Our Food Bank Community

This blog has been reprinted courtesy of Jewish Family Service. For more information see: http://blog.jfsseattle.org/our-food-bank-community/

It is 9:45 on Wednesday morning, clients are lined up outside, and I am pulling a pallet loaded with produce up the sidewalk and into the Polack Food Bank. It looks like a busy day, and the last thing I need is for something to go wrong. Naturally that is exactly what happens. The pallet jack gets stuck in one of the huge cracks in the sidewalk. My attempts to dislodge it fail. I am now standing with a useless pallet jack and hundreds of pounds of produce. I could carry it all in by hand, but I do not have that kind of time. Then, some gentlemen waiting on the Food Bank line catch my eye. Here we go…

There is something about the Food Bank that brings people together. Despite the circumstances, many of our Food Bank people come in with smiles on their faces. Sure, hard times and insufficient public support make life challenging for this population but “poor people” stereotypes – anxious, overstressed, high-strung – simply do not apply to many of our clients. On the line, they chat, joke and laugh as if they were hanging out in the park. Some folks even bring lawn chairs for the wait. This is more than a food bank – this is a social gathering place. It is an opportunity for individuals who often live alone to connect with other people and discuss the finer points of life. This is a community.

So when seven or eight gentleman surround my pallet jack and begin speaking in Russian and gesturing at the jack, I am hardly surprised. From afar they might seem old and in need, but once you get to know them, you realize these are hardy folk. My attempts to prevent them from overexerting themselves prove useless, and before I know it, they lift the jack clear off the ground and move it to a smoother area. As I thank them and pull through the Food Bank door, they go back to their usual conversations as if nothing had happened.

There is a lot of complexity in the Food Bank– race, class, language, citizenship, education, luck. The barriers to success are endless, but despite it all, something ties us together. We are all human, and we need each other to thrive. On paper, our Food Bank serves a needy population. But in reality, it serves a vibrant and varied community of unique individuals. This is as much their Food Bank as ours.

By Kevin Lugo
Kevin Lugo is the former Food Bank Specialist in the Polack Food Bank. 

The SNAP Lifeline

This blog has been reprinted courtesy of Jewish Family Service. For more information see: http://blog.jfsseattle.org/the-snap-lifeline/

SNAP. Basic Food. Food stamps. Whichever name you know it by, you know it as the lifeline for many families to get their basic food needs met. Starting this month, about 200,000 King County households will see drastic cuts to this vital resource by as much as $90 per month. These cuts will affect SNAP beneficiaries who have heating and cooling utility costs included in their rent or mortgage payments, making their families even more food insecure through the end of the year.

“Why is this happening?” you may be wondering. Good question. In February, Congress passed the 2014 Farm Bill, limiting options for states to provide utility assistance to households. Because SNAP benefits are calculated in part by how much utility assistance a household receives, an estimated one-third of Basic Food recipients will see a cut to their benefits.

The good news is Governor Jay Inslee opted to implement a new program that will put SNAP benefits back where they were. The bad news is it will not be implemented until January, leaving some families without the means to meet their basic food needs for two months.

Despite receiving notifications about these temporary cuts, we expect many families will be confused.

These substantial cuts to Basic Food benefits will force clients to have to make some tough choices, especially with winter and the holidays approaching. Some families may be forced to choose between having enough food for the month, or buying warm clothes and jackets for their kids. Many parents may not be able to afford to buy holiday gifts for their children. Many are likely to fall behind in their rent, and some parents will skip meals to make sure their kids get enough to eat.

As we’ve seen with previous SNAP cuts, the burden often falls on food banks to bridge the gap. Because of this sudden increased stress on food banks, food supply may run low and clients may not receive as much as they normally would.

SNAP is one of the most essential tools Americans living below the poverty line have to help feed their families. When SNAP comes under attack, so do our efforts to help people meet their basic food needs. When benefits are cut, families are cut off from the vital resources that allow them to put food on the table.

By Bailey Toth
Bailey Toth is a Lutheran Volunteer Corps member and is completing her year of service as the Food Bank Specialist in the Polack Food Bank. She graduated with her BS in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. She is passionate about social justice, vegan cooking, reading, being active in the community and cats.