I just got back from Sunday Mass.
The staff had placed two tables between the main entrance and the worship space. The tables were 2/3 covered with canned goods and festooned with signs "If you are hungry, take what you need" and "Give what you can".
Note: Photos added to post later
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| I asked somebody at the church to take some photos and send them to me. |
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| Spaghetti sauce and cheeze-goo for pasta |
Our priest, in his closing remarks after the service said it was a stop-gap measure "for the duration".
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A judge (in Rhode Island IIRC) ruled that Trump's Administration had to release the $6 billion in United States Department of Agriculture emergency funds to fund SNAP benefits. That is approximately one month's worth of money burn-rate.
Meanwhile, US farmers are facing ghastly business conditions as prices for crops like soybeans and corn have fallen below the price of production, threatening to put them out of business.
I expect the Trump Administration to contest the judge's ruling if only on the basis of Separation of Powers. But it could also contest them on the basis of the necessity of protecting the actual producers of food and not just the consumers.
Everybody with a dog in this fight is running around like a chicken with its head cut off. I think the "...for the duration..." is the sanest approach. We will probably look through our pantry and find a few cans of food we can spare. And we will probably find a few extra dollars in our budget to buy a few cans as well.
Local is better than state which is better than Federal.
Note canned goods. No chips, sodas, or other junk food, and nothing with high enough value to sell for drug/booze/cigarette money either.
ReplyDeleteERJ, this came up at our service this morning as well. No definitive decision on who they would be partnering with, but decision forthcoming in a few days.
ReplyDeleteI was impressed by the low investment and labor involved in the endeavor. Nothing fancy.
DeleteNote: I got some pictures and added them to the post.
Like many, I've had less and more in my life. As a kid, we were definitely on the less side. Yet, mom made sure there was food on the table and food in the pantry for meals to come. An adult plans for their needs and the needs of those under their care. The grasshopper and the ant is a Biblical parable. Sympathy is hard to find.
ReplyDeleteI am also less than sympathetic except for little, old widows who have been screwed over by decades of inadequate SS cost of living adjustments.
DeleteBut the thing about a "moral code" is that it is worthless if it only commands us to do the things we would do on our own. That is, the value of a moral code is that it compels us to do what we don't want to do or what will make us uncomfortable.
So, looking at the last chapter of John, Jesus tells Peter to "...feed my sheep..." three times. He doesn't say "figuratively" or "spiritually" so I have to assume he means in every way we are capable.
Reconciling the commands in the Bible with "tough love" is a tricky path. That is what prayer is for.
Widows and orphans are worthy of extra consideration, as I understand the instruction manual.
DeleteAlways! And we're doing the same things down here.
ReplyDeleteCharity is what you are describing. Congregants giving freely of their own free will. Extorting it from citizenry at threat of violence or incarceration is a very different thing.
ReplyDeleteThis. This should replace EBT, period. When charity has no face, it provides Grace neither to the giver nor to the receiver.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that 6.666% of the people seeking free food would spontaneously combust if they entered a Christian church and the oily smoke would violate EPA standards.
DeleteThe rogue judges could order the communists in the senate to vote for the CR , and everything would be settled. But the communist judges want to make TRUMP look bad.
ReplyDeleteThats the ironic part I pointed out to my Son - the judge didn't sequester the congress and force them to find a solution, they saddled the executive branch - the one that does NOT control the budget, with the blame.
DeleteSo sick of congress not doing the one fucking job they have - pass a budget! They do continuing resolutions ad infinitum! Fuck those worthless pieces of shit! They should be fired and made to give their salaries back for non-performance!
What a fine idea! The Judicial coup could expand to rule the Legislative Branch by ordering the Senate to pass the CR and fix this whole problem. Nothing to it...power of the judges!!
DeleteA sane functional society would not have problems like this....but the last thing we are is sane and functional as a society. Like ALL government programs Food Stamps, which was created to be a temporary aid to a tiny portion of the poor, was rapidly morphed into an giant expensive tax suck intended to buy votes and enhance political power for unscrupulous politicians. Because of that reality the entire program needs to totally ended. And yes...there will be "collateral damage" from doing what is necessary.
ReplyDeleteDan writes Because of that reality the entire program needs to totally ended. And yes...there will be "collateral damage" from doing what is necessary.
Delete"collateral damage"
What a lovely phrase until it includes your mother, maybe grandparents, your children and so on.
Maybe your personally well off enough but that trip to the grocery store is apt to become "interesting" as carjackings for food becomes real HERE like it happens in Brazil and other areas in South America and Africa.
Again Dan, Most Heavily ARMED Citizens in the world.
We've already mentioned that plenty of the NON-13%ers are on this system and JOBS that actually pay enough to buy groceries, and such are not that common, and less so as robotics replace once "any JOE jobs".
Are they just going to lie down and starve Dan?
Or as I've seen in Bosnia the sweetest grandmother will be dangerous when her grandchildren cray that "I'M HUNGRY".
WE Need to wean them off EBT and such. We need to recreate that America that being "on the Dole" was something to be a bit ashamed of and JOBS that pay well enough that they can afford to raise kids.
No simple answers, fire and chaos from "collateral damage" is very likely to have EMS and such staying HOME to protect their families and THEN WHO Fixes the power grid damage?
Who is going to leave their homes to keep the sewage and water purification going, what TRUCKER is going to drive through rioting cities (where MOST Interstates GO THROUGH).
Nobody comes to fight that fire BEFORE it spreads through the woods to YOUR HOUSE.
And that Ambulance- Hospital system to treat you and yours from a "simple flu" that becomes a deadly pneumonia, broken ankles and violence.
Nobody Dan is that independent.
Our archbishop suggested we do a collection on food next weekend. Our parish will probably send ours to the local food bank as we are very rural. As far as weening people off EBT going back to paper stamps and only allowing real food too be purchased. No soda junk food etc. The new work requirements are a good idea.
ReplyDeleteAh, but even if the rules say no, there are ways. A common trick is to purchase laundry detergent with the EBT at a convenience store. Then you trade that laundry detergent back to that corner store for half the value in cigarettes and beer. The EBT recipients get their goodies and the store owner makes money. Win-win!
ReplyDeleteThis trade has been documented using the large Tide liquid dispensers, but canned goods work fine as well. If the stores aren't interested in trading, well, these folks will go around and see what they can get for cash from people in the area. I have seen it first hand. This is another reason why local is best, so that the charity is not wasted in this manner.
That is beautiful, ERJ. One thing that I have learned after converting to Catholicism is the idea of digging deeper. The pictures show what "Catholic Charities" ought to look like. Perhaps what they DID look like before funding from Uncle Sugar.
ReplyDeleteThis, done thousands and thousands of time across the fruited plains (like J.W. said) should replace the EBT.
God bless.
Milton
Several of the local churches here do a similar food drive, usually around thanksgiving. They will also accept food any time of the year. One or two local farms will donate end of season apples, potatoes, “ugly” vegetables that won’t sell. The Boy Scouts also do a collection and I think that goes to local food pantry. The next town over has a small donation pantry set up for seniors. As far as I know, it’s all donations, no government involved.
ReplyDeleteSouthern NH