Feeding her people
In an interview a few weeks ago, WVU Professor of Social Work Carol Amendola spoke with me about an experiential learning class that she taught over the summer. Her section was the only one to actually go out in the field, and she said that “[they] could sit in class and talk about it all day,” but that her students wouldn’t fully understand until they went out and experienced what it was like to be a social worker.
I feel like that concept really applies to this class.
So, it’s midterm, and we’ve spent a great deal of time discussing food justice, the resources available and what food insecurity can look like. These discussions are great and insightful, but I definitely feel that I learned more from both the Baltimore and Morgantown trips.
Last weekend, we travelled to Gassaway, West Virginia, to visit the Mountaineer Food Bank. At the beginning of the two-and-a-half-hour long trip, I mentioned to Rayla that it was a great day for a drive. Unfortunately, the weather took a turn for the worst as we got closer to the food bank, but we didn’t let the rain damper our moods.
The Mountaineer Food Bank was much larger than I anticipated. A huge thanks goes out to Allyson Lewis, the food bank’s development coordinator, for the great tour she gave us. I got to experience the tour in what is arguably my favorite way to experience most things — from behind my camera.
I’m still learning how to do everything properly, but having a camera in my hands just feels right.
After we left the Mountaineer Food Bank, my group visited the Scott’s Run Settlement House, which is about 8 minutes away from the WVU Evansdale campus.
Deb Layman, the Settlement House’s case manager, gave us a tour of their food pantry.
The Settlement House, which was established in the early 1920s as — quite literally — a settlement house for immigrants, has just about anything a person could need. The main area of the pantry is large, filled almost completely with cereals, peanut butter, canned goods and backpacks full of food that are distributed to children.
The side area is smaller — about the size of my grandmother’s basement. This room contained more canned goods, as well as frozen meats and desserts. Beyond the stock of food, families can pick up diapers, personal hygiene products, dog food and even socks — which Deb joked about having strewn all over the floor of her office to pair up.
It was really great to speak with Deb, who grew up in Morgantown, and to see just how much she cared about the people in her community.
“I just want to feed my people.”
Deb had the entire pantry memorized. It was pretty amazing. She was able to tell us where a specific product was located, as well as what was next to it and even when it expired — all with her eyes closed. It was refreshing to see someone so excited to help.
She really made me think about what it means to be hungry, and what hungry looks like. Making a decent income doesn’t mean you aren’t in need of assistance.
You really don’t know what someone is going through. It’s not fair to judge a person’s situation based on the amount of money they make whether or not they have nice things. There are so many confounding variables that have to be taken into consideration.
So, what does it mean to be hungry in America? What does hungry look like? That’s what I want to get to the bottom of.
