Who Deserves to Eat?

Last week, a client told the staff at the pantry check-in that he hadn’t eaten in two days. He thanked everyone helping distribute food, and left with what was hopefully enough to sustain him until next week. Thankfully, most of our clients do not come to us in such great need. Incidents like this do, however, raise the question of how hungry someone should be to qualify for emergency food assistance.

I’ve had several conversations recently regarding the concern that people might abuse the food pantry by taking more food than they need or coming even when they can afford to buy their own. Because none of my pantries require identification or proof of income, anyone, regardless of need, can receive food.

I struggle to articulate a response to these concerns. My short answer is that if people care enough to get themselves to the pantry, who am I to judge if they really need food or not? My hope is that people aren’t already starving when they come, and that they are doing what it takes to keep their family well-fed even if that means taking a little more food than they need for later. Otherwise, how do you define how hungry people must be to qualify for help?

What I would like to tell skeptics is an incident from one of my first days working with the SUN food pantry program. I acted as a greeter at the front door for one of the pantries, welcoming people as they came in and explaining to new clients how the system works. I remember one woman fumbling with her shopping bags. Her hands shook so much she couldn’t get them open, and she didn’t look me in the eye. This was the first time she’d ever “needed help,” she told me in a tone of complete humiliation. She was embarrassed and frightened to be there, and I could tell that if she’d had any other options she would have taken them.

No one is proud to accept emergency food assistance, and I have little fear that anyone exploits this resource. My food pantries exist to help feed people with as little judgment and as much respect as possible, and I will never question anyone’s reason for being there.