“When I write of hunger, I am really writing about love and the hunger for it.” M.F.K. Fisher in the foreword to The Gastronomical Me.
I've been getting a few questions about the food pantry. Seriously, I didn't know poor people could read.
Here are a few tips:
For grocery shopping, try ALDI www.aldi.com or Super Walmart. ALDI is much cheaper, but you might not have it in your area. You can get no-name kid snacks and milk and produce for reasonable prices. If your kids can't read, they won't know they're not eating real Doritos.
For protein - beef, pork, chicken - try www.angelfoodministries.org. There are no income requirements and you can pay with food stamps. I think it’s food from the government, passed out by churches. Maybe an infamous faith-based initiative? It makes sense – the government pays for the food, the church organizes the volunteers. The food is NOT seconds, there is nothing wrong with it. The meat is frozen and of good quality. Here is the menu: http://www.angelfoodministries.org/menu.asp
Find a food bank in your area. Try http://www.secondharvest.org/zip_code.jsp. When you get there, ask for the names of other food pantries, because you may have to rotate. Ask for food pantries that you can go back to as much as you need to. Ask for a church that gives out bread or day old pastry or (if you are comfortable) a free dinner once or twice a week.
Glean. It goes back to Biblical times. http://www.endhunger.org/gleaning_network.htm
Finally, go to church. Ask God to help you. Start a food pantry or a clothing closet for people looking for jobs. Stay alive. When you get back on your feet, help someone else.
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