a crazy woman, and by the end, I thought, “I can do this.” I can’t remember the last time I’ve been to a conference workshop that was as informative and useful.

Another highlight was an engaging video made by the Tree of Life Food Pantry in Blue Hill. (Yes, it features music by Noel Paul Stooky, who lives in that area.) There is a shortened version on their website. Do take a look if you get a chance. Unfortunately, one of the funniest and most memorable recipients, an elderly women, was not included in the shortened version.  She said, “I’d rather be a giver than a taker, but when you get to be 93 years old, what the hell are you going to do?”

What the hell, indeed? At 93 years old, this woman shouldn’t have to worry about where her next meal is coming from, but that’s the way it goes for many elders in this country where social security benefits are often too low to cover the cost of living. At the Winthrop Food Pantry, we have many senior citizens who live on a very limited budget, and according to JoEllen, one such woman receives the princely sum of $40 a week in SNAP benefits.

I began this post with a tip of the hat to the Good Shepherd Food Bank Conference, but I am going to end it with a wag of the finger. While remaining upbeat is laudable, it is also wrong to turn away from the darker realities. As always, unless noted otherwise, the views expressed in this blog are my own and do not represent anyone but me.

In the United States, we are generous as individuals. I see it in Winthrop on a regular basis through my volunteer work with the food pantry and the library. People unselfishly give both time and money. However, as a country we are stingy and Puritanical, giving grudging amounts to social services that are needed now more than they ever have been. It is beyond the scope of this post to really go into the issues that have made our society more fragile and more on edge, but they can be briefly summed up this way: Too many people—an ever-increasing population—competing for limited jobs and resources, which is exacerbated by the rise in power of organized money.

While there are no utopias on Earth and never can or should be, there are countries who are doing better than we are. Chiefly, Scandinavia and Germany. It is my hope, perhaps a vain one, that our country will adopt many of their policies. If we did, there would not be the need for the myriad food pantries in this state and country.

Until that time comes, I will continue to volunteer at the Winthrop Food Pantry.