Simply thinking about Thanksgiving tricks my senses into believing that the turkey is already in the oven. The bizarre reality of 2020 is forcing a lot of us to switch gears on tradition. Some of us are shortening the guest list. Some of us are shortening the menu. And some of us are digging a little deeper to find gratefulness.
It’s been a rough year. People have lost their loved ones, their jobs, their sports, their music, and school is an ever-changing adventure. My friend Jennifer and I have had several conversations since March about how West Virginia was living in COVID-19 conditions before COVID-19 was a thing. You’d think we’d have been prepared for some aspects of this a little better, but that’s what happens when the people who live every day in scarcity are ignored and not given the opportunity to educate those of us who have never experienced it.
While some of us are buying up shelves of toilet paper, others are counting change to buy what they immediately need while praying the store within walking distance has it in stock. They can’t, as it is every day in their life, waste energy worrying about “what if we run out” when they’re too busy looking under the couch cushions because they already have. Nothin’s fair in love and pandemics, even toilet paper.
The Food
My last week was primarily focused on food. The Food For All Summit was held virtually and for five days we talked about food insecurity and food access. We listened as experts in the field spoke about the history of food systems, about racial disparities in food systems. We heard how communities came together to feed the children. And then, on Friday, all of those pieces were connected during a panel featuring the real experts – women experiencing food insecurity at different levels.
Four women with degrees sitting on one stage to say, “Hey. Here’s what this looks like, and we probably don’t fit your stereotype of people who are struggling with hunger.” Those women didn’t worry about wrapping their truth in pretty packages with cute bows to make the audience feel comfortable. Instead, they simply opened those boxes and dumped the contents onto the stage. And the fact that they did so unapologetically brings tears to my eyes.
We talked about employers offering holiday food boxes to their employees and distributing them in a manner that allows everyone to know who needs one. We talked about how the employees would probably prefer a raise instead and how taxpayers aren’t really subsidizing SNAP and other safety net programs but, rather, subsidizing the businesses and corporations who don’t pay a living wage. Read that again. People working full-time and still qualifying for income supports aren’t the ones living on the system; the employers who can’t and/or don’t pay living wages are.
An Example
One of the panelists said, “You have to stay in poverty to survive poverty,” and that hit the room so hard that someone repeated it back into the chat. A lot of questions were asked because people don’t understand the way the systems work. The fact that people were asking questions and asking for reading material was fantastic. The fact that people were dropping links into the chat was even more fantastic. Why? Because those women proved that the reason I’m always looking for people to share their stories is because it works! Every time someone shows their bravery, it makes it easier for someone else to do the same.
I asked all of the women yesterday why, since working is making the struggle harder and offering them no relief, they didn’t quit their jobs and rely on the system, and they all answered the same way: they want their kids to see them working and want them to make lives for themselves without the struggle demanding the attention. College hasn’t paid off in the long run for these women when you look at the way the current system and workforce continue to trap them.
So, if you find yourself in the middle of this Thanksgiving week depressed and bitter because your traditions have come under fire due to the pandemic, take a deep breath and shift your focus. If you’re one of the fortunate ones who didn’t have to stress about how much you could spend on Thanksgiving dinner…if you were fortunate to not have to stand in line at a food pantry or food giveaway to make the dinner happen…if you can open your eyes and see nothing but comfort and stability surrounding you at home then start focusing on those things. Because there are too many of us out here worrying every day. And besides, you could be eating a turkey stuffed with someone else’s truth.
Be well. Be grateful. Happy Thanksgiving.
My best,
Amy Jo
