The blog “Scary Mommy” has a post from author Jennifer Ball that offers a compelling reflection on her Food Bank experiences, as both client and donor. It’s called “Those People eat quinoa too.”
Speaking as donor to a food drive at her children’s school, she recounts the experience of meeting another mom who was disparaging of the ability of the intended recipients to appreciate what they were getting;
It was one of those moments in life, when your ears hear something but your brain can’t quite process it. I was fairly certain I’d just heard her say what I thought I’d heard her say…but it didn’t really sink in. It floated there, like a film of rainbow-hued oil over a puddle in the street.
I spoke up, while she was still within earshot. “What do you mean?”. I wanted to know. I wanted to verify what she said, make sure I hadn’t misunderstood.
The woman stopped. She turned towards me, one hand holding a couple of manila folders, the other resting lightly on her hip. She was still smiling.
“Those people won’t know what most of that is. I mean, really, quinoa?”
Yep. I’d heard her correctly.
Those people.
And remembering her own times of need;
Once you get past the hardest part, which is walking through the door, being at the food shelf isn’t so bad. I mean, it’s not something that inspires one to burst into song and run around high-fiving people, but as far as life experiences go, not so bad. Sure, there’s the heat on your cheeks as you fill out the paperwork, giving these strangers your life history. Telling them how you got into this pickle. This predicament. Telling them what you do for money, how much you get and how you spend it. But you get used to having hot cheeks. You become accustomed to averting your gaze so as not to make too much eye contact. You eventually become, dare I say, comfortable at the food shelf.
Go read the whole thing, its worth it.