Rachel Brougham: Don't judge until you fully understand
Generalizations are easy to make.
They should get a job. They should stop being lazy. They should stop looking for handouts. They should grab themselves by the bootstraps.
But sometimes the bootstraps are frayed. Sometimes there are no bootstraps.
Volunteers at Northern Michigan food pantries and soup kitchens will tell you they see some of the same faces each week. These are people who work hard but just aren’t able to make ends meet for a variety of reasons. Some are on disability. Others work multiple jobs but still don’t have enough to put food on their table. Maybe they have to decide between child care, medication and food. They’re thankful for whatever they are given. Those who need help don’t want to need help, but they do.
And when these familiar faces don’t show up, volunteers worry about them.
In 2020, the Manna Food Project, which covers Antrim, Charlevoix and Emmet counties distributed more than 1.5 million pounds of food throughout the tri-county area. More than 250 volunteers worked with the organization’s small staff to put food on the table for hundreds of families.
In addition, the organization continued to work with school coordinators to ensure each child in need received a backpack full of food each weekend. Many of these kids only get meals at school and the backpacks serve as a way to make sure they don’t go hungry over the weekend.
And as the weather gets colder, Manna and other food pantries such as Brother Dan’s in Petoskey, often see their numbers rise thanks to seasonal layoffs, higher heating bills and car troubles that take away from money that would otherwise be spent on food.
More than 1.2 million people in Michigan receive federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits through the state's Food Assistance Program. Here in the First Congressional District, more than 31,000 households receive these benefits, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. That number includes more than 37 percent of households with one or more people over 60 years of age, more than 35 percent with children under 18 and 53 percent with at least one disabled individual.
The majority of people who use government subsidy programs don’t want to be dependent on the government. People don’t choose to struggle to provide for themselves and their family. People don’t want to live in poverty or go hungry. They don’t choose to be referred to as lazy or looking for handouts.
Many of our neighbors need a bit of help this holiday season and throughout the year. If a team is only as strong as its weakest player, the same can be said for a community.
If you can this holiday season, donate. Donate generously if you can. Donate year round if possible.
And for anyone out there making generalizations about those in need, there’s plenty of food pantries and soup kitchens that could probably use another volunteer. And after a day of your time, don’t be surprised if you change your tune.
— Rachel Brougham is the former assistant editor of the Petoskey News-Review. You can email her at racheldborugham@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Rachel Brougham: Don't judge until you fully understand
