Woodstock Pantry News Brief January 30

At Woodstock Pantry, we track both the number of households and the individuals we serve. This weekend, we served 118 households and 271 people. Friday, our Distribution team ran the entire two hours, without a break. Saturday, I went to church early to make more bags so that we wouldn’t run out of food. Good thing, as we needed them.

This weekend, we also hosted the Point-in-Time Count for people who are unhoused. The data generated will inform future policy and practice regarding services and support for people who are unhoused. So today, housing and food insecurity are on my mind.

Homelessness and Hunger

The issues of homelessness and hunger are complex and seemingly intractable. In so many ways, they are bigger than any of us. It’s hard to even comprehend the many interrelated and multidimensional aspects of the issues, much less determine appropriate solutions. Certainly, there is no such thing as a single solution. We call messy issues like these Wicked Problems. Ironically, it takes an extremely well-informed person just to recognize that they can’t even understand the problem.

Now, let’s bring all that theory home. Recall what we learned about our neighbors from the 1/22/23 E News Brief:

• 86% of our neighbors are housed.
• 71% rely on retirement and disability payments or are working.
• 66% are ≥45 years old.

Our neighbors are living on the edge. And, next month, the Federal Emergency SNAP Allotments will end.

In the midst of all this, here we stand, with a bag of groceries in our hands. It feels such a paltry weapon against such a leviathan.

This crisis affects our entire community, regardless of whether we are housing/food secure or insecure. And, with the next assault on our neighbors looming on the horizon, it would be easy to dissolve into despair. In fact, sometimes I feel the weight of it all pressing the wind out of my lungs and the tears from my eyes.

It is our choice how we will respond to the wicked problems of hunger and homelessness.

But know that should we choose to take a stand, we have at least two things in our favor. We have what is called Active Agency, i.e., the ability to take action. And, we have each other, i.e., community.

Think about the work you do in the pantry. Alone, you could never move 3,000 lbs. of food from OFB to people’s cars. And, without your particular contribution, we couldn’t get the food to our neighbors. Your contribution, no matter what it is, is absolutely essential to feeding our neighbors.

And this brings me to community. The more we develop our community, the deeper and broader our collective capacity to respond to crisis will grow. Together, we move 3,000 lbs. of food to people’s tables, every week.

Now, here’s another tidbit. Woodstock Pantry volunteers have recently moved to another level of excellence. I am witnessing crackerjack teams on every single shift perform their work with care and expertise, and in collaboration with each other. It is amazing to witness!You are living proof that when we act together, only our imagination can limit our potential! So, what can we do now, against this leviathan?

We are challenged to step up our game to create a place and space where neighbors care for each other. Here are three immediate strategies we can implement.

• Starting this week, we will make and serve more grocery bags.
• We will collaborate with our many community partners.
• And we can educate ourselves to understand the wicked problems of hunger and homelessness more fully.

To that end, there are a lot of myths out there about homelessness. We all have been exposed to them. Here’s an article from Oregon Food Bank. Which of these myths have you heard?

Hot Meals Indoor Dining Relaunch

We officially relaunch indoor dining for our Hot Meals program next Saturday. If you are interested in joining a Saturday Hot Meals team, please contact me right away. Kristen Magis (503) 559-7726 or [email protected]

News from the Shifts

Receiving – This weekend, we moved 2,651 lbs. of food. Less food was available from OFB this week, so we are still working to restock the pantry. Receiving is great for those who like to lift and carry food and get a workout!

Packing – We had a full team this weekend, who finished their work and new tasks with precision and laughter! This team is perfect for folks who don’t do heavy lifting and who like a bit slower pace. The shift usually is full.

Distribution – Our distribution teams took me up on the challenge to meet two of our neighbors while serving. It was amazing to witness volunteers taking time to say ‘hi’ and get to know our neighbors! Distribution is fast-paced and requires that team members work tightly in sync with each other. It is also the shift wherein we have the closest contact with our neighbors, so customer service is the name of the game! We always need volunteers for these shifts.

It Takes A Community and We Are It!