Beyond Food and Drink for Those You Serve

My son was born with extensive food allergies which multiplied every time we fed him. In order to insure he was getting proper, balanced nutrients, I decided to restrict all our diets to the foods he could eat. One evening I served chunks of tofu on spaghetti. This was a low point of our culinary experience. My husband and I often refer to it. The meal became a turning point for the major change needed in our eating habits.

If I hadn’t insisted on experiencing what my son was facing for the rest of his life, I might not have realized how restrictive his diet was and done all the hard work to create new recipes.

Sometimes, in order to really serve someone, you have to live their life.

I don’t know how you can effectively lead a service organization unless you know what it really means to walk in the shoes of the people you are serving.

When I interviewed Montgomery County Councilmember Michael Knapp for an award video , he asked me to consider the difficulties of someone experiencing homelessness. They often have to keep appointments, get counseling, and work a  job. They do all these things without a home. We often struggle through the same tasks in our busy lives with a home. Housing First strives to house people then provide services. With a stable living environment, they can finally pull their lives together. It seems simple but for years the philosophy has been to house people only after they completed certain requirements which was difficult to do when homeless.

Imagine having to decide between picking up food to feed your family or losing your wages. Our local food distribution center finally expanded their hours so people don’t have to choose anymore. Losing part of your salary to pick up food doesn’t help you stay ahead of your financial difficulties. People struggled for years to make their pick-up times during regular work hours. No one would want to be put in this situation, yet it occurred.

If you work for a service organization, you need empathy for the people you serve. You need to consider each moment of their days. If you can’t experience their lives, you need to be approachable and regularly talk at length to them about simple everyday tasks. Make sure the system’s not blocking their success and path to a better life.

Now when we put tofu on spaghetti, it’s marinated with peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, curry and scallions, a much better meal.