Second Harvest Food Bank severs ties with Trinity Food Pantry
30th May 2017 · 0 Comments
By James Sebastien
Contributing Writer
On May 15, a community meeting was held at the Christian Unity Baptist Church. The topic was the Second Harvest Food Bank’s decision to terminate its six-year-old relationship with the Trinity Food Pantry.
Terry Mogilles, a Registered Nurse and volunteer at the Trinity Food Pantry, recently spoke about the struggles of working with Second Harvest, and in her own words, “The benefits and pitfalls of Second Harvest Donations.” With great energy, Terry explained the difficulties of how they turned discarded cans of food, nearing their expiration date into sustainable and nutritious options for families in need.
Most people who see cans of flavorless potatoes that are set to expire in a mere two days, see them as “garbage.” But, Terry, the true artist that she is, has always seen the potential in this garbage, a canvas waiting to be turned into a masterpiece — a gourmet delicacy. And, with a great amount of love, seasoning, fresh cuts and turkey sausage, she’s been able to create Top Chef worthy plates of soul.
For her inspiration, Terry looked back towards her ancestors, who took the pig intestine scraps they were thrown, and turned them into the southern staple we all know today as chitterlings (colloquially pronounced “chitlins”). While, chitterlings are marketed as Soul Food in premier restaurants all across the South, the real Soul Food of the day is being prepared by the tireless hands of people like Terry Mogilles.
But, as Terry puts it, she “has worked her garbage.” She has done what her ancestors have done before her. Mainly, because she rightfully believes that it is a sin to throw away food, to leave food to “rot in a landfill.” Especially when that food can still serve as a meal for so many people who need its nutrition. In one instance, she recalled taking a box of cucumbers with a shelf life of a day, and pickling them into a cucumber salad, which she preserved in mason jars, allowing her to feed the families in the community beyond just a single day.
Other examples of donations that could have potentially gone to waste were coffee beans, and popcorn kernels. Most of the families that the Trinity Food Pantry served do not have coffee bean grinders or popcorn machines. But, the folks at the agency were able to acquire these appliances, so that the families could receive fresh ground coffee, and the children could have a caramel corn treat.
Of course, another goal of Trinity Pantry was to educate families on how to properly prepare food, and how to get the absolute most out of what they are given. Not every family, however, has the accessibility to achieve these results on their own, so it is up to souls such as Terry Mogilles to make donations sustainable through labor, time, out-of-pocket expenses (from ziplock bags to necessary equipment) and ultimately through creativity.
One of the organizers of the May 15 meeting at the Christian Unity Baptist Church was Greta Gladney, the Founder & Executive Director of The Renaissance Project New Orleans. When talking with Gladney, she spoke about the outreach that the Trinity Food Pantry held, “Our pantries at Trinity Lutheran Church, Guste Highrise and Fischer Senior Village served over 400 households in three council districts (B, C and E) over six neighborhoods: Lower 9, Central City, Bywater, New Orleans East, Algiers and Mid-City.”
Gladney went on to explain, “We functioned differently than other Second Harvest member agencies because we worked in partnership with social service providers beyond immediate neighborhood boundaries. Positive Living Treatment Center, a mental health provider, was one of our partner agencies and their clients were served through our Trinity pantry.”
When asked to comment about the termination, Melanie McGuire, the Chief Impact Officer for the Second Harvest Food Bank, replied, “Our partnership with The Renaissance Project – Trinity Church location has ended because of compliance issues on their part. We are reaching out ensure that we continue to serve members of the community affected by this partnership ending and connecting them with other food partners in the Lower Ninth Ward. Additionally, we are working directly with the Guste and Fischer Housing developments and continue to serve their residents.”
In response, Gladney and The Renaissance Project have petitioned the Archbishop for assistance: “We have not heard back from the Archdiocese, but we learned yesterday that behind our backs Second Harvest delivered to Guste and plans to deliver to the Fischer site this week. Furthermore, they are misinforming the public regarding compliance issues at Trinity.”
Gladney continued, “We were unable to serve our constituents in April. There was no reason to block our three pantries in the first place or to terminate our agency agreement. Second Harvest continues to act in cowardice to cover their missteps and undermine our longstanding relationships and partnerships in the community.”
Editor’s Note: This story has been corrected to note that the partnership between Trinity and Second Harvest is only six years old and not 30 years as it was stated in the print edition.
This article originally published in the May 29, 2017 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
