HEART OF STEELE

I don’t know why in 2022 people still feel bad about asking for help to feed themselves or their families, but they do.

My family went through a temporary bout with food insecurity in the mid-1970s. I’ll never forget the look on my mother’s face as she paid for our groceries with food stamps, or the massive boxes of cheese and powdered milk in our home.

Nobody ever told me I should feel ashamed, no one said an unkind word. But somehow, I understood there was nothing to be proud of in relying on public assistance for food.

There is still today, half a century later, stigma attached to poverty and food insecurity. For some reason, our society can’t seem to shake it. But food shelves like Community Pathways of Steele County are doing something to fight it.

When I walked last week into the nonprofit’s newly remodeled and expanded home, I found a food shelf that operates like a small neighborhood grocery store. People choose the foods they enjoy and the items they need, then place them into a grocery cart and head for the checkout counter.

That power of choice preserves dignity, but it also reduces food waste that happens when you give people foods they can’t eat or can’t stand.

If you’ve supported the Community Pathways expansion in any way, you’ve had a part in making this community a kinder place for people who often stand back out of shame or feelings of failure.

You have made a huge difference in the lives of those less fortunate. You’ve helped battle that stigma around asking for help–and encouraged more people to reach out when they need it.

And you’ve strengthened the heart of our community, in more ways than you’ll ever know.