Blindly Lead Me

The other day my boss called me into his office and I just knew it was going to be one of those conversations where I would have steam coming out of my ears.Apparently the "health and safety committee" (one of many committees) of our organization determined that serving expired food to our clients is a health hazard. Really? That never crossed my mind day in day out when I personally hand out two-day old ham sandwiches, five day old yogurt, stale bread and dubious looking hamburger to those we are meant to "help."  So the powers that be have noticed a problem and have given the orders that all food that is past due shall be thrown out.

OK so it seems we are on the same page, at least on the surface, though the inconsistencies of the charity food system are hardly a new discovery. One of the biggest issues or "hazards" from my perspective is that the organization refuses to turn down anything out of fear of offending donors. This means that a larger percentage of what we get is crap, which we spend money (and resources) on sorting and disposing of in the name of PR. This goes for food too, though often we are forced to salvage and serve what we can--without expired food we would not have a meal program; an obscene catch 22 that we are forced to be complicit with, allowing individuals and corporations the opportunity to feel good by dumping garbage (literally sometimes) or non-perishables (same thing) with ignorance and good intention (though you know what they say about those.)

I once got in trouble for saying that I rather have the clients starve to death than to serve them pastries first thing in the morning. Is this not the same attitude on a broader level, served without indignation?

Those at the top have of this inevitably hierarchized system have more power than I do, yet the buck is passed off silently.  Alas the organization is not really getting with the times, they are only repackaging the inadequacy of the system as a shortcoming front line workers need to fix. By framing this issue as a "health and safety" concern limited to the workers of the organization, management is grossly simplifying a complex, systemic issue thereby precluding any meaningful solution to the food situation.

 The conversation really should go beyond whether food is expired or not in an immediate sense. What we should really be speaking about at an organizational level is food insecurity: the degree to which a sizable proportion of the population of this supposedly affluent nation do not have the means with which to access adequate food through acceptable--aka non-soup kitchen--channels. These are the people we are meant to assist. Food insecurity (malnourishment, not simplistically defined hunger) is part of the same issue as housing insecurity, which is the niche the organization I work for ostensibly concerns itself with most. These issues should not be considered separately, they are part and parcel and linked to the economy--the same economy that allows for the overproduction of goods which leads to waste (that gets tossed into the charitable landfill.) As long as the organization refuses to systematically acknowledge and verbalize the short comings of the system we work within we will continue to buy into and perpetuate the worst aspects of charity. Without meaningfully reflecting and dialoguing about our position in the charitable "economy" we will keep simplifying social justice issues as logistical concerns and never move beyond the band aid.

The layers and layers of management aren't coming up with a solution, such as a food policy, an interim donor education program,  a budget for an adequate food program (we all know that it is the more controversial, and infinitely sexier aspects of the "harm reduction" continuum that foster cash flow these days--yet we refuse to talk about this.) As a result it is up to the lowliest cogs in the machine to "innovate" with their few resources and cultural capital.So who looks at the bigger picture?