Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I always wonder if these food banks use any kind of criteria for deciding who gets food or who doesn't.
Most food pantries should not have any criteria at all beyond a client's name, address, and personal assurance that he does indeed need help with food.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Prairieparson
I get the feeling that there is no criteria, that is, if people show up they get food.
Good! Pantries near you must be adhering to industry best practices.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Prairieparson
It wouldn't be hard to have them fill out an application, and detail income, job, home address, what kind of vehicle they drive. They might eliminate a lot of money going to people who don't need it.
Pantries don't provide money to poor people, they provide food to hungry people. The series of adversarial, we don't trust you, hoops that you want people to jump through will simply be a barrier to hungry people coming to your door. They will try to forage or steal food instead.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Prairieparson
There are far too many people scamming the system.
You have no information at all on the matter.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Prairieparson
My sister works with a fellow RN that also gets welfare benefits for her kids. These RN's are making 50,000 plus a year.
Let me tell you about what my dentist's brother-in-law's niece's boyfriend's stepmother's cousin is doing!!! Holy Cow!!! In the meantime, any reason wny an RN making $50K would not be eligible for child heath care benefits?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Prairieparson
A pastor fried of mine lives in a hispanic community. One day, a lady comes over with a story that her husband has brain cancer, can't work. He gives her all the food they had in their small pantry. Next day, another hispanic lady comes over with the exact same sob story, asking for food.
That's about the sixth time I've heard the brain cancer story. But you have added the creatrive twist of assuming that even a small pantry would suddenly give ALL of its stores away to a single person. The other five people were more clever than to pop their own balloon like that.
I always wonder if these food banks use any kind of criteria for deciding who gets food or who doesn't. I get the feeling that there is no criteria, that is, if people show up they get food. It wouldn't be hard to have them fill out an application, and detail income, job, home address, what kind of vehicle they drive. They might eliminate a lot of money going to people who don't need it.
Eg. If their car is less than five years old. Nothing. If they live in a nice 3 bedroom home, nothing.
There are far too many people scamming the system. My sister works with a fellow RN that also gets welfare benefits for her kids. These RN's are making 50,000 plus a year.
A pastor fried of mine lives in a hispanic community. One day, a lady comes over with a story that her husband has brain cancer, can't work. He gives her all the food they had in their small pantry. Next day, another hispanic lady comes over with the exact same sob story, asking for food.
What if they hit hard times (laid-off,downsizing,or our present situation within our country). Nice three bedroom home, are you against cleaning or maintenance of possessions because of your econmic situation.
There are people who work the churches, and when they've tapped out their welcome at one, they move on to another. I knew a family like that. One church allowed them to get fresh produce at a local produce shop for nearly two years while they were going through some supposed difficulties. The real difficulty was that the family had no clue as to how to manage their money. The church finally cut off the free food supply, and they moved on to my mother's church. Meanwhile, the husband worked at a deli section of a local supermarket, never brought any food home, and stopped off for a nice dinner for himself with a glass of wine several nights a week at a local restaurant. Eventually my mother's church got fed up with supporting them and they've moved on to another with their tales of woe.
Quote:
Originally Posted by saganista
It's the information age. There are lots of aid networks that food pantries can join who will do client screening and referrals. Basically, food pantry income limits are above the limits of major federal programs (TANF, SNAP, WIC, SSI, Medicaid), so anyone with an ID for any of those is in. For those above federal levels, a little due diligence is all that's necessary. House calls. Pay stubs. Tax returns. Bank statements. Nobody has nothing at all. If you're going to take on the responsibility of feeding someone, you take on the responsibility of picking your people wisely as well. It isn't Queen for a Day. And the reason you provide help to someone who needs it is to bridge him to a time when he won't need it anymore. You want your current clients to be up and on their way back into the economy to the point where they can feed themselves again so that you can start helping the next wave of the hungry. If that's not hapeening, some sort of intervention is called for. Sitting around and being snookered by somenody for two years would be an example of simply abysmal performance.
My example was not some sort of organized charity outlet with "performance" criteria and "clients". It's just an ordinary church in an upper-middle-class area where the congregation members do not know what it's like to not have enough food or money to pay bills. The family is working the sympathy angle and the church people are falling for it because they've been taught to give when someone needs help--they just rarely actually run into anyone personally who needs help. Their charities are usually to distant places--even the inner city ten miles away falls into that category. They won't GO there, but they'll send money to the soup kitchens and whatnot. So, when a real, live poor family shows up in their midst, appearing to be of the faith but just down on their luck, they rush to help them and are naive enough not to realize they are being taken advantage of. After a while, they figure it out, and that's when the family moves on to the next mark. I'm sure this happens everywhere.
What if they hit hard times (laid-off,downsizing,or our present situation within our country). Nice three bedroom home, are you against cleaning or maintenance of possessions because of your econmic situation.
One of the pantries in my former area had an upswing in the number of people coming in for food, and many of them lived in lovely houses. They lost jobs, they cannot sell the house because they are underwater, and they don't have money for groceries. More than once a person coming in for some food has been on the other side of the table--making the donations or volunteering at the pantry and now has to go in and ask for help themselves. You can't eat your house.
My example was not some sort of organized charity outlet with "performance" criteria and "clients". It's just an ordinary church in an upper-middle-class area where the congregation members do not know what it's like to not have enough food or money to pay bills.
No, your story is of the Little Church of St. Hapless, every one of whose parishioners is so naive as to fall for any old story at all. They're all clever enough somehow to have made a good deal of money for themselves and achieved a good deal of success, but they can't figure out between them how to keep from being hosed by any old Tom, Dick, or Harry when they decide to run a food pantry??? That's not going to fly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mightyqueen801
I'm sure this happens everywhere.
Doesn't matter whether you're sure. The problem is that you're wrong.
Hunger in America is a serious matter. It occurs everywhere and in all demographics. Young and old. Male and female. Black and white and everything else. Urban and rural. North and south. East and west. Married and single. Gay and straight. Liberal and conservative. Native born and immigrant. College graduates and high school dropouts. There is no reason at all that anyone should go hungry in this country that swims in an ocean of food.
Networks at the national, state, regional, and local levels along with tens of thousands of front-line pantries, kitchens, and shelters know how to feed the hungry for very little money for as long as they need it. All that these almost all volunteer agencies need is a little bit of tangible help and encouragement from the rest of us. Why not step up at the holiday season and do your part?
No, your story is of the Little Church of St. Hapless, every one of whose parishioners is so naive as to fall for any old story at all. They're all clever enough somehow to have made a good deal of money for themselves and achieved a good deal of success, but they can't figure out between them how to keep from being hosed by any old Tom, Dick, or Harry when they decide to run a food pantry??? That's not going to fly.
Doesn't matter whether you're sure. The problem is that you're wrong.
There was no food pantry involved in the story I related.
Perhaps it's a lesson in why it is necessary to have well-run food panties in lieu of churches doing the same work on a grass-roots level. There would be fewer opportunities for those who would do so to take advantage.
Last edited by Mightyqueen801; 11-25-2011 at 10:35 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
