Thank you for sharing a very thought-provoking story, rachelellen. I enjoyed reading it.

Volunteering at a food bank for many years gave DH and I a whole different perspective on food preparation. The one where we work serves many transient (usually single parent or grandparent families) crammed into one room in one of the many old motels along what was a main highway before the interstates bypassed them.

Cooking is usually done on a one or two burner hotplate with a frying pan and a pot or two. Utensils are bare bones  can opener, knife, spoon, and spatula - no graters, food processors, spice rack, colanders, baking pans, wire whisks, sets of measuring cup and spoons or any of the other appliances and food prep items we use on a daily basis. The top of the toilet often serves as the cutting board. In those circumstances, your cans of potatoes or instant oatmeal would be ideal food bank donations and more appreciated than a donated turkey that lacks an oven to bake it.

Several churches, scouting troops and other charitable groups recently campaigned to feed those who are starving to death. Groups were assembled and money donated to package a special "food" designed to rescue those dying of starvation. Easy to digest and containing all necessary vitamins and minerals. Not designed to taste good, but to stave off starvation for another day.
Below is a link to just one of many such organizations...

Here is a link that might be useful: Feed my starving children

I, too, thank you for your story and gentle reminder about just how blessed we are.

I also identify with ruthanna's description of many of the people who utilize the Food Bank. I teach food classes at our Food Bank and limit the food preparation difficulty - ingredients and equipment used.

Ruthanna's apt description of "hotel/motel dwellers" speaks volumes and is more common than you'd think. Most have a hotplate and sometimes a microwave, and many children are the "cooks" in the family, so I taylor lessons to their skill level and equipment level. Cooking in an electric Hot Pot or in an electric coffee maker (college-style dorm cooking) are favorite classes.

I purchase foil roasting pans when they are on sale after the Holidays and donate them to the Food Bank and the Salvation Army this time of the year (both give away turkeys and hams), so those who need them have something to bake the meat in.

Once again, thanks!

-Grainlady

Rachel, my friends tell me that in case of any natural disaster they are going to live in my basement.

Like you, I remember a childhood where food was not taken for granted, many times there was not enough. Other times there was enough to fill us, but sometimes it was oatmeal for supper and nothing else, and we were happy to have beans after a couple of days.

I do make an effort to keep my pantry manageable and donate to local food pantries, but you just reminded me that I needed to call one of the local charities who is having trouble coming up with enough items for 50 food baskets for local families and arrange to have the items I purchased picked up. I'll do that now, thank you.

Annie

Aww, Rachel, that was beautiful. And so are you! Nice to have a face to put with the name.

Thanks for the comments and compliments, folks. I had been having a rather "unthankful" feeling week, and writing it adjusted my mood. I'm generally a pretty upbeat person, but like anyone, I can sometimes let the little stuff get me down and start feeling sorry for myself. Always a good time to remember how easy I have it, really.

Sending hugs. Glad to count you among my 'homies.'

I loved your blog. It was very thoughtful and insightful. The reality is, most of us on this forum ARE blessed with plenty. We may not be rich, but we think nothing of asking what frivolous items we just have to have from Penzeys or Trader Joe's. (I am not knocking anybody, I do the same thing, and my pantry is frightfully full of "gourmet" items that I do not need). However, we don't have to look as far as the Eritrean's to find many, many people who are in pretty a dire condition. Our economy is bad. Many, (especially here in Michigan) have lost their jobs, and lost their homes, and are fighting for survival. Many don't know where the next meager meal will come from.
Your blog made me realize how important it is for everybody to remember the people who are hungry. Not just now in this holiday time, but every day. We often get all warm and fuzzy ahd helpful at holiday time. Nothing wrong with that, but we need to be generous all the time.
Your blog made me realize that I need to stop whining when I think times are tough, and start opening my mind, my heart, and my pocketbook to help those less fortunate. Many are newly poor and do not know how to handle it. I used to work for a GM supplier. The company managed to pretty much "break" the union, and many, many people were out of a job afterward. The last I heard, 23 of them lost their homes. I imagine by now it is many more. The lucky ones who were able to find a job, took serious, serious paycuts. They are learning how to live for a lot less.
Some were unable to find any jobs at all, and they are really hurting.
I guess I need to stop compaining about aspects of my job and be greatful I have a job. I need to quit whining when I just don't know what to eat, or don't feel like fixing supper so I go out. You need a hug for opening my eyes. (eye, LOL)
Sherry

Thanks for the hugs! :)

Sherry, you made a good point about folks who are newly poor not knowing how to handle it. There is a mind set and there are skills that people who have been poor always have at their command if need comes, but people who have never had to literally count pennies or stretch one "serving" of meat to feed their whole family have difficult lessons to learn. Many poor never learn it and spend far too much money on "cheap" fast food or other crap simply because they haven't the nutritional knowledge that would help them choose more wisely.

Grainlady also had a good point about the Motel cooking thing. There have been times in my life when I have been quite frustrated by seeing people in the grocery store, using food stamps to buy what I call convenience items, like frozen dinners and pre-made, packaged foods as it is so much cheaper and healthier to cook from scratch...but if you don't have a kitchen,appliances or utensils it's hard to do.

My dad was born on the Greek island of Kalymnos. He had 16 siblings, and his memory of childhood was mainly of an abiding hunger. He came to the United States as a young man and worked as a barber until he retired. He was never rich according to American standards but he was always grateful for his adopted country. In his broken English he'd always tell anyone who would listen, "Thanks to God for America. All day long!" He felt blessed and well off. Why? Because he could open his refrigerator and it was packed with food. That was his measure of success and it never changed.

Thanks for the reminder, Rachel, of how blessed most of us are.

Thank you for sharing. I'm another one who can relate to a childhood of struggling for basic necessities. I know I've shared this before--a lady (social worker) would bring bags of clothes and food to us. My mother told us (five kids) that the lady was a family friend; we called her Aunt Donna.

My mother was always on a diet--she was saving the food for us.

We would go to big Christmas and Easter functions sponsored by local organizations. My mother told us that the parties were for "poor kids" and Aunt Donna got us in so we couldn't tell anyone that we weren't suppose to be there. We would giggle, thinking we were crashing the party!

My parents always sheltered us from the fact that we were dirt poor due to an accident that left my dad disabled for awhile. It was very hard for them to accept help. They were both hard working, intelligent, and obviously proud people. It wasn't until we got older that the reality of our situation surfaced.

As far as food banks, I had very good feedback a couple of years ago when I was told my donated items weren't appropriate; I should have know better. I now make better decisions when putting together my box to take to Metropolitan Ministries.

Here in Florida, I keep 2 shelves in one cabinet filled with hurricane supplies. When hurricane season ends, I give those items to the local food bank. Unfortunately, hurricane season has been extended to the end of November, so when the next food drive comes around, they will get it.

Thank you for a beautiful message Rachelellen. I too am among those who have struggled for food at times in my past. I remember being hungry one time with no food in the house and I found a five dollar bill on the street when I was walking home from work. Before that when I was a child there were times when our meals were nothing but dried beans or a glass of milk from the cow with cornbread or crackers in it. As someone else said, people who have never gone through this type of thing couldn't live that way now. A good example is the lady who cleans my house. She's about forty years old and used to have a brick home, inground swimming pool, etc. She makes good money cleaning houses, but she has lost her home and her car and yet she buys prepaid cellphone card and spends much time texting and buys mainly fast food, instead of groceries.

While most of us aren't hurting from the recession we are in, I hope we remember that many truly are hurting. Many people have lost their jobs, including many couples where neither of them have a job anymore.

I am another lucky/blessed person with a pantry full of food, including some I don't know what I was going to use it for, some bought by mistake, such as the garbanzos I picked up instead of Navy beans. My things are going to the church foodbank.

Rachelellen - thank you SO much for sharing this. I read it through yesterday and have thought of little else since then.

You see, two years ago I went through the most bitter divorce ever. When I left, it was with a 9mm handgun to my head. I left with NOTHING. Just the clothes on my back. And I'd just had major surgery and ended up septic and spent 5 weeks in a coma after that. My family was told I was going to die. But, by the grace of God, I am still here. And I recently graduated from culinary school. I live with my 87-year-old Mom, who survived the Great Depression, so she appreciates having "things" too.

Like you, when I get a paycheck, the very FIRST thing I do is go to the grocery store. I find that I tend to stockpile food as if I may never be able to buy any again.

So I certainly appreciate your thoughtful post. Thank you again for sharing!

I didn't mean to make you feel bad/guilty by suggesting in your other thread that a food pantry might be a good place for your extra stuff. I suppose I'm the same way, collecting food just in case of disaster. With hurricanes threatening every summer it just seems like you're a little safer having 2 or 3 weeks worth of canned goods available.

Oh, it didn't make me feel bad or guilty at all! It just made me slap my forehead and say, "why didn't I think of that!?"

I never feel bad about my bounty, I work hard and I'm fortunate to live in a country where food is so plentiful that obesity is a problem, actual starvation isn't. Oh, I know that there are people who, usually for a limited time, have a rough go of it..I was one of them as a kid! But we don't have pot-bellied, big eyed children with spindly limbs sitting around in the dirt without the energy to brush flies from around their eyes.

I was glad for the reminder which got me on a train of thankful thought that pulled me out of a funk.

And thank you also, those of you who have shared your personal experiences of harder times. It's never a bad thing to remember that good people have hard times.

Yeah, when I donate to the local community sharing org., I see the meth-heads, drunks, and folks who seem perfectly capable of working waiting for the doors to open and have some uncharitable thoughts as I head off for my long work day. Undoubtedly, there are some of them for whom a good swift kick in the patootie would be more beneficial than handing them freebies that allow them to keep being irresponsible. But there are also a lot of folks who just need a bit of temporary help, and even the meth-heads have children who need to eat and aren't responsible for the bad choices of their parents.

And then, there are people who made bad choices, but now just need a bit of help to pull themselves out of the hole they found themselves in as a result. Whom of all of us have never made bad choices?