Philadelphia - Homelessness/Poverty (3)

“Open the doors!”

Tired, exhausted, worn-out faces of men and women poured into a church cafeteria.  Many of them regulars; some new.  They patiently waited for volunteers to serve them food from a meal cooked all day.  Many of these men and women—homeless, food insecure, or simply alone—anticipate this weekly Tuesday meal.

I cannot lie: This was a heartbreaking experience for me and some of my fellow MAB-ers.

We started preparing the meal at 9 a.m. with an eccentric man named Michael.  He oversees the Tuesday meals.  He took us to Restaurant Depot where we bought about $300 in groceries for the meal.  At around 11 a.m., we began cooking.  It wasn’t all work, though; we had the opportunity to explore the University of Pennsylvania’s (an Ivy League school) campus.  We finished cooking around 4:30 p.m., and we began serving food at promptly 5 p.m.

Serving the meal was an eye-opening opportunity.  Many of us hear about “homelessness” and “poverty,” discussed by political pundits on ideologically-biased TV shows, but rarely do we ever see it.  It humanized the terrible predicament millions of men and women face every day, and in Philadelphia, approximately one-fifth of the population faces this exact dilemma.  Something needs to be done, and I think I speak for my entire trip when I say this: We were all inspired to contribute to this change.

Helping at University Lutheran Church’s weekly Tuesday meal added depth to this trip.  And while we are having fun and bonding together, we are witnessing important social issues that need to be addressed.

-Nathan

When told we were going to be serving at Feast Incarnate I had an idea of what to expect. I knew that we were going to be encountering people who may have faced hardships or are facing hardships. I went in with a positive attitude and I had a wonderful experience. From the preparation of the meal, which involved bonding with my fellow MAB trip peers to serving the food, which was fast paced and caused us to pay attention to who we were serving. One thing I didn't realize was that people would lie in order to receive more portions even at the cost of others who hadn't even received their first. This realization shocked me because I was under the assumption that although they are reliant upon others for basic needs at times they also recognize they aren't the only ones and therefore when they receive help the help should be distributed evenly. Although this was not the case for some people, not all were like this. The compassion I felt within the room was beyond belief. The gratefulness they bestowed upon us and the happy wishes for our success made me thankful for the opportunities I know of and are blind to.

-Tori

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