Why Supporting Food Pantries is Critical Right Now

This is the perfect time to help fill the shelves.

Photo by Boris Dunand on Unsplash

I ran a food pantry for nine years. Oh, the stories I could tell. Some happy, some sad. Ones that would bring tears to your eyes and others that would have you rolling in laughter. But each and every one of those stories should make you feel grateful if you’ve got food on your table today. A growing number of people in our country are not that fortunate.

This is the second holiday season that I haven’t had a frontline view of providing direct aid to people in need. Today’s headlines have me thinking a lot about what it must be like at the pantry now. I reflect back on many of the ‘regulars’ I remember fondly.

• The grandmother who once told me she’d forgo a meal in order to buy Christmas presents for her grandkids.
• The single mom of four who used to get excited when we had name brand peanut butter in stock instead of the generic.
• The retired school janitor that I’d have to lecture about taking too many sweets from our bakery shelf. It wasn’t good for her diabetes.

It’s likely all three of those folks are still getting in line at the pantry every week and waiting for their free groceries. They’re what we considered “chronic users” — a term I was never…