Today was the Feast of Sharing at the Washington Convention Center, and what a wild event it was. Thousands of people milled around, ate a delicious (and free) Thanksgiving meal, and visited the various tables that had a wide variety of employers, social service outreach efforts, medical screenings, and other services. It was difficult to navigate the various corridors of the center, and there was some confusion about what was happening, and where. However, amid the music and food and festivities, I saw a wide variety of people finding real assistance and opportunities.
At the DC Hunger Solutions/Bread For the City tables, we had two objectives. We provided information about SNAP (the new acronym for Food Stamps), and asked visitors to sign a postcard that we’ll send to President Obama stating that we support his decision to end childhood hunger by 2015. In return for a free pen, we asked people to provide a few ideas about how we can reach this goal. I was surprised at how many people were excited to sign the cards and provide their thoughts (or at least work a bit to get a free pen) and the responses had an impressively wide range. People’s ideas included increasing industry and jobs, expanding the pool of people eligible for food stamps, stimulating more grocery stores, emphasizing education and self-sufficiency, supporting family planning, reducing military spending, and many other interesting and often very innovative responses. Perhaps what we need is a little of all these ideas.
For especially enthusiastic people, we gave them an “End Hunger 2015” pin while they posed with a stunning life-size cut-out of President Obama. We hope that these personable shots will demonstrate (to the public, and to our leaders) the face of those signing cards in advocacy for change.
There’s another thing that struck me about the event: when the volunteers went upstairs to receive our own Thanksgiving meal, we were directed to a section in back, set far back from the general public. The separation was so clearly delineated (behind giant curtains!) that it struck me as an instance of the very patterns that segregate our community and perpetuate inequality. Our group attempted to break out of this barrier a little by sitting at one of the general tables — but to our demerit, we didn’t talk much with our neighbors. Mainly just gobbled our food and skedaddled. It struck me that the social structures that divide us are so pervasive, even when it simply comes to sharing a communal meal. I think it’s important for us to find ways to breach these barriers, in order to build more inclusive and supportive communities. A bit of food for thought on the eve of this Thanksgiving…
