Giving Matters: Food Lines
Posted 2007-01-16 by Bret N. Bicoy
Giving Matters is a regular column on philanthropy by Bret Bicoy of the Marietta Community Foundation. This column was published in the Marietta Times on February 22, 2003. When 60 Minutes II brought their television cameras to town last month, many local voices cried foul. They argued that showing a local food line on a national television program presented a horrible and unfair image of Washington County. As a relative newcomer to Marietta, I have a slightly different view on all of the hullabaloo. From my perspective, a food line in Washington County is exceptionally indicative of our community. And frankly, I?m quite proud of that. Let me explain. The fact that hunger and poverty exist in Appalachian Ohio cannot be denied. However, the societal forces that cause much of that poverty cannot be blamed on the people of Washington County. It wasn?t our local business community that caused three consecutive down years in the stock market. The most significant act of terrorism in the history of the United States on September 11th certainly was not our fault. And the resulting recession and the continued economic uncertainty of an impending war are not of our making in Washington County. But it is our community?s fault that there are lines at feeding programs and food pantries. Those lines are there because we care enough to create programs to combat hunger. 60 Minutes II did not chose to visit Washington County because we have more poverty than neighboring counties. In fact, statistics tell us that Washington County is actually in much better economic health than much of our region. 60 Minutes II came to Marietta for one simple reason, because they wanted a good picture for television. So they filmed our food lines. And we have those lines because we are a people who will not ignore reality. We don?t live in a big city where it is acceptable to turn our heads away from a hungry child while taking an early evening stroll down the street. Washington County is filled with people that simply refuse to bury their heads in the sand and pretend that hunger is not a problem. I have lived in Boston and Washington, D.C. I was born and raised in Honolulu and spent the last few years in Green Bay. Never before have I encountered a community like Marietta that is so enthusiastic about service above self. In the first few weeks after my family?s arrival in Marietta last summer, I was overwhelmed by the invitations to join every other service club in town. Our community?s strong desire to engage everyone in some form of service is a remarkable tradition from which we draw great strength. We at the Marietta Community Foundation have seen firsthand the incredible work of volunteers in our community. We helped fund the creation of the school lunch program in Marietta. We have contributed toward the construction of the shared cooking facilities at the Fairgrounds and the kitchen at the Ely Champan Center where they prepare the meals that feed low-income children during the summer. We have even helped build facilities for the Newport Community Food Pantry. I have had the honor of visiting with many of the volunteers who work so hard for these projects in our community. Their frustration with the problem of poverty is only overshadowed by their personal resolve to minimize its symptoms, even if it means feeding just one hungry child at a time. I have dedicated myself to a life of service through the promotion of charitable giving, but I am humbled by the commitment of so many of our friends and neighbors here in Washington County. They give so freely of their wealth, of their labor, and of their love. A food line is not an indictment of Washington County. It is a testament to our compassion.
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