 On The Line -- Issue 578 -- April 14, 2006  Online News and Views of Life in San Benito County with Herman Wrede Published by HollisterOnline.com -- Copyright 1995-2008 HollisterOnline.com
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On The Line -- Issue 578 -- April 14, 2006 Online News and Views of Life in San Benito County with Herman Wrede Published by HollisterOnline.com -- Copyright 1995-2008 HollisterOnline.com
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Anyone who has experienced hunger - not the ready-to-sit-down-to-dinner type - but hunger that persists for days, weeks and even months, knows that it is debilitating to the mind and spirit as well as the body.
Refugees from war, floods and other disasters are sometimes so far removed from a supply of sustenance that hunger becomes a specter that stalks them incessantly, the very thought of food is a mockery. Unhappy Africa has many nations ravaged by drought, pestilence and the conflicting tides of armies who slaughter civilians by the thousands. The story of emaciated babies dying of malnutrition even at the breast of their malnourished mothers has become as commonplace as it is horrible. And yet, the tale of millions in our own country who never quite get the amount of daily sustenance they require to be healthy somehow becomes more real and grim to us because the United States is among the richest countries of the world. Whatever the circumstance that makes this so -- fluctuating financial conditions, lack of marketable skills or unfamiliarity with a new culture -- it still points to one stark fact: some among us are not getting enough to eat. It is easy to find people who dismiss it as none of their business or to give reasons why it is so. Their rationale often begins with "Those people," as if hunger was something for which they failed to plan, and so must suffer the result. Those who use the terms "those people" or "you people" do so with a sense of superiority to those addressed. It is as though their condition of having had a good family and never doing without anything basic such as security, education and affection has lifted them above the people they ignore or even despise. But every nation has people who turn their back on the problem. Fortunately, every nation and community has many residents who want to help -- indeed, feel compelled to help -- simply because they are fellow mortals. In this community that spirit abounds. Take, for instance, the great amount of planning, work and refusal to accept obstacles in beginning a shelter for the homeless during the winter when it is most needed. Marland Holte's free community dinners at Thanksgiving and Christmas are another demonstration of many people being moved by the plight of some doing without at times of what should be joyful occasions. One can find many examples in San Benito County of people volunteering to help those in need, including caring for unmarried women who find themselves pregnant and in need of care for themselves and for their unborn children. Many of the same people who help in one of the instances mentioned are often active in another. One can not tell dedicated volunteers that their efforts can, at best, aid only a relative few of those who need help. They are driven to do what they can. On Saturday, April 8, another local group of 80 people gathered at a warehouse on Hazel Street in Hollister. They are members of Community Pantry, a group that has for years provided sacks of food every week for those who desperately need it to maintain an acceptable level of sustenance without choosing among paying rent, medicine, utilities and other basics. The occasion was the imminence of the almost certain signing of a lease for headquarters, necessary because the Federal Aviation Administration decreed last year that the Hollister Airport, its present headquarters, will not be able to receive federal grants it has any non-aviation agency in operation there. Mary Ann Hughes, Pantry's executive secretary, said the willingness of the warehouse's owners to let members meet there in celebration was a good indication that it will sign the lease. Staff members and volunteers were elated because a desperate search for a site had been going on ever since the bad news was received. A tamale dinner, including beans, salad, rolls and other delicacies was served, with plenty for seconds or even more. Many of the people present can be found at other organizations that help out people in need, including the community dinners, the Pregnancy Crisis Center and the homeless shelter because of the kind of people they are. Mrs. Hughes made a presentation to Juanita Medeles, recently named Hunger Fighter of the Year, and to other exemplary volunteers. Each got a big round of applause from fellow volunteers. Jim Sleznick was among those leading the applause as were John Rose, last year's Hunger Fighter of the Year, there with wife Dotty Rose. Gordon and Margaret Byers were there, too, which is no surprise to people who know of their selfless dedication. Maria Arias had many friends there, as did Clara Johnson and Carmen Saenz. Mary Schneider, who involves herself deeply in humanity, was all smiles as she talked with most of the guests sometime during the celebration. Ken and Virginia Bixby circulated and Sue Wharton exchanged pleasantries with many other guests. It was good to be a part of it and to see people who work hard to help others share in the good news. Mrs. Hughes was laudatory of the City of Hollister, which had allowed Community Pantry rent-free status at its present site for years. "And the City has promised to help us for two or three years more," she said. Volunteers, food and money are always needed, and Mrs. Hughes said that volunteers may choose among many ways to help, from gathering food and assembling the more than 950 bags of food given away each week to distributing it and cleaning the headquarters, with other types if work in between. All in all it was a good two hours spent with good people, and the knowledge that a new site has been found that is more than ample to accommodate the activities that will go on within it. |
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