Mary Harkin eases out of bed at 6:00 am.
After a quick breakfast, she points her car toward the parish church. She and
her fellow volunteers drink their coffee, catch up on town gossip, and then set
to work. It takes a couple of hours to sort the donated food at the church food
pantry. Drivers arrive with day-old bread from the supermarkets, farmers bring
in bins of fresh fruits and vegetables, and a volunteer driver brings staples
from the county food bank they will need to fill the two hundred grocery bags. At
9:00 am sharp, the pastor welcomes those who have stood in line for an hour or
more to get food to feed their family.
Ward Joad is in his morning routine, up
at 6:15 am, showered and dressed. A quick look around the kitchen leads to the
obvious conclusion: there is no food for breakfast for him and his sister,
again. They will eat at school today. Ward and third-grader Jolene will join
the million kids who qualify for a free breakfast and lunch at school today. Spring
break starts next Monday. That means they will eat lunch at the library next
week. There never seems to be enough food at home.
Ward’s parents, Juanita and Harry, both
work at the local factory, at minimum wage. Their joint income qualifies them
for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP/food stamps) just like
15% of all American families. The extra money helps, but it still does not
cover all their expenses: rent, gas for the car, clothes for the kids and the
occasional movie night out. Juanita’s average cost to feed the family of four
is $216 per week.
The Joads live in a run-down neighborhood
because that is all they can afford. Ward is not happy about the 14-block walk
to the nearest supermarket. He walks past many small corner stores on the way,
but they are too expensive, the food is not always fresh, and they cater mostly
to people picking up liquor or cigarettes. Then, there is the 14-block walk
back home. Ward knows that being poor does not leave many options.
Mary Harkin is well situated: nice home,
money in the bank, newer car, and many friends. She is active in town and at
her church. She has lived a good and lucky life. The food pantry provides an
opportunity to give back. She does not make much of a fuss about it, but she is
one of hundreds of thousands of people across the country that do what they can
to help those less fortunate. Some of her friends volunteer at local feeding
centers, at shelters like the Salvation Army, deliver food to shut-ins with
Meals on Wheels, or as Navigators on the streets, serving the homeless.
In nearby Sacramento, 30,000 people,
including Mary and several friends, participated in the Run4Hunger last
Thanksgiving. They raised nearly one million dollars for the local food bank. Nearly
1,000 volunteers per month help serve 650-800 daily meals at Loaves and Fishes.
Churches, mosques, and temples marshal hundreds of people a week to staff food
pantries and clothes closets for those in need.
Harry Joad could not make it to the food
pantry before it closed on Friday, because he had to work overtime, something
you do not turn down. The extra money helps with the weekly budget. He wishes
he did not have to make those kinds of decisions on a daily basis: buy gas to
get to work or pay the electric bill, take his daughter to the doctor, or pay
the rent; none of his choices is easy.
Mary Harkin, ever the quiet activist,
cannot get her arms around the whole hunger story. We have an abundance of food,
yet thirty million children receive free school lunches, 15 million children
eat breakfast at school, and 3 million children participate in the summer food
service program.[i]
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, food stamps), serves one
in seven households.
Mary Harkin wonders why, in spite of the
need, the government intends to cut billions of dollars from national food
programs, upwards of 30%. In hundreds of counties across the country, nearly 24%
of families are food insecure. One county in Mississippi has 38% of its
population short of funds to buy food.
On Tuesdays, Mary and her friend Betty
deliver food to homebound seniors, mostly women living alone, who have too
little income; their average social security benefits are $1,231 per month
before deductions for Medicare Parts A, B, and D.[ii]She and Betty are among
the millions of volunteers who deliver more than two million meals each week to
those in need.[iii]
Individuals fighting hunger in America is a story that needs telling.
One chapter might focus on the underlying
causes of poverty and efforts to eliminate it. It would lobby for systemic
change in our economic priorities; good schools with life-choice options; good
paying jobs; end of racism; good health care, and a continuing robust economy. This
effort will require a long-term commitment by governments at all levels. It
will fail with a 30% budget cut.
A collection of pictures showing what hunger
looks like in America might be interspersed throughout the book. Remember the
pictures from the Great Depression? They showed despair, long lines at the soup
kitchens, and families with emaciated children. Is that the picture of Ward
Joad and millions like him that we want people to remember about our country?
Mary Harkin certainly doesn’t.
Without question, the story has to tell about
the hundreds of thousands of individuals who volunteer each day. No part of the
country is immune from hunger. No part of the country, however, is without its volunteers
who try to stem the hunger pangs of the nation. Imagine if you can, thousands
of people in every county in every state deciding to stay home one day instead
of volunteering. For Ward Joad’s sake, let’s hope that never happens.
