Soup Kitchen Experience

Volunteering at the soup kitchen was a truly humbling and enjoyable experience. So many times I think that it is easy for people to believe that everyone lives similar lives to themselves, myself included. But serving food to people who are less wealthy or down on their luck has really reminded me of how bad some people's financial status and well being are. It makes me thankful for the opportunities that I have, even the things I take for granted like having food available at almost every hour of the day. A thing that surprised me was actually how much work went into organizing everything from volunteer scheduling to funding to day to day planning of meals. All of this was placed on the shoulders Beverly Nutter, the only paid employee, who has to manage the $65,000 cost per year. She commonly has to make pleas to the public for monetary donations because they receive no federal funding.

Similarly to the Fitchen article, I believe that there are a lot of assumptions about poverty and food/hunger. Some believe that the poor have to work themselves out of poverty or that drug users should not have access to community aids (e.g. soup kitchens, welfare). These assumptions arise because it is believe that is the fault of the people in the situations. While this may be the case in some instances (experimenting with drugs or making bad investment decisions), many people are born into their unfortunate situations. People tend to focus on the success stories of people "pulling themselves up by their own bootstraps," but the harsh reality is that many cannot. To offer no assistance and then blame the person for being in their situation will not lead to any meaningful results.

Particularly disheartening, at the soup kitchen was the amount of young children. Although I do not remember the exact numbers, I believe that there were around 10 children for the 70 or so people served. The Olsen et al. and McCurdy et al. articles discuss the relationship, causes, and implications of poverty and food insecurity with body weight in childhood and adulthood. The Olsen et al. article, "Growing Up Poor," cites a few relationship mechanisms from a previous study: class-dependent health care that leads to long term health inequalities, class-based parental practices, and class/social-based stressors that affect health. Going back to the soup kitchen, if these young children's only meal for the day is what is served, there is no way that they are getting adequate nutrition or knowledge about nutrition. It almost sets them up for a poor eating lifestyle and these concerns have to be addressed by society if their parents are not able to completely care for their children.

For the most part, what I have gathered from reflecting on the soup kitchen experience and the readings is that, in terms of food insecurity, there is a pretty clear link between social class (which can also be related to ethnic background) and food behavior. Obviously, if someone is living in poverty it is difficult for them to provide necessary nutrition to themselves and their family, but the thing most people do not realize is the unneeded discrimination that is poor people. In the interdependence model, there are increasingly broad levels of influence placed on individuals. In relation to food poverty and food insecurity, it is not just themselves or their family keeping them in their "poorer" social class, but an entire system and cultural way of thinking.

Questions:

What are some of the ways that soup kitchens can raise more money and get food donations?
What are some ways that public perceptions can be changed about poverty and food insecurity?
Should social issues like this be taught in primary or secondary schools?
Is it possible to even have unbiased discussions about poverty in public schools?