When You’re Feeding the Poor this Holiday Season…

I’ve run out of ways to tell you that what’s being done to the poor in our country is wrong, wicked, and evil.

I’ve sat down to try and write so many times in the past few days, and I don’t know where to begin, because this is impossible. If you don’t already know that what’s being done is wrong, I can’t reach you. If you think that our system ought to feed the poor in a different way than with EBT benefits, you’re not necessarily a bad person, and we can talk about that another time. But the fact is, right now our country is set up so that forty-two million people, most of them in families with children, count on getting a few hundred dollars in grocery money from the government every month. That money was already appropriated for them. The state governments want to give it to them. Judges have ruled that it’s illegal to NOT give it to them. And the Trump Administration is clawing as hard as it can, even going all the way to the Supreme Court, to keep the money out of their hands, so that he can convince the country that the resulting suffering is the Democrats’ fault. That’s obscene. Going to that much effort to harm vulnerable people so that you can use their agony as a tool is a mortal sin.  If you think it’s all right, you’re a terrible person and I can’t talk to you anymore. Go away.

Now, for the rest of you: I hope you’re doing what you can to stay informed and help others.

I hope you’re keeping track of the news as best you can. I know very well that it’s difficult. I’m bemused every couple of hours when I check the news again and see how things have changed. There’s just so much to keep track of; it’s nearly impossible. But I hope you’re all taking some time to educate yourself, maybe once in the morning and once in the evening if you’re not online all day like me. You need to stay aware so you can help.

Remember that even if the EBT benefits are returned to the people who were supposed to get them before you read this, the country’s poor are still in a mess, because they planned for that money on a certain day and depending on when they get their disbursement it might be a week or more late. Poor people can’t cope with a week’s delay. They may have already spent money they badly needed for rent or bills on their food this week. They might have made a bad deal with a payday loan company or any number of other things to get some grocery money. And grocery bills are skyrocketing all over the country, and were even before the shutdown. So keep on helping with your donations this holiday season no matter how quickly the problem seems to be resolved, because it’s not resolved.

I hope you’re already finding ways to help the poor as best you can, and that you’ll continue whether the shutdown ends or not.

Everyone’s contribution is going to be different, so don’t be ashamed if what you can do is different than what somebody else can do. Yes, it’s true that if you’re making a big donation to a food pantry, the best thing to donate is cash. Money means the pantry can shop for what’s most needed and they can get better discounts than you. But maybe you don’t have much money. Maybe the best contribution you can make is to grab a can of soup for the free grocery cupboard while you’re doing your own shopping once a week. That’s fine too. Maybe you don’t have much money even for a shopping trip just today, but you do have lots of flour and butter and eggs, so you’ll make pans of muffins for the local outreach to give the homeless who come to the warming center for coffee. Maybe when you go downtown to read stories to the children at the after school program, you’ll bring them a snack to take home. Maybe you can help make phone calls or hang signs for the food drive. Do what you can, not what you can’t.

Now, one more thing I ask of you: whatever else you’re doing, can you help make Christmas happen for the poor in your community?

I know, I know, the liturgical feast of Christmas is going to happen anyway even if nobody has a good time. I know the sacraments are free, and they are the important part. But I’m talking about the fun, silly part of Christmas. When a poor family gets into a mess like the food stamps being a week late, that can really mess up their financial planning for far more than just that month. I already mentioned they might have to pay back the payday loan business or something like that. It could be that any tiny bit they were saving up to buy Christmas presents for their children is now spoken for. It could be they’re going to have to work extra hours to get some more money and there’ll be no trip out on the bus to see the mall Santa. It could be that the stress and frustration of this situation is causing a meltdown at home, leading to yelling and fights, and the children are having a very hard time.

Meanwhile, charities are already at their breaking point. Organizations that give food to the poor don’t have a minute to do anything else. They’ve been stretched terribly thin for a week now. Charities all over the country have been losing money they usually get from government grants all year. The people I know who usually depend on local church giveaways to get gifts for their children are finding that the giveaways aren’t happening, or have far slimmer pickings or a much earlier sign-up deadline, and that was before the shutdown began. That’s not going to change if the shutdown ends, though the shutdown going on as long as it has will make matters worse. I’m sad just thinking about how bleak it’s going to be.

So, if you’re able, as you’re helping to feed the poor, could you also help with Christmas?

If you’re blessed with a lot of money and you’re writing a check for the food pantry, could you also remember to give a cartful of toys to a toy drive? If you re buying cans of food here and there to give to the free grocery cupboard, could you also get some Christmas candy and stocking stuffers to put in there on Christmas Eve? If you’re taking a poor neighbor grocery shopping, could you also take her to the toy section and invite her to get a gift?  If you put together a supply kit to hand to a homeless person, will you put a Christmas card in there? If you’re taking your family too the zoo to see the light display, could you take along your child’s friend who doesn’t have a membership?

Can you think of ways to make life more festive for the people around you, that don’t cost much money? Maybe you and your neighbors could  bake cookies for one another when you usually don’t. Maybe you’ll make an extra silly Christmas light display for people to laugh at as they drive by. Maybe you could go caroling at the nursing home. Or you could all pool your resources for a potluck.

This is a very hard time, no matter what the government does in the coming days. Let’s make it a brighter time for everyone.

Mary Pezzulo is the author of Meditations on the Way of the Cross, The Sorrows and Joys of Mary, and Stumbling into Grace: How We Meet God in Tiny Works of Mercy.