Matthew 10:16 says we should be as shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves.
That's a tough row to hoe sometimes.
But sometimes, in this type of ministry, it has to be one of our guiding principles. I always say it's only 5% of people we have to worry about. (That's just a guess, not a hard fact.) That's in any crowd, not just the food pantry waiting room.
I like people to be happy. I seek to avoid conflict. I'd always rather be a dove.
It wasn't one of those week.
Last November, I wrote a series on a week in the life of a food pantry leader. If I had written that this week, it would have been fodder for reality TV. Or a sitcom.
In many ways, we are in a great season of growth and change. Volunteers have been working diligently to get a computer system up and running for us. We served record numbers of people in September, many of them new, without undue stress. We've had great conversations with those in need and others our community. We have witnessed as some people have found hope. We have been given the opportunity to share many Bibles with adults, teens, and kids.
Kindness, goodness, and God have played a big part in this week.
I sincerely am blessed to be doing this.
So I hope this doesn't come across as whining and complaining. I think it is important, though, to pull back the curtain sometimes. I don't think most people would believe the goodness I talk about that I see in people if I disregarded the rest.
It was a challenging week at our food pantry. This is not the norm.
My friend Gretchen runs a sister pantry in town. She was the victim of a "serial scammer" this week. He lied and stole from her pantry, even after being given food. It wasn't the relatively small loss of food, but the sense of violation that he left in his wake. He doesn't know the time and effort she put into that food he stole. It hurts my heart for her, because I know how much she invests of herself in her ministry.
On Tuesday, during our open hours, I was challenged.
We had a family bring in a child who seemed to fairly obviously have chicken pox. On the one hand, I am praising God that this child was with his dad. He has fought for custody for years because of the bad environment the kid was living in with his mother. On the other hand, I have other guests to worry about too.
They came in with friends, all people who are lovely in their own right and known to us. But it took awhile to get them to admit that they were unsure what was wrong with him and they were't actually certain he wasn't contagious. I think they were afraid we would send them away without food if we thought he was contagious.
By the time I got that sorted out, he had been in our waiting room for over 15 minutes. We moved them out a bit farther away from folks. Some volunteers offered advice about where to take the child, since they could not afford the copay most places. They were worried about him, as am I. But I am also worried about the many guests we have with compromised immune systems who were in that waiting room.
It was a hard call between being kind to this family (and not making the kid feel, literally, like a leper), and taking care of everyone else.
Shortly after, we had another couple come who we see fairly regularly.
Nice people.
Usually.
They talked to me about their 2 year old grandson and got some books for him.
They usually remember to bring their own bags. Since I never remember things like that, it always makes me happy to see that they do.
There are serious health and pain management problems for both of them. There may be substance abuse issues, but that's just a guess.
They were in the waiting room later, when only 2 new young ladies with a toddler were there. I was in and out of the room. I didn't hear what happened. But these young ladies quickly asked how much longer they had to wait because the husband of this couple was speaking in a way that was offensive and making them uncomfortable.
I went to run this past my co-leader, and she said another week (when I was out), a similar instance happened with a volunteer.
I felt like I had to speak to him. I planned to make it light, a "try to watch the language" suggestion. Did I mention I don't like confrontation? I admitted to him that I hadn't heard it first hand, but I had 2 separate reports from 2 different weeks, and so I felt I needed to let him know. His wife suggested maybe someone had misunderstood something. (After I heard what was said directly to this volunteer, I know this is not the case.) I agreed, and said maybe just be cautious if speaking about things that could be misunderstood.
He went ballistic.
He threatened to call the media on us.
I suggested he do just that, because we would welcome the chance to share the story of our ministry in a public forum.
By the way, did I mention that I don't get paid to do this and I will not be verbally abused and you're welcome for the free food. (Okay, I probably said it more nicely than that, but that's what I thought. But mostly that's what I said.)
It wasn't my finest moment.
Perhaps my failing was less in that grace-less response, and more that I was too much of a dove in approaching this situation and not enough of a snake.
Later, when I talked to the previously offended volunteer, we had a great conversation about root causes and the types of pain this family might be going through. There is room for grace here. But next time, I also need to approach him with more shrewdness.
Oh, and while I'm dealing with chicken pox and offensive language and being yelled at and managing a pretty big crowd....someone stole from our Dollar Shop. It was just t-shirts. Quite a few t-shirts. I would have given them away anyway if someone asked. But really, why not just ask? It wasn't the loss of the items. That was no big deal at all. It was the violation.
And yet, in all of that, I have been called to remember why we do this.
GRACE.
I have plenty of rotten, awful moments. I am not perfect. (Refer back to the conversation I had with my yelling friend.)
God still loves me. God still gave his son for me, and continues to give to me in big and small ways all the time. I cannot loose His love, even in my worst moments.
My prayer is that God will help us demonstrate this type of love to our neighbors.
We need to welcome back the people who frustrate us, the people who steal, and lie, and treat us poorly, and yell.
I think we do these things to God all the time. He always welcomes us back.
We not only need to allow them to come back, we need to invite them. We need to have our arms open for hugs, and words of sincere kindness and forgiveness on our lips.
We need......I need..... God's grace to do this.
If you pray for our ministry this week, pray that we be filled with grace-filled love.
By the way, wondering how we know if someone is being honest? Visit this post.
Friday, October 2, 2015
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
The Dollar Shop: Why we charge for clothing
This week, it was brought to my attention that there was an online discussion about the fact that we charge for clothing.
Wow! People are noticing us.
Of course, the more people notice the more I want to be publicly transparent about our operating procedures.
We offer food, books, Bibles, and assorted random items for free. (Random things could include paper products, toiletries, school supplies, small toys, and most recently Christian CDs and DVDs and lots of educational "My Plate" plates.)
We charge for clothing. Usually.
Our clothing closet, called The Dollar Shop, is a small area in one corner of our pantry that most highly exemplifies the "us" concept, and the spirit of empowerment and individual development that we strive for.
Anyone can donate. Anyone can shop. This includes church attenders, those receiving help from the food pantry, and unchurched community members looking for a place to plug in.
When someone receiving help from the pantry is seeking a tangible way to give back, this is a simple and direct path for them to do so. They bring in things the kids have outgrown or that they no longer wear, and know those donations can turn into extra funding to support our programs.
When someone shops, they can get a great bargain and know their dollars matter.
We regularly have folks find suits, dresses, coats, shoes, and every day wear for $1 an item. Those who shop are proud of their purchases.
I'm pretty proud of the $1 Nikes I picked up. One of the dear ladies who uses our pantry tried them on first, we compared sizes, and when they didn't fit her, she had me try them on. I have funky to fit feet, so we were both delighted (and surprised) that they fit me. I really needed some new shoes and was waiting until I had the extra funds, so we talked about how God provided. It wasn't just the bargain and the much needed shoes, but that little piece of community in the transaction that made me so happy.
On the other hand, this is still a charitable clothing closet when it needs to be. We want people to be warm in the winter. We want their kids to have clothes for school. We want them to have clothes for work. If there is an emergency need, we give away what we have, and often solicit additional donations in needed sizes.
For example, we are currently collecting polo shirts, khakis, and black pants to benefit students at an area alternative high school. We have helped families after fires. We have helped get kids clothes for back to school. We have provided for a senior who lost her clothing in an eviction.
We also give things that have been hanging around in The Dollar Shop too long. The ladies who run this part of our ministry are getting ready to switch out clothes for the season, and all of the summer stuff will be given away for free. (It's still warm in Virginia, so the free short sleeve shirts will still get wear for awhile.)
We don't make a fortune out of this. I would think a good month brings us $30 in profits. It does not financially sustain us. That's not the point.
The Dollar Shop makes people happy. The thrill of the hunt for a bargain is great. The satisfaction in giving and working together is what we're all about.
Wow! People are noticing us.
Of course, the more people notice the more I want to be publicly transparent about our operating procedures.
We offer food, books, Bibles, and assorted random items for free. (Random things could include paper products, toiletries, school supplies, small toys, and most recently Christian CDs and DVDs and lots of educational "My Plate" plates.)
We charge for clothing. Usually.
Our clothing closet, called The Dollar Shop, is a small area in one corner of our pantry that most highly exemplifies the "us" concept, and the spirit of empowerment and individual development that we strive for.
Anyone can donate. Anyone can shop. This includes church attenders, those receiving help from the food pantry, and unchurched community members looking for a place to plug in.
When someone receiving help from the pantry is seeking a tangible way to give back, this is a simple and direct path for them to do so. They bring in things the kids have outgrown or that they no longer wear, and know those donations can turn into extra funding to support our programs.
When someone shops, they can get a great bargain and know their dollars matter.
We regularly have folks find suits, dresses, coats, shoes, and every day wear for $1 an item. Those who shop are proud of their purchases.
I'm pretty proud of the $1 Nikes I picked up. One of the dear ladies who uses our pantry tried them on first, we compared sizes, and when they didn't fit her, she had me try them on. I have funky to fit feet, so we were both delighted (and surprised) that they fit me. I really needed some new shoes and was waiting until I had the extra funds, so we talked about how God provided. It wasn't just the bargain and the much needed shoes, but that little piece of community in the transaction that made me so happy.
On the other hand, this is still a charitable clothing closet when it needs to be. We want people to be warm in the winter. We want their kids to have clothes for school. We want them to have clothes for work. If there is an emergency need, we give away what we have, and often solicit additional donations in needed sizes.
For example, we are currently collecting polo shirts, khakis, and black pants to benefit students at an area alternative high school. We have helped families after fires. We have helped get kids clothes for back to school. We have provided for a senior who lost her clothing in an eviction.
We also give things that have been hanging around in The Dollar Shop too long. The ladies who run this part of our ministry are getting ready to switch out clothes for the season, and all of the summer stuff will be given away for free. (It's still warm in Virginia, so the free short sleeve shirts will still get wear for awhile.)
We don't make a fortune out of this. I would think a good month brings us $30 in profits. It does not financially sustain us. That's not the point.
The Dollar Shop makes people happy. The thrill of the hunt for a bargain is great. The satisfaction in giving and working together is what we're all about.
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Where does the food come from?
During our leadership restructuring, I spent some time talking to a potential volunteer about how we source food. It was another one of those times where I realized that things I take for granted are a mystery to those outside of the system.
So, how does our pantry get food?
(I can only speak for how we do things. Other pantries are undoubtedly different, which may be determined by location, affiliation, and size among other factors.)
There are 5 primary ways we get food.
1. Regular direct donations
We are a church based pantry, so church members and community members who use our building drop donations off each week.
This is the area where we would most like to grow, but currently lack someone to organize the effort.
In a typical week, this is probably no more than 5% off the food we distribute.
2. Food Drives
This is when businesses, scout troops, community organizations, and church groups collect a large amount of food in a short period of time. We have even had children do food drives at birthday parties.
The majority of this happens for us during the months of November and December.
This past year, we were incredibly blessed by several large food drives. We had to expand into another storage room to accommodate the overflow, which was great. We have given that food away conservatively, knowing that we will not see such abundance again until next November. It is the first week of March, and we have now come to the end of our holiday donations.
I would loosely place one time corporate donations in this category as well. We had a volunteer organize a 4,000 pound donation from Campbell's soup for us last fall. It required a bit of leg work on our part in terms of getting a driver, a truck, and volunteers to unload a truck after midnight, but it was a great blessing. Half the donation was soup, and the other half was juice, juice drinks, and spaghetti sauce. We have been distributing food from this donation since November, and likely will make it through March before running out. This was really a once in a lifetime opportunity.
3. Foodbank
We are partners with the Central Virginia Foodbank, which is part of Feeding America.
Most of the year, we get around 50% - 75% of the food we distribute this way.
We pay a "shared maintenance fee" based on the amount of food we withdraw, as well as an annual membership fee. The foodbank uses these funds to pay for staff, utilities, facility costs, trucking, insurance, administrative fees (like postage and printing), etc.
Usually, food is 19cents per pound to us. Some foods are less expensive, and on occasion, there will be some free items. Sometimes, food the foodbank has to purchase to fill in nutritional gaps is more expensive to us (think wholesale pricing).
There are some great things about using a foodbank, not the least of which is that we can get a lot of food inexpensively.
There are some drawbacks. Selection and quality are variable and unreliable. Long trainings are required, and only a limited number of shoppers are allowed per agency, so a small number of us shoulder the burden of shopping. Shopping trips require a regular appointment (which is hard when our shoppers all have different schedules). Shopping, loading the van, unloading the van, hauling the food into the pantry, cleaning it, and putting it all away is a long day's work. We invest a lot of time into obtaining food from the foodbank, which is time we can't invest in other areas of ministry.
4. Food Rescue
We literally save food from the garbage. We have just really gotten into this over the past year, but I know some agencies do this to a much larger extent.
I have a neighbor who volunteers at a local school lunchroom, and rescues unopened milks, yogurts, juices, etc. and brings them to me a few days per week.
We have a volunteer who is connected with another community volunteer in bread rescue. The community volunteer goes to a local commercial bakery 5 mornings per week to rescue bread overruns and distributes those to various agencies around town. Our volunteer get over 100 loaves of bread from him once per week.
We are also members of Food Donation Connection, which is a national organization focusing on food rescue. They work with a number of large chains. We specifically are partnered with a WaWa and a Chipotle. WaWa donates their leftover hot foods (breakfast sandwiches, hot dogs, pretzels, hashbrowns, etc.) Instead of throwing them away at the end of the time they are allowed to keep them hot, they deep freeze them. We pick up 4 days per week and distribute the items frozen. This usually fills one large upright freezer each week. Most weeks we receive about 400 food items. We pick up from Chipotle 2 days per week, and receive their leftover meats from the past 2 days, which have been bagged and labelled for us. We get anywhere from 10-20 pounds of meat a week this way.
Food rescue is awesome. Food Donation Connection provides online and printed training, which makes life easy. We pick up in insulated bags, which they provide, and are required to sign for the donations online which is a simple process. It costs us nothing, saves waste, and provides a lot of food.
The biggest drawback is that it does require a lot of volunteer hours. I have a number of people going to 2 different locations on different days and times, and coordinating the effort does take a bit of work.
5. Purchasing retail
There are really two ways this works for us.
We have one volunteer who will scout for great sales and acquire cases of pantry staples this way.
We also will use the grocery store as an emergency back up to fill major holes in our inventory.
What does this mean for donors? Donate thoughtfully. Take the time to see how your local pantry sources food and how your donation can make the most impact. (See more tips for donors here.)
Does your pantry have innovative ways you keep food on the shelves? Leave a comment!
So, how does our pantry get food?
(I can only speak for how we do things. Other pantries are undoubtedly different, which may be determined by location, affiliation, and size among other factors.)
There are 5 primary ways we get food.
1. Regular direct donations
We are a church based pantry, so church members and community members who use our building drop donations off each week.
This is the area where we would most like to grow, but currently lack someone to organize the effort.
In a typical week, this is probably no more than 5% off the food we distribute.
2. Food Drives
This is when businesses, scout troops, community organizations, and church groups collect a large amount of food in a short period of time. We have even had children do food drives at birthday parties.
The majority of this happens for us during the months of November and December.
This past year, we were incredibly blessed by several large food drives. We had to expand into another storage room to accommodate the overflow, which was great. We have given that food away conservatively, knowing that we will not see such abundance again until next November. It is the first week of March, and we have now come to the end of our holiday donations.
I would loosely place one time corporate donations in this category as well. We had a volunteer organize a 4,000 pound donation from Campbell's soup for us last fall. It required a bit of leg work on our part in terms of getting a driver, a truck, and volunteers to unload a truck after midnight, but it was a great blessing. Half the donation was soup, and the other half was juice, juice drinks, and spaghetti sauce. We have been distributing food from this donation since November, and likely will make it through March before running out. This was really a once in a lifetime opportunity.
3. Foodbank
We are partners with the Central Virginia Foodbank, which is part of Feeding America.
Most of the year, we get around 50% - 75% of the food we distribute this way.
We pay a "shared maintenance fee" based on the amount of food we withdraw, as well as an annual membership fee. The foodbank uses these funds to pay for staff, utilities, facility costs, trucking, insurance, administrative fees (like postage and printing), etc.
Usually, food is 19cents per pound to us. Some foods are less expensive, and on occasion, there will be some free items. Sometimes, food the foodbank has to purchase to fill in nutritional gaps is more expensive to us (think wholesale pricing).
There are some great things about using a foodbank, not the least of which is that we can get a lot of food inexpensively.
There are some drawbacks. Selection and quality are variable and unreliable. Long trainings are required, and only a limited number of shoppers are allowed per agency, so a small number of us shoulder the burden of shopping. Shopping trips require a regular appointment (which is hard when our shoppers all have different schedules). Shopping, loading the van, unloading the van, hauling the food into the pantry, cleaning it, and putting it all away is a long day's work. We invest a lot of time into obtaining food from the foodbank, which is time we can't invest in other areas of ministry.
4. Food Rescue
We literally save food from the garbage. We have just really gotten into this over the past year, but I know some agencies do this to a much larger extent.
I have a neighbor who volunteers at a local school lunchroom, and rescues unopened milks, yogurts, juices, etc. and brings them to me a few days per week.
We have a volunteer who is connected with another community volunteer in bread rescue. The community volunteer goes to a local commercial bakery 5 mornings per week to rescue bread overruns and distributes those to various agencies around town. Our volunteer get over 100 loaves of bread from him once per week.
We are also members of Food Donation Connection, which is a national organization focusing on food rescue. They work with a number of large chains. We specifically are partnered with a WaWa and a Chipotle. WaWa donates their leftover hot foods (breakfast sandwiches, hot dogs, pretzels, hashbrowns, etc.) Instead of throwing them away at the end of the time they are allowed to keep them hot, they deep freeze them. We pick up 4 days per week and distribute the items frozen. This usually fills one large upright freezer each week. Most weeks we receive about 400 food items. We pick up from Chipotle 2 days per week, and receive their leftover meats from the past 2 days, which have been bagged and labelled for us. We get anywhere from 10-20 pounds of meat a week this way.
Food rescue is awesome. Food Donation Connection provides online and printed training, which makes life easy. We pick up in insulated bags, which they provide, and are required to sign for the donations online which is a simple process. It costs us nothing, saves waste, and provides a lot of food.
The biggest drawback is that it does require a lot of volunteer hours. I have a number of people going to 2 different locations on different days and times, and coordinating the effort does take a bit of work.
5. Purchasing retail
There are really two ways this works for us.
We have one volunteer who will scout for great sales and acquire cases of pantry staples this way.
We also will use the grocery store as an emergency back up to fill major holes in our inventory.
What does this mean for donors? Donate thoughtfully. Take the time to see how your local pantry sources food and how your donation can make the most impact. (See more tips for donors here.)
Does your pantry have innovative ways you keep food on the shelves? Leave a comment!
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Food Pantry Utopia
Pretty soon, I will return this blog to the practical information some of you are looking for. (I actually have a post in the works about how we source our food. Stay tuned for that.)
Lately, however, I have had to contemplate what our pantry should look. We are in the midst of restructuring our leadership team. Mainly, I am trying to farm out chunks of the jobs my partner and I do to lessen our time commitments. When we started this endeavor, we were serving less than 10 families each week. We are now averaging close to 40 every week, and we've been on a upswing since October. So, in the name of sustainable ministry and sustainable personal commitments, we are restructuring.
Today, as I was thinking over possible ways to divide the labor, I realized how little time is actually currently spent doing what we need to be doing. Honestly, the typical volunteer led pantry such as ours simply does not have enough time, or enough committed and trained volunteers, to make such a vision happen.
Our time is largely spent in food acquisition, volunteer recruitment and retention, and administration. We carve out what time we can for relationship building, but there just isn't enough time to do it adequately.
In an ideal food pantry, here's what I would like to see:
Paid leadership
We are human. Unpaid ministry is distinct calling and a spiritual discipline. It is also very hard to maintain and easy to walk away from. Paying at least one full time ministry leader, if not also one or two part time support staff members, will help keep leadership consistent. People won't leave for need of money, and they will also have a better sense of their value, authority, and leadership. These attributes will help with some of the tougher stuff when it comes to counseling and advocacy. (And speaking of the tough stuff, if you pay someone to lead a ministry, you also can be more highly selective in finding a leader. You can expect certain skills and a level of education and experience to make these things happen.)
This wouldn't necessarily be a full time food pantry focused position, but perhaps a community minister, neighborhood advocate, or some other more encompassing position.
Relationship Building
Our pantry works in this arena, but certainly has much room to improve.
Learning why someone is coming to the pantry, and understanding root causes, is the first step in moving them out of the system and into a more sustainable place.
Focused Individual Development
Once root causes are determined, have resources in place to help someone turn their situation around. There is no one size fits all program. It might include financial counseling, job skills training, nutritional counselling, life skill coaching, etc.. It might involve some personal and spiritual counseling to help face the brokenness that lots of people we meet carry around, and that gets in their way of moving forward.
While your paid leader should be expected to have expertise in one or more of these areas to make this happen, they can't do it all. Meaningful connections with professionals and experts are needed.
Volunteer and Job Opportunities
This is a natural extension of focused individual development. Once someone is known, finding their place in making the system work is key. If there are paid assistant jobs, trying to fill them with those who came through the pantry is ideal.
Eventually, your team should be filled out with a variety of current and former food pantry recipients.
Not only do they bring a different perspective to the process, but the appreciate the importance of keeping things going. For those who need it, this also offers a chance for some skill development and resume building.
A couple of our key volunteers are also food recipients. The best part of this is that they not only understand the system a different way, but know some of the people in line from a different angle. They can help us catch things (both good and bad) that we might otherwise miss.
Advocacy
If someone comes to a pantry, it's a flag to deeper issues.
Focused individual development will address those issues which are personal.
However, there are many causes which are societal. For most people, there will be a combination of these two things, though the balance between the two may be different.
If you see patterns of issues that affect multiple guests, it's time organize with them and act.
Is there a lack of public transportation, keeping people from reaching better paying jobs? Create a group of those affected and work together to advocate for change.
Is there one employer from whom you see many pantry guests? Can you help gather employees along with a representative from your agency to talk to management and negotiate better wages?
Personally, right now my gut is telling me that our SSDI system has some deep systemic problems that are keeping people in poverty. I have neither the skills nor time to address this. Higher level government advocacy and problem solving are sometimes needed.
Ongoing connection
The goal is to work with people so they can move out of this system, but it isn't to kick them out of the door so you never see them again. If the relationship building part worked well, both sides will be invested enough to want to stay in relationship.
This is going to look different for every person. Perhaps they will speak to groups about their experience. Perhaps they will work with you in administration. They may want to lead food drives at their place of business. They might just want to meet you for a monthly cup of coffee, or be Facebook friends, or have an occasional phone chat.
Not only is this great for the individuals involved, but it also builds a large network of folks who care about your ministry and who might be available to help the next person along.
It would be a big, messy system that wouldn't fit neatly in anyone's box. It would need to be led with flexibility, discernment, and wisdom.
For now, trying to lay a sustainable and balanced foundation is going to have to suffice for us.
Lately, however, I have had to contemplate what our pantry should look. We are in the midst of restructuring our leadership team. Mainly, I am trying to farm out chunks of the jobs my partner and I do to lessen our time commitments. When we started this endeavor, we were serving less than 10 families each week. We are now averaging close to 40 every week, and we've been on a upswing since October. So, in the name of sustainable ministry and sustainable personal commitments, we are restructuring.
Today, as I was thinking over possible ways to divide the labor, I realized how little time is actually currently spent doing what we need to be doing. Honestly, the typical volunteer led pantry such as ours simply does not have enough time, or enough committed and trained volunteers, to make such a vision happen.
Our time is largely spent in food acquisition, volunteer recruitment and retention, and administration. We carve out what time we can for relationship building, but there just isn't enough time to do it adequately.
In an ideal food pantry, here's what I would like to see:
Paid leadership
We are human. Unpaid ministry is distinct calling and a spiritual discipline. It is also very hard to maintain and easy to walk away from. Paying at least one full time ministry leader, if not also one or two part time support staff members, will help keep leadership consistent. People won't leave for need of money, and they will also have a better sense of their value, authority, and leadership. These attributes will help with some of the tougher stuff when it comes to counseling and advocacy. (And speaking of the tough stuff, if you pay someone to lead a ministry, you also can be more highly selective in finding a leader. You can expect certain skills and a level of education and experience to make these things happen.)
This wouldn't necessarily be a full time food pantry focused position, but perhaps a community minister, neighborhood advocate, or some other more encompassing position.
Relationship Building
Our pantry works in this arena, but certainly has much room to improve.
Learning why someone is coming to the pantry, and understanding root causes, is the first step in moving them out of the system and into a more sustainable place.
Focused Individual Development
Once root causes are determined, have resources in place to help someone turn their situation around. There is no one size fits all program. It might include financial counseling, job skills training, nutritional counselling, life skill coaching, etc.. It might involve some personal and spiritual counseling to help face the brokenness that lots of people we meet carry around, and that gets in their way of moving forward.
While your paid leader should be expected to have expertise in one or more of these areas to make this happen, they can't do it all. Meaningful connections with professionals and experts are needed.
Volunteer and Job Opportunities
This is a natural extension of focused individual development. Once someone is known, finding their place in making the system work is key. If there are paid assistant jobs, trying to fill them with those who came through the pantry is ideal.
Eventually, your team should be filled out with a variety of current and former food pantry recipients.
Not only do they bring a different perspective to the process, but the appreciate the importance of keeping things going. For those who need it, this also offers a chance for some skill development and resume building.
A couple of our key volunteers are also food recipients. The best part of this is that they not only understand the system a different way, but know some of the people in line from a different angle. They can help us catch things (both good and bad) that we might otherwise miss.
Advocacy
If someone comes to a pantry, it's a flag to deeper issues.
Focused individual development will address those issues which are personal.
However, there are many causes which are societal. For most people, there will be a combination of these two things, though the balance between the two may be different.
If you see patterns of issues that affect multiple guests, it's time organize with them and act.
Is there a lack of public transportation, keeping people from reaching better paying jobs? Create a group of those affected and work together to advocate for change.
Is there one employer from whom you see many pantry guests? Can you help gather employees along with a representative from your agency to talk to management and negotiate better wages?
Personally, right now my gut is telling me that our SSDI system has some deep systemic problems that are keeping people in poverty. I have neither the skills nor time to address this. Higher level government advocacy and problem solving are sometimes needed.
Ongoing connection
The goal is to work with people so they can move out of this system, but it isn't to kick them out of the door so you never see them again. If the relationship building part worked well, both sides will be invested enough to want to stay in relationship.
This is going to look different for every person. Perhaps they will speak to groups about their experience. Perhaps they will work with you in administration. They may want to lead food drives at their place of business. They might just want to meet you for a monthly cup of coffee, or be Facebook friends, or have an occasional phone chat.
Not only is this great for the individuals involved, but it also builds a large network of folks who care about your ministry and who might be available to help the next person along.
It would be a big, messy system that wouldn't fit neatly in anyone's box. It would need to be led with flexibility, discernment, and wisdom.
For now, trying to lay a sustainable and balanced foundation is going to have to suffice for us.
Monday, January 12, 2015
I live here too.
Back in November, a young man came to my door soliciting sales for a home improvement company. I normally get irritated by door-to-door solicitors, particularly since I seem to get one from this company "doing work in my neighborhood" on a regular basis. But he was friendly, so I stood on the porch to chat for a few minutes.
He was trying to make enough money doing this job to get his son everything he asked for for Christmas. He was so proud of his son for doing well in school, and thought he deserved the gifts. He also wanted his son to see his dad working hard like this so he might make different choices and do better for himself. He talked about how no matter what, God is good, and it was all going to work out fine.
I told him that honestly, as much as we might need it, home repairs just weren't in our budget. I told him that if I won the lottery I would totally give him a call to set up an appointment.
"I live here too," he said with a nod.
He didn't mean he lives in my neighborhood, or even in my part of town. What he was saying, in direct and simple eloquence was "I get it. Me too." In that one simple phrase, there was just a beautiful us-ness.
I live here too.
He gave me a great way of re-framing a ministry problem I have been grappling with for awhile now.
For the past couple of years I have been learning about asset based community development and Christian community development. I have read books such as Toxic Charity and When Helping Hurts
(If you want to learn more, I highly recommend checking out Wendy McCaig's blog and Aaron Lee's series on Toxic Charity.)
These ideas excite me. They make so much sense!
And yet....they don't exactly fit our ministry model and the population with whom we work.
You know that pair of jeans in your closet that you just can't get rid of? They look good on the hanger, they're soft, they would look great with your favorite sweater. Except when you put them on, they aren't quite right. They kind of fit, and they kind of don't. A belt helps, but something about them bugs you every time you put them on.
That's the way I feel about abcd and our ministry. I've tried to make it fit. I want it to fit. It doesn't quite.
Community development is centered around people who are geographically close. Community (at least in one sense here) is a physical concept.
Our food pantry and related ministries serve a suburban population. Many people who come to us are the only person on their block or in their neighborhood in financial need. Some live in low income pockets clumped together, while others live in affluent areas where they are still living in the same house they had since before the bottom fell out. Some people we see are seniors living in assisted living homes. We've had a few people living in cars, hotels, on friends couches. They are not bound by geography the way traditional community development sees it.
A movement within community development is "moving into the neighborhood." Instead of driving from your home in place "x" to "y" every day to work with a community from afar, you move in and become a neighbor. You develop the "us" by becoming geographically close so you can understand each other, and this community, better.
But how do I move into a neighborhood when there isn't one? Where would I move to be closer to the people I work with? Some of them already live in my neighborhood, but many others don't.
I live here too.
Such a simple concept. A place to start.
The neighborhood we inhabit with those we work with is more than geography.
For those of us in suburban ministry, we need to be willing to metaphorically move into the neighborhood. We might need to sacrifice our material comfort (which frankly should be easy for many of us since pantry leaders tend to work for free). Our choices might need to look more like the choices our neighbors in need make than the ones our more affluent neighbors make. It might affect our home, or clothes, our car, our vacations. We might need to reexamine our material priorities.
We need to not only get to know those we work with personally, but invite them to labor alongside of us. We need to break bread together. We need to share information and resources with each other. We need to develop a different type of community while also nurturing individual development.
If you work in suburban ministry, I would love to hear from you about how this looks in your neighborhood. Leave a comment and lets start a conversation.
He was trying to make enough money doing this job to get his son everything he asked for for Christmas. He was so proud of his son for doing well in school, and thought he deserved the gifts. He also wanted his son to see his dad working hard like this so he might make different choices and do better for himself. He talked about how no matter what, God is good, and it was all going to work out fine.
I told him that honestly, as much as we might need it, home repairs just weren't in our budget. I told him that if I won the lottery I would totally give him a call to set up an appointment.
"I live here too," he said with a nod.
He didn't mean he lives in my neighborhood, or even in my part of town. What he was saying, in direct and simple eloquence was "I get it. Me too." In that one simple phrase, there was just a beautiful us-ness.
I live here too.
He gave me a great way of re-framing a ministry problem I have been grappling with for awhile now.
For the past couple of years I have been learning about asset based community development and Christian community development. I have read books such as Toxic Charity and When Helping Hurts
(If you want to learn more, I highly recommend checking out Wendy McCaig's blog and Aaron Lee's series on Toxic Charity.)
These ideas excite me. They make so much sense!
And yet....they don't exactly fit our ministry model and the population with whom we work.
You know that pair of jeans in your closet that you just can't get rid of? They look good on the hanger, they're soft, they would look great with your favorite sweater. Except when you put them on, they aren't quite right. They kind of fit, and they kind of don't. A belt helps, but something about them bugs you every time you put them on.
That's the way I feel about abcd and our ministry. I've tried to make it fit. I want it to fit. It doesn't quite.
Community development is centered around people who are geographically close. Community (at least in one sense here) is a physical concept.
Our food pantry and related ministries serve a suburban population. Many people who come to us are the only person on their block or in their neighborhood in financial need. Some live in low income pockets clumped together, while others live in affluent areas where they are still living in the same house they had since before the bottom fell out. Some people we see are seniors living in assisted living homes. We've had a few people living in cars, hotels, on friends couches. They are not bound by geography the way traditional community development sees it.
A movement within community development is "moving into the neighborhood." Instead of driving from your home in place "x" to "y" every day to work with a community from afar, you move in and become a neighbor. You develop the "us" by becoming geographically close so you can understand each other, and this community, better.
But how do I move into a neighborhood when there isn't one? Where would I move to be closer to the people I work with? Some of them already live in my neighborhood, but many others don't.
I live here too.
Such a simple concept. A place to start.
The neighborhood we inhabit with those we work with is more than geography.
For those of us in suburban ministry, we need to be willing to metaphorically move into the neighborhood. We might need to sacrifice our material comfort (which frankly should be easy for many of us since pantry leaders tend to work for free). Our choices might need to look more like the choices our neighbors in need make than the ones our more affluent neighbors make. It might affect our home, or clothes, our car, our vacations. We might need to reexamine our material priorities.
We need to not only get to know those we work with personally, but invite them to labor alongside of us. We need to break bread together. We need to share information and resources with each other. We need to develop a different type of community while also nurturing individual development.
If you work in suburban ministry, I would love to hear from you about how this looks in your neighborhood. Leave a comment and lets start a conversation.
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