How is this even vaguely funny? Here I was two short months later and I had signed up for the food pantry they ran. And had been running for quite some time as well. The Catholic Charities office had referred me and told me where to sign up. I would need to show them some ID and give my social security number. She didn’t recognize me when I signed up or at least didn’t give any sign if she did. Another client told me the woman is known for being less than helpful and shall we say not leaving her personal prejudices at home when she goes to work.
 So on Mondays I could now get a package of food. Anything helps, right? Well that is a yes and no situation. I would get there about fifteen minutes early and sign in on the clipboard on the door. From time to time this would be taken inside and the names checked and they would put some groceries in a box according to how they saw your needs. Sometimes that could be a little interesting! Anyway whenever they came to take the list they would call out the list of clients who were to either go in for an interview or to go on the other line to receive their food
 I went almost every week. I figured whatever little help this was it made my money stretch further. I preferred the days when I had a big (or so I thought) interview or had the chance to make a few contacts that might lead to a job or had some even just work for today. As necessary as I feel that aid with food and shelter are I also see that only part of the job is being done. In the end more importantly programs are needed that would help people to get themselves out of situations like mine or simply out of poverty. Most programs only maintain us where we are. Not to say those don’t have some use – while they are flawed, they are still better than the present idea of not providing any aid as an “incentive”. One might as well decide lifeguards at the beach relieve people of the personal “responsibility” of making sure they or their children don’t drown. In a way putting brakes on a car relieves one of the responsibility too. (Now, I will admit that analogy is stretching it a lot but I do it to further emphasize a point.)
 Eventually my name would be called and I would be told to go around to the other door to pick up my stuff. It always seemed so long waiting. True it never took less than an hour, a couple usually. Waiting to get the box would take another quarter to half an hour. Part of the delay seemed to be how many volunteers they had to do the work. When my name was called I would go in and sign that I was receiving aid there and they would pass me a box that had been filled according to a list based on my need and what they had. Often they had extra loaves of bread so I could get one or two which were always welcome! I had to make sure that none of the canned goods or soup mixes contained shrimp, as I am allergic to that and got gloriously ill from a soup mix that had shrimp as one of the ingredients. I spent the whole day being sick all over the place and the itch was awful.
 Not everything was useful to me. At first I didn’t have a can opener so canned goods were useless till I got one also anything that needed cooking was out. If you are homeless then you don’t have a kitchen. Anything perishable had to be eaten right away for obvious reasons though you will be surprised at what you will eat when you have no choice. I was.
 I made a list of what was in one box:
· 1 chocolate Jell-O pudding
· 1 instant plain oatmeal
· 2 hot cocoa mix packs (add hot water)
· 1, 5.5 oz. Pack Cheez-It “Heads and Tails” crackers
· 1 wheat bread (1 lb.)
· 1 5.5 oz. Ritz crackers
· 1 Chicken Ramen Noodle soup
· 1, 18 oz. Peanut butter (Crunchy)
· 1, 5 oz Chicken Vienna Fingers
· 1 microwave Hormel spaghetti and meat sauce
· 1 hotel bar sized soap and shampoo (both very necessary)
· 1, 2 oz. Fig Newtons pack
· 1, 16oz. Cranberry Diet Snapple
· 1, 3 oz. Libby’s Potted Meat Product
· 1, 5.5 oz Campbell’s Tomato Juice
· 1, 1 oz. Slim-Fast Snack Bar
· 1, 2.3 oz. Brownie
· 2 herbal tea bags with 2 creamers and 2 packs of sugar
· 1 can of Ensure
         Not necessarily a list that speaks of being picked by a nutritionist but then they are doing the best they can with what they are given. Also it shows how little they know about what it is you need and can use when you are homeless. Often they gave me items that had to be cooked like rice or packs of spaghetti. These needed cooking and were useless to me. Sometimes I would be able to trade them for a can of vegetables or a soup like chicken noodle which I could eat cold right out of the can. As much as I love tomato soup I found it absolutely abhorrent straight from a can unheated and still condensed! A couple of cans of tuna would be great and I could have one at night on bread.
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