My visit to the Greater Pittsburgh Foodbank

I am not a food blogger nor even a foodie although I love food and one of my co-workers said I was a food snob. One of the things about my childhood that I will say was good fortune was that I grew up in the country where my maternal grandparents had a huge garden. My grandpa McCullough grew corn, potatoes, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, beets, peas, green beans, strawberries, basically you name it. We used to pick peas right off the vine and eat them. My grandma made the absolute best peach pie and apple pie. We got our meat from local farmers. We ate well.

I am still lucky in that I have a job that permits me to visit the farmer's market where I can buy vegetables and fresh fruit  Many people in Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas are not so fortunate. On Thursday, September 8, 2011 I was invited to a blogmob (actually Sue set it up) at the Foodbank. I witnessed a Produce to the People distribution. That night the Foodbank would serve 300 plus families providing them with produce as well as canned goods. The Foodbank had a pretty impressive setup. People came into the front, signed in and waited in line for food. We were there to promote the Pittsburgh Tote Bag Project which aims to provide Foodbank consumers with tote bags they can use to carry their food.

The Foodbank building is an impressive structure that houses enormous freezers as well as huge rooms where food is stacked floor to ceiling. The Foodbank receives food from stores such as Giant Eagle, directly from producers, from local farms, the US government and also purchases about 40% of their food. The Foodbank serves 120,000 people a month throughout eleven counties. The number is growing thanks to a poor economy and a relentless push by the right-wing Republicans to eradicate anything resembling a middle class. The Pittsburgh Foundation was there and they interviewed me to ask me what could be done to reduce hunger. Being the leftist pinko that I am, I said more better paying jobs where people can actually make a living. Jesus said the poor will always be with us but there is no excuse for thousands of people -- including a fair amount of children (30% ) -- to go hungry. Can you imagine what that must be like? And in the "greatest country in the world?"  

I am, we all are (unless you're Donald Trump or Jay Z) a disaster away from a visit to the Foodbank. Something to remember. Many of the people receiving food from the Foodbank are working either full or part time. So much for the conceit that only lazy people who don't want to work get their food from the Foodbank. Lyndon Johnson tried to address poverty and hunger with his War on Poverty in the 1960"s. Despite his efforts, forty years later, unfortunately, the poor are still with us and growing.

Goodbye summer of 2011

It's a Saturday night, the last one before Labor Day. I am sitting here listening to a stream of Wilco's new album/CD (yes, they are making albums again). The album is called "The Whole Love." I discovered Wilco quite some time ago, probably through WYEP and I like them. Their last few albums haven't been critic darlings but I bought them and enjoy listening to them. When I find a group I like I can be loyal to a fault although some of the CDs/albums the critics have hated have been some of my favorite ones. Having said that, I will probably pass on the new Red Hot Chili Peppers CD because no one seems to think it is any good and ocassionally listening to crtics can be a smart thing to do.

Sue and I saw The Debt with Helen Mirren tonight and it was great. Very suspenseful. The critic at the Post-Gazette didn't like the ending, but again, I diverge from a critic because I liked the ending.   A movie very much worth seeing although sixty some years after the end of World War II I wonder how much more mileage they are going to be able to get from the Nazis. A lot I guess.

This summer I had to put my Tabby cat, named Tabby, to sleep because she stopped eating. She was 19. Guess my blog isn't really properly named now. I am losing my beloved pets from my past life, post law school, pre city of pittsburgh. It's like losing a part of your past. I miss her and now I have a little bag of ashes in my dresser drawer next to Ming, my first cat.

I haven't blogged in awhile. I guess this summer has kept me busy and yet I'm not sure where it went. Technically we have two or three more weeks of summer left, but Labor Day always seems like the end of summer to me. And it got hot again and I'm storing up the heat because I like to be hot and I know the freezing cold is coming.

Tonight was my high school class reunion of thirty years. Doesn't seem possible but I'm a few years shy of 50, the "mid point" of your life, although not really. Unless I live to be 100 which I'm not counting on and don't know that I would want to. I watched my grandparents decline and it wasn't pretty. But getting back to the reunion. Obviously I didn't go. I wasn't sure I wanted to see most of the people that would be there. I have connected on Facebook with some of my former classmates. I think that's enough, although I did ask myself if holding grudges and ill feelings for thirty years is really productive. And the answer is no. At some point we all have to let go of the past and our grudges and ill feelings.  A very hard lesson to learn but I'm trying. Maybe I'll go to the thirty-fifth if I'm still around.

Not sure what this fall will bring me. Last fall was pretty rocky. Although I usually like the fall. So hopefully it will be better. There are a lot of good albums coming out after what seemed like a long summer drought. And tv is coming back with some promising shows. Some good movies coming out too. So guess I will kiss summer goodbye and try to embrace the new season. And football is back and Penn State won. (I also have to admit that I do like professional football and watch it despite the violence and homophobia).

This new Wilco album sounds good. I have only heard it through once but I liked what I heard. Maybe I can be a rock musician in my next life.

Well, it's 1230 am. New day. New possibilities. Time to go to bed.