Filling Bellies, Strengthening Dignity
Filling Bellies, Strengthening Dignity
The Order Ahead program at the Fredericksburg Food Bank has made the process for those who need assistance with food both easy and affirming of their humanity.
By Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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When it comes to poverty, filling bellies is just part of the issue. The loss of dignity that often accompanies a descent into poverty is emotionally devastating. And like hunger — which in many cases one can’t see — the loss of dignity is largely invisible.
“Poverty is stressful,” Carey Sealy recently told the Advance. “You see the yellow electric truck coming down your street, and you worry if it’s coming to your house.”
As director of programs at the Fredericksburg Food Bank, Sealy has developed a program that is designed to both provide people with the food they need and allow them to do so with dignity.
Called the “Order Ahead Program,” it functions very much like any order-and-pick-up program you would encounter at many grocery stores.
Interested people go online and create an account - the whole process shouldn’t take more than a minute or two. Once set up, they can go to their computer, iPad, or phone and call up a list of all the products the program has available.
They schedule a time to pick-up their items, and at the appointed hour pull up at the pick-up location and have their groceries delivered to their car.
The program, which started in April 2021, has proven successful in part because it’s modeled after Walmart’s highly-successful pick-up program developed during COVID.
“By [2021],” Sealy said, “picking up groceries at Walmart was common.”
It works in part because it’s convenient. And because the stigma that is too often attached to having to depend on assistance to make ends meet is eliminated.
“Everything is done virtually before you show up,” Sealy said. “You get an order number. We don’t ask a bunch of information. We have people who come regularly and we know little about them. It’s up to them how much they choose to interact.”
How Successful?
Brandon Jones is the Order Ahead Coordinator, and he demonstrates the program’s success not with words, but his feet.
In the hour that the Advance spent at the program center on Lee Hill Drive, Jones wasn’t able to stand still more than a minute or two. Between handling calls from customers, and organizing pickups, Jones doesn’t have much time to slow down.
“Our case load [has been] maxed out every month for the past year,” he said. And that’s saying quite a bit. The program operates Tuesday through Saturdays during the summer, and Monday - Saturday during school year.
Most orders contain about 50 items, which, Jones and Sealy told the Advance, “A family of three or four could live off this for two weeks, if they were careful and used discretion.”
For those in the most-destitute situations, that’s a lifeline. For those who are struggling, it bridges the divide between what people can buy and what they need.
Bridging that gap has hit the most vulnerable populations the hardest.
“When SNAP benefits were raised” during COVID, Sealy said, “and then taken away, [people found themselves] trying to figure out how [they’re] going to pay for groceries on top of the bills that are accruing.”
“People got accustomed to having the money spend,” she continued, “then it’s taken away. You have to readjust again.”
Making It All Run
There are unique challenges the Order Ahead program faces. Because of the scale of the program, Jones and Sealy depend on large contributions of goods to stock their shelves.
Contribution of five or ten boxes of macaroni and cheese “doesn’t really work for us,” Sealy said. “We have to look for bigger donations and grant funding. “
A sizable portion of the goods the Order Ahead program makes available comes from The Emergency Food Assistance Program, or TEFAP. The program also depends upon grants, which are then used to purchase foods in bulk.
Some local grocers also assist by taking contributed funds that customers make — often when they check out — and distribute those to the Food Bank.
Some stores, says Sealy, “will send an email and say we have this much funding from your neighbors, and we’ll turn around and use that to buy in bulks. Other stores give us a check.”
Indeed, the center the Advance visited looks very much like a stock room in grocery stores, lined with large numbers of items for people to collect.
Having items on-hand that are on the order form is critical to Sealy, who stresses that the program wants to be able to deliver on the goods that the order screen promises.
Not Always the People You Think
“Post-Covid, demand for food is rising,” Sealy said. “It’s just a tough economy.”
She and Jones both note that it’s not only the high costs of food that are driving the problem, but people’s salaries that don’t match the cost-of-living.
This can lead to scenarios where individuals may drive up in nicer cars than one might expect from someone taking advantage of the program. Sealy, however, understands.
“Who’s to say that car’s not going to be repossessed next week?”
For Sealy and Jones, it’s important to not pass judgment on those whose shoes you’re not walking in.
It’s also important to both that people find joy in their lives. Especially those who are struggling.
The Order Ahead program helps people find that joy, either by remaining anonymous, or engaging face-to-face with Brandon and the volunteers on the team.
Jones told the Advance that there are regular visitors that he “could not pick out” if he saw them around town. “Others,” he said, “are fine with face-to-face” interactions.
At the end of the day, it’s all about what works best for the customer, and gives them their dignity.
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