Month: April 2023

One Clever Food Pantry Strategy for Success

Hunger rates are rising. With the expiration of Covid-era SNAP benefits alongside inflation, thousands of families who have never faced food insecurity before now worry about where their next meal will come from.

Food pantries are seeing dramatic increases in the number of clients seeking help. It’s only been seven weeks since this most recent increase began, and anti-hunger advocates are tired. Because of an industry-wide fear that there isn’t enough food for everyone, there is pressure to retract, hoard our food, and reduce the amount distributed so that it never outweighs the amount coming in. Fatigue and fears about the future reinforce this inclination. Historically, the food banking industry has been careful to never give away too much food at once lest they run out, even when hungry families clamor for more.

Contrary to every industry impulse, I propose that this is the moment when food pantries should push harder than ever to give our clients as much food as possible. Although meeting the growing demand is an infinitely complex struggle, this is an opportunity to revisit the reason we do this work while uplifting every client’s individual needs. One of the most powerful methods of empowering our clients is by letting clients choose how much of everything they want rather than limiting and rationing our food supply.

Why food pantries should remove as many limits as possible and increase the amount of food available to our clients right now:

1. Setting limits on the amount of food people take encourages them to take more than they otherwise might.

There is ample evidence in marketing research that introducing scarcity increases demand by making an item seem more rare and thus desirable. Clients are more likely to take the maximum amount allowed because limits promote a scarcity mindset, when otherwise they would only take what they need. Studies show that pantries who switch to a no-limits model see clients increase the amount of food they take at the initial transition, and gradually reduce as confidence in their food security increases. We have noticed in my pantry that the clients who are slowest to transition away from a scarcity mindset are refugees, as we serve several families recently arrived from Afghanistan and Ukraine. It makes complete sense that people escaping a warzone have a scarcity mindset and are slower to adopt a mindset of abundance. Limiting their access to food only perpetuates their fears of scarcity.

2. It’s impossible for someone to take too much food.

Every client requires a different amount of food to feel secure. Some people need a full fridge to feel safe, while others only require a couple cans. Preventing clients from taking what they need to feel secure may force them to visit the pantry more often, which overworked food pantry staff will tell you they would rather not encourage! And for many people, that is an unfair demand. One of our clients last week sold plasma to get gas for their car to visit our pantry. Food pantries should minimize the number of visits a client makes with the recognition that they face many other challenges besides hunger. Abuse of welfare is rare (by people in poverty,) although Regan’s “welfare queen” rhetoric continues to color how our society views people who use welfare.

3. We’re here to end hunger.

Although it’s always more comfortable to have the cushion of a full warehouse, the food we distribute is only useful when it is in the kitchens and bellies of the people who need it.

More complex food flow demands should not deter us from making sure every one of our neighbors has dinner every night this week.

It feels counter-intuitive but with the demand rising, it is more important than ever for food pantries to distribute as much food as possible. As organizations responsible for keeping our neighbors fed, we must overcome the innate human instinct to hoard and our own scarcity mindsets in favor of making sure our community has the food it needs to survive.

The goal of every emergency hunger assistance organization is not just to keep people fed for one more day. For organizations committed to ending hunger, we aspire to provide people with the food they need to thrive so that their resources can be allocated towards paying rent, or medical bills, and other essentials. This starts by respecting their individual needs and empowering clients to make their own choices.

The opinions expressed here are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of my employer.

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What We Get Wrong About the Root Causes of Hunger

When a new client first comes into my food pantry, many feel compelled to explain why they are here. Many of our shoppers have experienced a chain of challenges that has left them without the money to buy food, such as a job loss, medical emergency, housing crisis, or other disaster.

Based on the “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” mentality that is engrained into our American psyches, it’s easy to internalize the idea that people have arrived at this position due to their own choices. Somehow, they brought those crises on themselves. We assume that people lack the education, the experience, or sound decision-making abilities that could keep them from needing the help of a food pantry. Nothing could be further from the truth. If hunger were an individual problem, then we’d be able to solve it on the individual level.

Here are the two main ways we frame hunger as an individual failure rather than a systemic problem:

1. Nutrition Education

It’s easy to believe that people wouldn’t be hungry if only they knew how to cook and eat a little more responsibly. If someone had taught them how to prepare lentils, or buy in bulk, or create a meal plan, then they wouldn’t be at risk of food insecurity.

 Nutrition education as a root cause of hunger is a popular misconception because it also addresses the high rates of diet-related disease experienced by people living in poverty. Although it is very clearly documented that low income individuals eat unhealthy foods because they are the most affordable and accessible, we assume that people choose to eat this way because they don’t know any better.

In a society that glorifies willpower as the primary determinant of health, it’s too easy to accept the misconception that food insecurity is fueled by poor eating choices that can be solved with cooking classes and nutritional posters.

At my food pantry, it is very clear that our clients are eager for fresh produce and other healthy options. Everyone knows the basics of how to eat healthy.

The barriers preventing people from eating more whole foods and scratch cooking are numerous and complex. Many food pantry clients live in public housing, transitional housing, retirement units, or other facilities which offer inadequate or nonexistent kitchens. Many of my clients only have access to a microwave. They may have a tiny refrigerator, which they often share with other residents. Cooking is challenging or impossible with these limited resources.

Many food pantry clients work more than one job, often in addition to serving as a caregiver for children or aging relatives. As all of us know, it’s hard enough to find the time to cook healthy meals when we’re only responsible for ourselves. Preparing a healthy meal while providing for others with special needs is a daunting and exhausting responsibility when you barely have enough money to get by.

Ignorance of cultural differences can also color our judgements about how others’ food choices. Our pantry currently serves many Russian and Ukrainian families, who have informed me that beans are not a part of their traditional diet. These families are eager to take bags and bags of potatoes, cabbage, and other fresh produce, but dry beans, often praised as one of the healthiest budget food options, don’t play a role in their cuisine. Blaming poverty on cultural differences like this is ridiculous and disrespectful.

Our clients are eager to eat healthy foods. Fresh produce flies off our shelves. We were surprised to observe the immense popularity of eggplant. I didn’t know that our community vastly prefers green over purple cabbage. Things like sliced fruit and berries rarely make it to the fridge before being snapped up, and you’re likely to see a small child munching on an apple or banana while their parents’ shop.

While we are certainly more comfortable assigning individual blame, I have learned that food pantry clients know how they should eat and would love the opportunity to do so if only they were able. Cooking classes and nutrition resources are powerful resources for building skills, having fun, and improving quality of life, but they are an individual resource that acts as only the tiniest band aid for a systemic problem.

2. Financial Literacy

Our cultural biases in America make us particularly likely to assume that people are hungry because of poor financial decisions. We judge the quality of their car, the way they’re dressed, or the age of the phone they carry, and speculate that if they hadn’t made such frivolous purchases, they probably wouldn’t be hungry.

In reality, most of our food pantry clients have very few opportunities to change their financial situation. Employment opportunities are restricted by skillset, but also transportation, caregiving duties, and scheduling around second and third jobs. Responsibilities like this make it incredibly hard to change jobs or careers while ensuring the household gets the care it needs.

It is easy to make judgements about personal spending and think about how we would have behaved differently if we were in that situation.

We may condemn someone for the purchase of a new phone, recognizing that it may represent several days’ worth of food, but it’s also important to remember that the price of that little luxury will not extract anyone from poverty.

This decision has nothing to do with needing financial education.

Everyone needs a certain level of financial literacy, and, in particular, women are often denied it (and then shamed for their lack of knowledge). Financial literacy classes are an important and useful tool for helping people succeed. But naming financial education as the cause of poverty and hunger demonstrates a blatant misunderstanding of what hunger really looks like.

What Does Cause Hunger?

Food pantry users don’t have access to enough money. Gender and/or racial discrimination keeps wages low and limits employment opportunities. Outrageous costs of living suck up income. Medical or student debt curtails financial freedom.  Caregiving responsibilities consume all time and energy outside of work. While both nutrition education and financial literacy are certainly skills that everyone should have, it is important to remember that they are not root causes of hunger. They are minor strategies we can use to empower people experiencing hunger, but truly effective solutions recognize that hunger is a systemic problem, and effective solutions will not address it on an individual level.  

How My Body Taught Me That Food Choices Matter

To honor my holiday vacation, I’m reposting this blog from April, 2023.

Eight years ago in mid-December, I checked myself into the ER. It turned out that my appendix had burst approximately three months prior, with all the complications that accompany a life-threatening infection. I spent 12 days in the hospital and had two surgeries before moving in with my mom for an additional month because I was too weak to take care of myself on my own.

I endured a year of slow recovery before something triggered my system that suddenly gave me near-debilitating arthritis and an increased sensitivity to foods. Over the next six months I slowly just stopped eating because being hungry was preferable to the pain, depression and fatigue that accompanied digestion.

Some foods hurt me worse than others, and I eventually reached the point where I ate little besides cabbage and avocados. I felt like I was dragging my body through the heaviest mud imaginable, and nothing could lighten the weight.  

I tried every diet I could find, was dismissed and mistreated by numerous doctors, penalized at work for talking to HR about taking medical leave, and was starting to panic that the future I envisioned might never materialize as my body continued to fail.

Through random chance, someone recommended a diet plan that excluded foods containing the lectin protein in seeds that are hard on sensitive digestive systems. It proposed eliminating all grains, fruits, and grain-fed animal products along with any preservatives. Within four days of starting this new plan, I began to feel better. I’ve now been following this diet for five years and in many ways have been able to return to the life I hoped for.

I became an anti-hunger advocate and food justice champion long before I got sick. I was already committed to making food a fun and communal experience rather than just a vehicle for nutrition.

But over the last five years of learning how sensitive my body is to my food choices, my understanding of food insecurity has changed dramatically.

My quality of life is entirely determined by my diet- how well I sleep, how much energy I have, my focus at work, and my capacity to manage emotional burdens. And my understanding of my nutritional needs is constantly changing and evolving.

I’m lucky to have always been able to afford and prepare the food I need. I could buy artichokes, sardines, and radicchio, all foods which at one time held an important role in my recovery.

But I know that if I was dependent on a food pantry or SNAP benefits for my nutrition, I would still be miserably sick. My diet would be determined by the options available, rather than by what my body needed.

I know that if I allowed someone else to determine what foods I eat- even someone well-educated in nutrition- they would not get it right. Everyone knows their own needs best, and my role working in food pantries is to facilitate that as best as I can.

Many people experiencing food insecurity have never had the opportunity to make intuitive food choices before. The food they eat is determined by what they can afford or what the food pantry is able to give them. I don’t want anyone else to ever be as sick as I was, so I am committed to ensuring that people facing food insecurity can choose what and how much they want to eat.

There are still times where I rage about the things my illness has taken from me- the freedom to eat out at a restaurant without scrutinizing the menu, the enjoyment of a good whiskey, or eating pizza with my partner.

But upon reflection, I also see that it has given me invaluable experience and the tools I need for being a better anti-hunger advocate and helping my food pantry always do better for the people we serve.

The opinions expressed here are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of my employer.

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Empower People Experiencing Hunger With Four Easy Strategies

One of the reasons that there remains such stigma against using food pantries is the sense of powerlessness that comes from someone else determining what you eat. Food choice is deeply personal, and it is invasive and uncomfortable for someone else to make those choices for you.

People seeking emergency food assistance are at the mercy of those providing the resources and are often deeply aware of the power imbalance that comes with it. Food pantry staff work hard to get food to clients, and it can feel uncomfortable or invalidating for shoppers to be choosy, which can lead to pantries adopting a “they should be grateful for what they get” attitude.

But it is equally important to recognize that the power of choice in this setting may be one of the few opportunities many people have in their day-to-day life to say “no.” Rather than create a conflicting dynamic where food pantry staff get the last word, it’s possible to build an environment where choice and dignity are integral to the shopping experience.

Here are four techniques that food pantries can use to give clients autonomy and choice while using food assistance programs.

1. Minimize how often you tell clients, “no.”

We sort all our food out of sight in the warehouse, so clients don’t see it until it’s ready for distribution. This way we avoid clients seeing an option that they can’t have, either because it doesn’t meet our quality standards or because we’re stockpiling it for a later distribution. We work hard to never even mention foods that we’re not actively giving away so that no client feels let down when they don’t see that food. Any food that a client sees is available for them to take.

2. Set limits on as few items as possible, and be realistic.

It is probably necessary to limit some high demand foods like eggs, coffee, and frozen meat or else your supply will be quickly depleted. It can be tempting to put a limit on other popular items, but it’s also important to consider if people are going to adhere to the limit. If it is essential, your shoppers may just take more anyways. Don’t set up a situation when clients are tempted to break the rules or where your volunteers must focus on enforcement. Focus on celebrating when clients find the foods they need, rather than bemoaning when they take more than you think they need. (Read this to help get you there: Food Pantry Transformation With an Attitude of Abundance)

3. Encourage shoppers to take food as you restock the shelves.

We restock constantly throughout the day, so it’s quite likely we will bring in a cart of food that our clients are excited to see. It can be inconvenient or even annoying to have people dig into the boxes as we’re unpacking, but telling clients that they need to wait until we’re done is an unnecessary power play (and breeds competition between shoppers). When people take food as we bring it out, it also saves us from having to put it all away!

4. Don’t let volunteers take food if they’re not shopping as clients!

If you’re part of the Feeding America network, this is policy, but it still happens far too often. It’s easy for a volunteer who put in a hard day of work to feel like they earned that bag of coffee beans, or that it will be easier to just grab a dozen eggs instead of running to the grocery store. Every pantry needs a strict volunteer shopping policy where no food, no matter how small, may be taken unless they are shopping as a client. It is important that clients never get the impression that shopping policies are applied inconsistently because it is hard to feel respected and dignified when you think others are being favored. It is very possible that you will lose volunteers over the strict implementation of this rule, but are those the volunteers you really want to keep?

How clients feel while getting their food from a food pantry is just as important as the quality of food that they receive. Visiting a food pantry feels inherently humiliating and embarrassing, so it’s important to focus on the ways we can help clients leave feeling a little more empowered, respected and dignified. There is no quick fix, but implementing these small techniques will go a long ways towards establishing that everyone has a positive experience at the food pantry.  

The opinions expressed here are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of my employer.

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