Food For Thought

I used to provide pastoral care in a homeless shelter. It isn’t the largest shelter in town – only 100 beds – but it did offer the biggest free meal program: over a thousand a day served on average.

When COVID hit, of course, it was logistically impossible to keep the dining room open. But we knew people just didn’t stop being hungry, so we had to figure out a Plan B.

For over three years we became exceptionally proficient at preparing and distributing bagged lunches. Through trial and error, we came up with a system that managed to pack hundreds of bags in the matter of a morning and then spend the afternoon giving them out on the street and preparing items for the next day. Though dependent on donations, we did our best to provide variety and we know that our efforts made a difference during a difficult time. We noticed, for example, at the beginning, we were seeing people unknown to us, normally getting by pay cheque to pay cheque, who had been furloughed from their jobs and still needed to take care of themselves and their families. Clearly, not everyone was able to work from home. These were not the same people who were regulars in the dining room but new faces, equally marginalized, this time by a global pandemic.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is surrounded by needy people. Luke takes pains to note right away that, despite their number, Jesus welcomed and healed them. When the day drew to a close, the apostles tell Him that the crowd needs to go – they must find lodging and food – and wherever they are, it is far from these essentials. But Jesus challenges them: “You give them something to eat” but they tell Him that there is not enough for the estimated five thousand people present.

I often read this story with my experience at the shelter in the pandemic in mind. Within a few short weeks, quite simply, there was nowhere to go. Places of refuge, whether they be libraries, community centres or shelters like ours weren’t open. Many commented on what was suddenly made visible – homeless people on public transit, for example or long line ups for free food. Some people didn’t like what they saw either – we once got a call from a neighbour who said she was too afraid to leave her house simply because the queue for lunch bags rounded the corner onto her street.

Stressful times bring out the best and the worst in people.

Jesus wasn’t having any of that “crowd” go away hungry. He had a Plan B. Part of that plan involved organizing the hungry in manageable groups. Part of that was prayer. Part of that was making the most of what was available. Luke writes, “all ate and were filled.”

There is always a Plan B, if we want it.

Food for thought.