So Much More Than Food

     

Picture Credit: 
Bloomsburg Food Cupboard - Home

In an unassuming cream-colored building down a little ally five minutes from the Bloomin Bagels shop lays the headquarters for the Bloomsburg Food Cupboard. If you happen to mosey in on a Friday morning between 8:30 and 10:30 you will probably be met with the smell of bagels and the image of 15-20 bustling people, most of which are around the ages of forty and above, all rushing around in a noisy union with a million different conversations and goals in mind. With random crates towering at about eye level and piles upon piles of boxed food stacked with no apparent organization one might assume that this is the most chaotic place on earth. If you take the time to look at the environment even closer, you'll soon realize that while chaotic it is, you're watching a well-oiled machine at work, all with the common goal of helping humanity. While one might assume that a food cupboard is only useful for the fact that it provides food for others, this is greatly disproven when the kinship provided, and the feeling of oneness added to the community is revealed.

In a post pandemic age, basic necessities are getting more and more difficult to maintain. With basic essentials becoming more expensive and people's job securities being more uncertain, it is necessary that society as a whole, step up to make people's lives easier. With people being forced to choose between food, heating, water, electricity, and even healthcare; why not make the load easier for them and provide one of those necessities for free. Bloomsburg Food Cupboard is an organization run by volunteers that provide families in Bloomsburg, Central Columbia, Southern, Millville, and Benton School districts with perishable and nonperishable food, such as vegetables, milk-based products, grains, to counteract the effect that inflation has had on current day society.

"One of the most challenging things (about running the Bloomsburg Food Cupboard) is the need that we have to be open." Lynn, a sweet middle-aged lady with chestnut hair, remarked. "It'd be nice to not have to be needed." Lynn has been running the food cupboard for around decade and is well aware of how necessary it can be for many of the residents. With senior citizens getting little to no socialization from the pandemic and children going hungry over the weekend or school breaks, the food cupboard can be the difference between healthy and poor living conditions for some of the Bloomsburg residents.

Even with the damage that Covid did to society, the cupboard has always been essential to peoples well beings. With the organization opening in 1996 it has had a long history of creating connections and improving people's lives. "After my son passed it was nice to be able to come every Tuesday and know that there will always be someone here with a smile on their face excited to see me." an old women professed with her greying hair, sweet smile, and a tear in her eye. The impact from the cupboard goes far beyond just handing out food to people, it involves greeting all folk who come and giving them a place to feel content.

Picture Credit: 
Bloomsburg Food Cupboard - Home

 

 Even Lynn, the person who runs Bloomsburg Food Cupboard, didn't start off with the goal to run the organization; instead, she began volunteering as a way to help out her community. "When my kids were younger, we got involved and we just kind of helped out on Sundays." Lynn reflected, "We just saw the impact that it had on our local community and wanted to return the favor. We were blessed with having a home and stable income and were able to provide for our families, so we just wanted to pay it forward." Pay it forward she did, whether rain or snow, hot or cold the volunteers are outside helping distribute food to whoever needs it. With a variety of food from KFC and Olive Garden to Bloomin bagels, every Tuesday and Saturday the volunteers line up the food that has been organized form earlier in the week and allows anyone to choose whatever they would like to take home. Not only does this allow no food to be wasted, but it also allows for more interaction between the volunteers and the customers.

"From my end, I enjoy interacting with the volunteers, but I also enjoy interacting with the clients and getting to know a little bit about them, asking how their days are, how have they been? Just trying to make a personal connection with them" Lynn remarked. This connection can cause a world of difference in someone's life, especially for people who might not experience a lot of social interaction. After the pandemic, many people have found themselves disconnected from their usual social circles and with the little extra socialization provided from the food distribution, it can help make someone's day infinitely brighter.  Even though the Food Cupboard is tucked away out of sight, the impact that it has on people's lives is immense. It goes far beyond giving people food, it gives people hope.