Oh, Food Pantry Clients!

In case you think I'm such a nice person, working at the Food Pantry and all:  No, I'm not.  Sometimes clients make me cranky.

Most of the time I cover this with a smile, plus a lot of nodding and agreeing and quite a bit of wrinkled-brow sympathy.  But sometimes they drive me crazy.

Oh, clients, please:

1. Don't be querulous!  I know your life is hard, or you wouldn't be in line for food, but everyone in front of you has a hard life, and so does everyone behind you. 

2.  Keep in mind that we hardly ever have pet food.  Please don't ask.  For some reason, this irritates me, even though I know intellectually that your pet is important to you, a comfort.  Okay, I'm talking myself out of this irritation.

3.  Please do ask about baby food and formula.  We sometimes have this, and we love babies.

4.   Don't say you are "blessed."  It's confuses me.  Standing in line at a food pantry does not seem like a blessing.   (Also, it makes me feel ungrateful, which is probably true.)

5.   Don't ask if there's any meat today.  There hasn't been any in weeks, bordering on months.  It's not our fault.  It's the USDA's.

6.   Bring your children with you.  They are charming and distracting and a change of pace.

7.   Come when you need to, but tell the truth about how many people are in your family and where you live.  If you live outside of Berkeley or Albany, figure out the Pantry nearest your house.  We will help you with this.

Okay, that's it.  Most clients are easy and grateful.  I love the ones who are spunky, with a sense of humor, too, and there are plenty of them.

Freshly washed trays waiting to be taken back to Starbuck's for more donations