Hunger by Martin Caparros

Author:Martin Caparros
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Melville House
Published: 2020-02-24T16:00:00+00:00

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After leaving Amor de Dios, I took a subway to its last stop in the far north of Chicago where a branch of Just Harvest, a grassroots organization dedicated to eliminating hunger, was located. I got out of the station and entered into a desolate neighborhood: streets lined with houses with patches of dirt in front of the porch, some with junk piled on their lawns, some with plywood nailed over their windows. I noticed empty lots, shuttered buildings, and wide deserted streets. Night had fallen by the time I reached it and there weren’t many street lamps. Only passing cars and the public housing offered any source of light.

By contrast, I found Just Harvest to be a sort of beacon. It was clean and well lighted, with big windows and walls covered with a mural depicting butterflies and parrots, planets and volcanoes, children holding hands and multicolored zebras. The main space was taken up by a cafeteria, where you could grab a tray and serve yourself. There were three dozen tables for four to six people each, all shiny and orderly and covered with their impeccable plastic tablecloths. It was the most diverse group I had encountered: African-Americans, Hispanics, whites; children, elderly, men and women. Nobody asked them for anything; if they wanted to eat, it seemed all they had to do was arrive, write their names down on a piece of paper, and go get their tray. I was here to meet with David Crawford, the director of this Just Harvest location, and a man who dressed immaculate and professional: his dark-skinned arms and neck poked out of a starched, white, tight-collared shirt, he was wearing a tie and his well-groomed face was highlighted by a neatly trimmed moustache. Despite his calm demeanor, David spoke excitedly, shooting out words like a firing piston without pause.

“Many people think that the homeless are the only ones who come to these soup kitchens. The truth is, I think, those who think that, prefer to think that. It makes them feel better. They say: of course, they’re homeless, people who fell out of the system, and so they themselves are to blame for their poverty. But it’s not like that; many of these people you see here have a place to live, but the money simply doesn’t stretch far enough; they have to pay rent, health insurance, medicine, and they’ve got nothing left to buy food. That’s why they come here, all kinds of people, all with their own stories. What they have in common is not enough food, and that’s for sure: nobody comes to a place like this if they can avoid it. Only a third of them are homeless, though, the other two-thirds are retirees who aren’t making enough from their social security checks and working people who just don’t make enough to make ends meet.”

“Is it really possible for someone to have a job and not have enough to eat?”

“Absolutely. Someone working in a temporary job,

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