Food for Thought

In the office a group of us jokingly refer to ourselves as the members of the "Yellow Card Club". Through AmeriCorp's mission of eradicating poverty, the organization familiarizes its program participants with the stifling, interconnected difficulties of poverty by entrenching them in it. AmeriCorp VISTA's do not receive a salary; instead we receive stipends which are set at 105% of the local poverty determinant. All that to say we qualify for food stamps. In Mississippi, food stamps come in the form of bright yellow EBT cards. Unlike Minnesota where the EBT cards are a pretty lavender, Mississippi's neon cards end your anonymity at the cash register. However, I have no shame. I proudly pull my EBT card out of my wallet at check out time blessed and relieved to have food assistance. In November I made a six week menu so that my November food stamps would last until I left for Minnesota on December 20. Additionally, knowing I would be gone for 2 weeks, I emptied most of my cupboards and rid the kitchen of perishable food items. While in Minnesota, I used my entire December allotment to stock my parents' refrigerator. It was the least I could do (for proof, check out the first blog). Unfortunately I'd made a miscalculation. I would be home (in Mississippi) a full 8 days before my January stamps would load. During my first week+ home, I made a menu and stuck to it - making meals out of very little. On Thursday I'd run out of magic. Friday I went to work with a lonely piece of toast in hand. One of the organizations I work for was hosting a meeting/training in my building. Before the meeting they informed me that the RSVP list was low and that they had ordered fruit, pastries, and lunch but would probably have leftovers. At lunch I stopped by the meeting and grabbed a lunch box with a wrap, brownie, and fruit. I ate half the wrap for lunch and saved the rest of the lunch. That afternoon a colleague informed me that a local fast food restaurant was giving coupons for a free dinner if you registered on their webpage. I registered, printed the coupon, and saved it for Sunday. After the meeting/training taking place in my building was finished the hosts, my supervisor and another colleague, invited me and those left in the office to grab the leftovers from the meeting. I grabbed a cup and filled it with fruit and I packed a plate with three pastries. I had to laugh at myself as I went to my car that evening with a boxed lunch, a cup of fruit, and a plate of pastries. However, I began to think. I've been to several events where I've seen young and old alike packaging food as if they have none at home. The sobering reality is that increasingly they do not. Unlike me, many do not have the safety net of friends and/or family that can provide or even supplement basic needs. I live off the stipend AmeriCorp provides, however, if need be, I can tap my bank accounts, utilize credit cards, or simply ask my parents, family or friends. Food security is an issue in rural and urban, southern and northern, and black and white communities that can be positively affected. Too many people are exhausting themselves trying, unsuccessfully, to stretch their thin resources to the beginning of a new cycle. This is just some food for thought.