25 oct 2012

there is a food drive going on at my workplace. seems like there is always a food drive going on somewhere these days, and while i don't begrudge my fellowman a can of pork&beans and i do in fact know someone who makes his livelihood collecting and distributing (or, you know, raising financing for or somesuch) a food bank, i just have to wonder with all this collecting and distributing -- what has gone wrong with the basic underlying systems?

at any rate - workplace. food drive. thusly, whilst grocery shopping tonight, i purchased a few extra things. i am blessed or lucky or hard working enough (depending on how you look at it) to afford to be the giver instead of the getter. there but for the grace of god, though, eh? yeah.

this particular food pantry distributes food in a "grocery store" format. the clients don't simply get a prepacked box of this & that - they actually roam the aisles and select the particular items they want to have. now, c'mon. don't pretend your first reaction isn't "beggars can't be choosers". i know that's what i thought right off the bat, but then, being a bit of a food aficionado myself and having spent a great deal of time around extremely picky eaters, i got over myself and came to truly appreciate the strategy. i mean, sure, you're coming in there with your hand out for a handout, but if someone put a can of beets in that hand, would you be that much better off? just because you've fallen on hard times or maybe have had a lifetime of hard times doesn't mean you have to eat things you don't enjoy. this isn't les miserables, after all.

so, these folks come to the pantry and peruse the goods and make selections for themselves, maybe for their family. they look at the shelf and decide if they want to have this or that, that or this. sort of turns the tables, doesn't it now. i can't be getting just any old crap and slinging it at them. my selections are going to compete with selections from other people. naturally, i want my contributions to WIN. this is why i carefully chose two cans of low-sugar fruit cocktail (one of my favourites), two cans of low-salt lima beans (one of YOUR favourites [you know who you are!]), and two smallish cans of salmon. why salmon and not tuna? because, everyone deserves a salmon patty made out of actual salmon, at least once in a while.