I just finished one of our twice weekly direct food distributions. I’m feeling so scared and overwhelmed.
I started a food program in response to Covid. I’ve mobilized thousands of volunteers and moved over 4 million (no joke) lbs of food since May 2020.
I’m more worried now than I have been since the beginning of the pandemic.
Our numbers are growing astronomically. Our donations are dropping. And people keep coming.
We set up like an outdoor market at our local fairgrounds. I’ve got a 20’ and 40’ refrigerator plus storage containers out there. Usually 4-6 volunteers each 2 hr distribution is enough.
Today we could have used 20 volunteers. We distributed thousands of pounds of food. The line stretched about 50 families deep for over an hour.
We tried to keep people in the shade, we offered waters, we have benches to sit on. But it was 80° and we were on blacktop. So many elderly people. So many disabled people.
Working towards equitable distribution is so hard. Sometimes I feel like I’m just pouring a cup of water on a burning house, trying to put the fire out.
We ran out of diapers, out of wipes, out of masks, out of rice, out of pasta, out of tuna, out of fruit, out of beans.
I started a food program in response to Covid. I’ve mobilized thousands of volunteers and moved over 4 million (no joke) lbs of food since May 2020.
I’m more worried now than I have been since the beginning of the pandemic.
Our numbers are growing astronomically. Our donations are dropping. And people keep coming.
We set up like an outdoor market at our local fairgrounds. I’ve got a 20’ and 40’ refrigerator plus storage containers out there. Usually 4-6 volunteers each 2 hr distribution is enough.
Today we could have used 20 volunteers. We distributed thousands of pounds of food. The line stretched about 50 families deep for over an hour.
We tried to keep people in the shade, we offered waters, we have benches to sit on. But it was 80° and we were on blacktop. So many elderly people. So many disabled people.
Working towards equitable distribution is so hard. Sometimes I feel like I’m just pouring a cup of water on a burning house, trying to put the fire out.
We ran out of diapers, out of wipes, out of masks, out of rice, out of pasta, out of tuna, out of fruit, out of beans.
“And while we’re talking about things that make us squirm but really shouldn’t, I’d like to say that I’m a big advocate for not hiding your enthusiasm for things. It seems to me that there is a false stigma around eagerness in our culture of “unbothered ambivalence.” This outlook perpetuates the idea that it’s not cool to “want it.”…..Never be ashamed of trying. Effortlessness is a myth. The people who wanted it the least were the ones I wanted to date and be friends with in high school. The people who want it most are the people I now hire to work for my company.” - Taylor Swift
Let's keep things in perspective and quit freaking parents out by repeating over-the-top takes. Data shows our kids are safer now than when we went to school. https://news.northeastern.edu/2018/02/26/schools-are-still-one-of-the-safest-places-for-children-researcher-says/
Northeastern Global News
Schools are safer than they were in the 90s, and school shootings are not more common than they used to be, researchers say
Schools are safer than they were in the 90s, and school shootings are not more common than they used to be, researchers say.
I don’t think the obsessively outraged people on my feed have any clue that I no longer trust their judgement as to what is good policy after COVID.
A meme I shared in a private chat of friends in 2020 got me banned for 24 hours. It was a bottle of “Clorox chewables.”