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.