By Matilda Charles
A few months ago I escorted
three very nervous elderly ladies
to the food bank. By “escorted,”

I mean I had to scout out the sit-
uation in advance, come back

with a report (no, the food bank
staff wouldn’t ask embarrassing
questions about finances) and
then actually take the ladies to
the food bank in my car to pick
up their groceries.
Fast-forward a few months,
and I’ve just learned that said
ladies actually went to the food
bank by themselves today … and
had a wonderful time.
You wouldn’t think that
“wonderful time” would be an
apt description of a trip to a food
bank, but they were delighted by
the whole experience. For this
pick-up, the food bank did things
a different way: Having received
an abundance of donations from

various places, this time they in-
vited their “guests” into the stor-
age area and allowed them to

pick out exactly what they want-
ed for their holiday meals.

One of the ladies chose a
small turkey, another a turkey

breast to be made into sandwich-
es and pot pies, and the third a

ham for future casseroles, know-
ing that they were going to split

the bounty when they had holi-
day meals together. They nego-
tiated their way up and down the

storage area aisles, accompanied
by a friendly staffer, chatting

about potential recipes and col-
lecting a wider variety of foods

than each would get individually
during a typical food pick-up.
I’m told I will be a recipient
as well: I am invited to share
their meals when they carve the
turkey, make the sandwiches and

turn the ham into delicious cas-
seroles as my reward for having

introduced them to the joys of
the food bank.

The food bank is to be laud-
ed for their largess this holiday

season. They might never know
just how happy they made those
three ladies.