Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Cafeteria Tales: Have you ever been hungry?


I can still remember the beige colored lunch trays that our small town school cafeteria used, and that there was a fresh baked roll for each child every day. You could smell bread baking during morning recess! I remember being teased at lunchtime because I liked spinach (“Ewwww. Debbie likes frog guts!!!”) and that a lot of kids hid food they didn’t like in their empty milk cartons so the lunch lady would think they’d cleaned their trays enough to be excused for recess. I remember standing in line trying to hide my pink lunch ticket in my little hands, hoping no one would notice the color that would reveal I was on the free lunch program.

I also remember a skinny little boy that the kids called “Caveman” because of the way he ate. I think his name was Charles, and even if it wasn’t that’s what I’m going to call him in this post.

I sat across the table from Charles a few times and it was never pleasant. He would plop his tray down and dig in. And I mean, literally dig in. He ate with his hands and shoved food in his mouth as fast as he could. He ate like a caveman, hence the nickname.

It wasn’t until years later when I recalled him to a friend in conversation that I realized he was probably really hungry. Could that have been the reason he couldn’t wait to sit down? Could that have been why he ate with such desperation and gusto and even ate his spinach? I bet it was.

The realization that Charles most likely ate that way because he was super hungry made me ache for him. He probably had a pink lunch ticket too, but that lunch might have been his only meal of the day. And to make things even more hurtful, his school mates called him Caveman.

There were times during my childhood when my mom had a tough time making ends meet, but there was never a time – never – that I remember being hungry. {Thanks so much for that, Mom!}

You know how sometimes it seems like all of a sudden you keep coming across information about a particular subject over and over and over? That's how I've been lately where hunger is concerned. My friend Audrey recently told me about a live Owl Cam and I've been obsessed with watching these baby owls and their mother. One day while I was watching, I scrolled down on the website and noticed that the family whose house happens to be the owl's nesting place is promoting "Give a Hoot About Hunger" - a campaign in Oklahoma that raises awareness about hunger and collects donations for a local food bank.

I Googled "Hunger Statistics in Arizona" and was shocked and saddened by what I found - that Arizona's hunger rates are higher than the national average - 19.1% of Arizonans are food insecure, compared to 16.4% nationally, and  29.9% of Arizonan children face hunger, compared to 22.4% nationally. Right in my own backyard! Oh sure, I donate a few canned items during the holidays, but nothing for the rest of the year. I felt so ashamed I clicked the button and made a monetary donation.

How could I continue to do nothing now that I know the facts?
Do you know the hunger statistics on your piece of the planet?
How can you help?

12 comments:

helena said...

no hunger stats for Scotland - politicians are arguing about the real extent of food poverty. I donate to a local foodbank regularly. In NZ there was a donation box at he supermarket so I bought something for it every week - usually peanut butter

Susi said...

I do not know them but I will check them out. I do donate every now and again. I also pay it forward from time to time. I'm sure its not enough though.

scrappyjacky said...

I don't know the statistics....but I do know that over the last few years 'food banks' have sprung up all over our country....and even our local supermarkets donate to them....and have boxes for customers to donate tins into. My local W.I. collects food at each meeting to donate.

Sian said...

Jacky has said what I was about to say too. Food banks are a new thing here and that's a shock - with our Welfare State we shouldn't need them. But they are well used..

Ruth said...

Food Bank usage in the UK has risen 170% in the last 12 months. My uncle runs one in my home town and according to an article in the Financial Times recently, it's the 2nd most used one in the country.
Jacky is right when she says UK supermarkets are involved ~ you donate and they add 15%.
You can read more about UK Food banks (vis the Trussell Trust here:
http://www.trusselltrust.org/
It really is quite shocking that citizens of First World countries know real hunger.

Karen said...

I've been working at a mobile food bank for the last 10 months. We provide food to over 100 individuals every week. I'm also on a Dining Room Ministry team. Our church provides a hot lunch every Saturday to whoever comes, and we provide shelter and meals to homeless families on rotation with other congregations. Hunger is a real problem in Rochester. In the inner city there are no major grocery stores. The result of that is people pay way more money for fresh produce/meat/staples than I do at a large market, so they opt for fast food instead because it's less expensive. The poverty rate in Rochester is one of the highest in the state.

Amy said...

As I started reading I thought I was going to comment about how we don't have cafeterias in our schools ... but where you ended is a cultural difference that I can relate to. We have Food Banks here too and years ago I worked in a Community Health Centre and it was only then that I realised how extensively they are used and relied upon.

Fiona@Staring at the Sea said...

Others have already said much of what I had to say about food banks and hunger/child poverty in the UK. Instead I'll say that we didn't have a cafeteria at primary school. There was a choice of bringing your own packed lunch (which I did, mostly) or having a hot school dinner. One option each day, no choices. There were a few children (in my very small village school) who would have had free meals, but at least they didn't have the embarrassment of a pink ticket and I don't think I was really aware of it at the time. We didn't have a lot of money when I was growing up, but I can honestly say I have never known hunger and am very thankful for that.

Miriam said...

The figures for my area are shocking and make me feel so sad. People shouldn't be hungry in my town in 2014 for goodness sake!' We have been at crisis point in the past so we are very generous with food and monetary donations now that we can be.

Good post Deb.

Margaret said...

What a wonderful and important post. I was on the free lunch program too. We had a white ticket. We never went hungry either. I remember liking the chicken fried steak.

Ginger said...

Our Governments keep cutting back on social programs, people are on wage freezes, yet the cost of living continues to rise. Food banks have been around for a long time here. You can purchase a premade food pack at the grocery store and put it into the box on your way out. Lots of entertainment functions (music festivals, organized runs etc.) will ask you to bring a donation. I try to do my part, but your mentioning it here makes me think I can do more!

Beverly said...

27% of children in North Carolina are hungry. Many of the elementary schools in our county participate in the Backpack Buddies. Local church's businesses etc adopt schools and provide nutritional shelf stable foods that go in a back pack. The children pick them up from usually the guidance counselor's office on Friday and return the empty pack on Monday. I can do so much more than I do but I do tend to preach to groups I am involved with that the homeless and hungry are with us year round not just November to December. http://www.nokidhungry.org/problem/hunger-facts

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