Mission: In late 2009 the Louisiana State Government cut Food Bank financing by 4.5 million dollars. As a small food pantry this blog was created to spotlight our community and show the direct effects from such a harsh budget cut.

We work at the Community Center of St Bernard, a food pantry and Community Center 10 minutes outside of New Orleans. We feed around 70 families a day and the number of new people we serve keeps growing. The spiraling economy coupled with the state budget cut to Second Harvest has created empty shelves for needy families.

More people + less food = a big problem.

Bethany Garfield

Food Pantry Coordinator

Billy Brown

Digital Arts Service Corps (AmeriCorps for Geeks)

The following organizations are all collecting food for our pantry to supplement the reduction from our local food bank. We love them!

Nola Eats at the Alternative Media Expo

Snake and Jakes

Cold Stone Creamery

Organizing for America: LA

Curves

Do you want to be a Fabulous Food Driver? E-mail me!

Food For Our Neighbors Archives

    April 2, 2010
    It isn’t easy turning hungry people away from our food pantry. Unfortunately, I have to do it sometimes. This less than favorable task used to be rare, very rare. These days, I’m going to have to do it a lot more. In the past, the main reason for turning someone away was simple. A person would come to the Center seeking food, but their income was just a little too high. That’s right, if someone makes even one dollar over the Federal income guidelines (130% below the poverty level) then I have to tell them they cannot get food. Telling hungry families to leave empty-handed is my least favorite part of this job. Yesterday, I had to tell a mother in front of her child that she could no longer use the food pantry. The woman’s daughter was about seven or eight years old. She had a sweet face and she looked a little confused by what I was saying. Perhaps she could just sense the distress I was seeing on her mother’s face as I told her this would be the last time she could receive food. Well, these were only two of the people that I had to turn away yesterday. As the day went on, I had to tell more and more families they could not receive food from our pantry. Why? Because these clients do not have American identification. Since January of this year, the number of Hispanic clients that our pantry serves has been rapidly rising. Last month, almost 25% of the people we served classified themselves as Hispanic. This is HUGE. So, what does this mean for me, for the pantry and for the people who are part of this population? For me, it means that my high school and college Spanish have certainly been put to the test. It also means that my job has gotten a little tougher since I’m the only person at the Center who speaks Spanish, badly (with the exception of the Development Director who is a very busy woman). For the pantry, it means that our days have been more hectic. The process has slowed since we are short on people who can handle Spanish-speaking clients. Our Hispanic and non-Hispanic clients alike have noticed the hold-up and it appears they are not happy about it. Furthermore, the food distribution has been more disorderly, as first time Spanish-speaking clients (like all clients) are not certain what to do, and, well, we’re not sure how to tell them about the proper procedures. But, these are all minor bumps that myself and my staff will get by and figure out as time goes on. For the Hispanic population who do not have American identification it means this: They will virtually have no place to turn for food. Mothers and fathers will struggle to find ways to feed their families, and I cannot say for sure that they will figure out a solution. Say what you will about immigration, we all have our own opinions, but when you’re looking at a seven-year-old girl and wondering whether she will have food to eat next week, all the arguments seem to fly out the window. So, what’s next? To be honest, I’m not sure. Our Center has reached out to several Hispanic organizations in the Greater New Orleans area, but there does not seem to be help on the way. What we need is funding to buy separate food for these families because we are prohibited from giving USDA products to people without United States-issued Identification. We need help explaining this to our Hispanic population clearly, as well as places to send these clients for help with their needs. I’m not sure how this story will end, but I know that currently, it is breaking my heart. I will keep our readers posted as the story continues …

    It isn’t easy turning hungry people away from our food pantry. Unfortunately, I have to do it sometimes. This less than favorable task used to be rare, very rare. These days, I’m going to have to do it a lot more.

    In the past, the main reason for turning someone away was simple. A person would come to the Center seeking food, but their income was just a little too high. That’s right, if someone makes even one dollar over the Federal income guidelines (130% below the poverty level) then I have to tell them they cannot get food.

    Telling hungry families to leave empty-handed is my least favorite part of this job. Yesterday, I had to tell a mother in front of her child that she could no longer use the food pantry. The woman’s daughter was about seven or eight years old. She had a sweet face and she looked a little confused by what I was saying. Perhaps she could just sense the distress I was seeing on her mother’s face as I told her this would be the last time she could receive food.

    Well, these were only two of the people that I had to turn away yesterday. As the day went on, I had to tell more and more families they could not receive food from our pantry. Why? Because these clients do not have American identification.

    Since January of this year, the number of Hispanic clients that our pantry serves has been rapidly rising. Last month, almost 25% of the people we served classified themselves as Hispanic. This is HUGE. So, what does this mean for me, for the pantry and for the people who are part of this population?

    For me, it means that my high school and college Spanish have certainly been put to the test. It also means that my job has gotten a little tougher since I’m the only person at the Center who speaks Spanish, badly (with the exception of the Development Director who is a very busy woman).

    For the pantry, it means that our days have been more hectic. The process has slowed since we are short on people who can handle Spanish-speaking clients. Our Hispanic and non-Hispanic clients alike have noticed the hold-up and it appears they are not happy about it. Furthermore, the food distribution has been more disorderly, as first time Spanish-speaking clients (like all clients) are not certain what to do, and, well, we’re not sure how to tell them about the proper procedures.

    But, these are all minor bumps that myself and my staff will get by and figure out as time goes on. For the Hispanic population who do not have American identification it means this: They will virtually have no place to turn for food. Mothers and fathers will struggle to find ways to feed their families, and I cannot say for sure that they will figure out a solution.

    Say what you will about immigration, we all have our own opinions, but when you’re looking at a seven-year-old girl and wondering whether she will have food to eat next week, all the arguments seem to fly out the window.

    So, what’s next?

    To be honest, I’m not sure. Our Center has reached out to several Hispanic organizations in the Greater New Orleans area, but there does not seem to be help on the way. What we need is funding to buy separate food for these families because we are prohibited from giving USDA products to people without United States-issued Identification. We need help explaining this to our Hispanic population clearly, as well as places to send these clients for help with their needs. I’m not sure how this story will end, but I know that currently, it is breaking my heart. I will keep our readers posted as the story continues …

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