Benefiting Each Other

by Glenn C. Koenig, Webmaster at Town Wide Mall

Note:  This story is a bit unusual, in that I am reporting on an activity that I initiated myself.

Maynard, MA - On two different mornings over the past week, I have offered to buy breakfast for people in need, while SNAP benefits were cut off.  This Saturday, November 15th, I will again be at The Boston Bean House, starting around 9:30 AM with the same offer, even though SNAP benefits have been restored, at least for now.

I personally have enough money in my informal fund to buy breakfast for six or seven people. But if other donors contribute, we can feed more.  This is all based on trust; there's no need to bring an EBT card.

Background

Back in late October, I started researching a story about the upcoming potential loss of SNAP benefits.  I postponed publishing that story because the situation kept changing too rapidly to create a cohesive report.  During my research, I began to wonder what alternatives there were besides people in need depending only on food pantries.  What if we could create a place for people to meet and brainstorm about other alternatives?  Perhaps people could come together to help each other directly, without an intermediary, such as the government or other organization.

My initial ideas seemed too complex. I wanted to try something simple right away.*  I decided to try an experiment.  On Saturday, November 8th, around 10 AM, I went to The Boston Bean House restaurant, here in Maynard, with a sign that said “Food Insecurity Network.”  I posted on Facebook that I would buy breakfast for the first five people who showed up with a SNAP EBT card.  At the suggestion of a friend, I changed the sign to read "Security" instead of "Insecurity."
(*See additional remarks at the end of the Commentary section, below)

The Experience

While standing in line waiting to order my own breakfast, I explained what I planned to do to the next person in line after me.  He thought it was such a good idea that he gave me an additional $20, so that I could pay for another meal, beyond the five I had planned.  After I sat down, later on, one person came in who had been receiving SNAP benefits so I gave him a twenty to buy himself and a family member breakfast.  I told him to keep the change, and he thanked me graciously.  He did not sit with me, but took his items to go in order to share part of what he had purchased with a family member back home.

Meanwhile, the response I got online was amazing.  Numerous people responded with supportive comments right away. On Tuesday morning, November 11th, I did much the same thing, but although another generous person contributed extra money to the cause, no one showed up to ask me to buy them breakfast.

What I’ve learned so far.

Part of the reason the turnout was so low was due to my having given such short notice. But I now understand that there might be another reason. A friend of mine who receives SNAP benefits told me that people in the program typically avoid entering restaurants because the cost of a single meal could deplete a significant portion of their monthly food budget.  This may have been a factor, even though I promised to pay for breakfast.

Challenges

Since doing this twice, I realized that there may be a few reasons why this may prove to be more difficult than I had expected. For people in need, there is likely a “shame” factor, where they are afraid of judgement from others if they come forward.  Our culture has traditionally emphasized self reliance, individual initiative, and toughing it out.  I want to work to change this so that asking for help or expressing vulnerability become more of a symbol of strength and confidence rather than of some kind of failure or lack of effort.

On the side of donors, there may be another issue.  Recently, I read a story about a photographer who visited a town in Appalachia repeatedly over a number of years, to document aspects of the lives of the people living there, now that the coal industry has declined.  The story told of numerous tragedies that the local people had endured, often related to their loss of livelihood.  My emotional reaction was a feeling of sympathy for people in despair, trying to live without housing, going hungry, children who had lost their parents being cared for by other relatives, etc.
I think we all have a limited capacity to listen to troubling stories.  Some of us may have empathy because we ourselves may have experienced similar conditions in the past, and yet bringing back old memories might be painful.  We may also fear that we ourselves could experience similar troubles on short notice and would rather not think about it.

As a result, we may have a tendency to separate ourselves from people in need to avoid facing these memories or fears.  This could be one reason we often depend on intermediaries, such as government programs or food pantries to help others - we can pay our taxes, or write a check, drop off food items, or even volunteer to load bags of groceries into cars, all without directly encountering some of the painful experiences of those in need.

Resolve

So here I am, trying to put people together anyway!  I'm hoping that we can get to know our neighbors better, despite these hesitations.  The more we learn to help each other directly, then the more likely we may be able to alleviate the conditions that cause such tragic circumstances in the first place.
At the same time, those of us in need may gain the confidence to ask for help without shame. I happen to think our long term survival actually depends on this - the stronger our local community is, and the more we work together, the more resilient we will be in the long run, as we go through these uncertain times.  This leads me to consider the bigger picture.

Commentary, Introduction

I strive to focus only on local affairs here on Town Wide Mall.  But this situation is so entangled with shifting national policy, I feel compelled to comment on the bigger picture.
I consider myself a dedicated independent when it comes to political leanings, so I don't blame any one individual or political party for the current situation. Rather, I see our problems due to long term trends much greater than any one person or group.
I also consider myself something of a Universalist in that I try never to hate, vilify, or blame any person. I have learned, long ago, that blame seldom does anyone any good anyway. However, I do have definite opinions about what people actually say or do (how they act), regardless of their apparent motivation. If what they're doing is constructive, then I'm typically all for it.  If what they're doing is harmful or destructive, then I'm opposed.  To me, violence is never a good solution for anything.
So, if you don't want to wade into the bigger issues, then feel free to stop reading here;  I won't be offended.

Commentary, The Big Picture

As I see it, the reliability of big government programs is on the decline so it makes sense to me to start thinking about alternatives now, rather than wait for more potential trouble in the future.  I have studied government for decades by now, both as a participant (elected or appointed on the local level) and as an observer.  What I see is a long term trend of decreasing effectiveness in very large institutions in general, along with mounting debt.  I don't blame any specific person or group or political party for this because this has continued for many years, regardless of who was supposedly in charge.
Instead, I chalk it up to the difficulty in coming to any agreement as to what to do instead.  Finding agreement among 342 million people (the current US population) seems to be a challenge for which no one has come up with a solution.  In a way, people have given up, as the radical changes are likely necessary have seemed just too risky.  Now, radical change is upon us anyway.
Instead, I think decentralization is the way to go from now on.  We are already bringing decisions down to the level of the states, the cities, the towns, and the neighborhoods.  The smaller the group, the more agile it is likely to be, in order to adapt to changing times and conditions.  I urge people to shop locally, invest locally, and support local groups and efforts.  Connect with each other more in person, instead of mostly through social media.

Clearly, with approximately 1 out of every 8 people in the US receiving SNAP benefits (47 million people), that tells us there is a huge problem of economic need.  Although it may seem too difficult to solve all this on a national level, perhaps we can build resilience and generosity on an extremely local level, such as starting with a few people getting together over breakfast to come up with ideas.
Instead of “work requirements” imposed by government policy, perhaps there are ways that a very different kind of “sharing” or “generosity” economy can be developed on an extremely local level.  This might be where people with solid financial resources can collaborate with others of limited means to help each other based on the skills and capabilities that each can bring to the table.
Granted, some folks are not in a position to contribute as much as others, due to disabilities, illnesses, etc., but that’s part of what community means - we are here to look out for each other as best we can.  And fortunes can change. One person with specific needs now may recover to a more solid financial position later on and then be able to “pay it forward” to others.  Other people may find themselves in need unexpectedly, and hope to get help from others.
These kinds of face-to-face meetings to arrange sharing aren't perfect.  But they can go a long way to dispense with difficult and cumbersome bureaucratic requirements and get down to the business of helping each other more directly.
I almost never hear the word "Love" mentioned in government, in politics, or on the news.  Perhaps it's time that we think more about using Love as a principle in working to bring about a better world.

Personal Note

* Although this may seem a bit impulsive, it’s not that unusual for me.  I come from a long line of engineers, inventors, and artists on both sides of my family tree.  I remember one time when my uncle, after an extended family dinner (Thanksgiving, perhaps), went off to his desk in the corner of the living room, and began rapidly scribbling sketches and equations in a notebook. My grandmother said not to bother him, as he clearly just had an inspiration and felt the urge to get it all down on paper right away.  The rest of us sat around talking, as most people would do after a big meal, while he worked away for a while, oblivious to our conversations.  Th rest of the time, he seemed to be a relatively normal, energetic person.  This was in the mid 1960s; the term neurodiversity didn’t exist until the late 1990s.
With respect to heading to the Bean with a sign on such short notice, it's not so much the urgency to capture an idea, but more of my reaction to the rapid fire volley of changes coming at us in today's world.  My thought has been, if something can help people get through all this, then why wait?  If I have the means, then I might as well try something.

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