Pasta, cookies, potato chips, white bread, sugary cereal and soda: These are items commonly found at any soup kitchen or food pantry in Washington, D.C., and across the country. One place that these items don’t appear frequently, however, is on the new and improved list of dietary guidelines for Americans, issued by the Department of Health and Human Services in January.
Those guidelines recommend that people consume 4.5 cups (nine servings) of fruits and vegetables per day and increase their intake of whole-grain foods. Yet these minimal standards are unattainable for many Americans, particularly the poor and homeless, since fresh fruits and vegetables, whole-grain products, and iron-rich meats are all expensive and very perishable.
While high-carbohydrate, processed foods have a long shelf life, are easy to transport and provide calories, they are seriously deficient in essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and fiber, and therefore lead to being overfed and undernourished at the same time.
In fact, such foods play a large role in causing obesity, which in turn leads to other chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease, according to Usha Kalro, a nutritionist for University of the District of Columbia Extension Program.
And this is the dilemma soup kitchens face every day: with a limited budget, donations and volunteers, how does one provide quick, but nutritious meals?
A Common Dilemma
George Madill, an employee at the Foggy Bottom Food Pantry, said, “I would guess at least half our clients would guess at least half our clients have some sort of high blood pressure and/or a diabetic problem and probably two-thirds are overweight.”
While food pantries try to address some of the heath difficulties that the homeless people face, there are significant obstacles. The Foggy Bottom panty, run by the United Church of Christ at 1920 G Street, NW, distributes about 10,000 pounds of food twice a month. The pantry receives most of the food free from the U.S. Department6 of Agriculture or purchases it from the Capital Area Food Bank. When shopping for food, said Madill, staff members try to purchase a variety of canned fruits and vegetables, as well as rice, potatoes, juice, crackers, and cookies.
However, workers at the pantry are limited by food availability, cost and the shelf life and storage needs of food. The organization has minimal cold storage space, so a product like milk is typically powered or shelf-packed. The pantry can only provide fresh fruits and vegetables when staff can ship the Friday before a distribution. Workers freeze meat for each client, but freezer space is so limited that there often isn’t enough to meet demand.
Miriam’s Kitchen is run by Western Presbyterian Church at 2401 Virginia Avenue, NW. It receives fresh fruits, vegetables, juice, and backed goods from private donors and organizations. The kitchen also has its own food budget and receives $30,000-$40,000 a year in donations from the Capital Area Food Bank. Some of the food products the kitchen receives depend on the season; for example, at Thanksgiving, turkeys are in abundance.
Workers at Miriam’s Kitchen prepare food plates for individuals, allowing staff members to accommodate homes people with chronic health problems, said a senior member of the staff. A person who has diabetes can receive sugar substitutes and foods low in sugar. A person with heart disease can receive low-sodium foods.
However, the food options available at Miriam’s Kitchen significantly depend on the most recent donations, and the kitchen does not purchase meat because it is too expensive.
Chef Gerald Thomas, head of kitchen operations at the D.C. Central Kitchen, said his organization receives most of its food donations from purveyors, hotels and restaurants. Workers check the food carefully to be sure it is still good; they are particularly cautious because so many clients have weak immune systems. Thomas tries to provide healthy meals, choosing to steam or bake most of the food instead of deep frying it, paying attention to the nutritional composition of his menu, and buying proteins or carbohydrates in order to complete a meal.
Food preparers are conscientious of the relatively high incidence of diabetes in the homeless population, Thomas said, and so they always cook pasta separately and drain away the starchy water before adding the pasta to a dish.
Opinions That Matter
The people who rely on food from D.C.’s soup kitchens and food pantries recognize the difficulties these organizations face in providing healthy meals. Diners at the Dinner Program for Homeless Women (DPHW), a facility located at 945 G Street, NW, that serves 75-100 people a night, vary greatly in their opinions of the food served.
While some say they enjoy the meals, others say they come only because they have few other options. “The meals are lacking calcium. There is a need for improvements in the breakfast programs,” said Linda Calderone, originally from Illinois and homeless for four years.
Several women recently said that the program serves food of substandard quality and that meal planners do not consider the dietary needs or medical conditions of participants. “The food is disgusting, not nutritious,” said a woman who has been homeless since January. She noted that the salad is always wilted and brown.
Alberta Tinsley, who has been homeless for seven years and discovered two years ago that she was diabetic, said that the DPHW doesn’t account for participants’ health status when preparing meals. She admitted that on occasions he skips meals at DPHW because the food “doesn’t look right.”
On the other hand, another homeless woman said the meals are a good source of nutrition and praised the vegetables and fruit juices they offer.
And Shacona Wood, a 22-year-old journalism major at Prince George’s Community College who has been homes for 15 months, feels that the dinner program does a good job addressing dietary needs because workers “don’t put salt in foods and serve vegetarian food.” She believes that many participants do not notify staff members about special dietary needs, adding, “if they don’t know, they can’t do anything about it.”
Additional Challenges
D.C. area services providers worry about following the Department of Health and Human Service’s new nutrition guidelines while keeping costs low and meeting client health needs – but this is just one their many concerns.
At the Foggy Bottom Food Panty, Madill worries about how to deliver food to clients whose disabilities prevent them from coming to the food pantry. “Right now,” he said, “the logistics of doing that more than I can handle.”
Christine, an intern at DPHW, said that although the program receives food from local food banks and the cafeteria at Howard University, there are still items, which people often don’t donate. The program frequently has to use its limited budget purchase non-food items such as plates, plasticware, trash bags, sponges, and dishwashing liquid, she said, and always seeks donations of these products, along with food they can carry with them until their next meal, such as dairy products, breads, dry food stuffs, and snacks.
Usha Kalro said the ultimate solution to meeting the nutritional and dietary needs of the homeless is community support. “Basically, there is no agenda when preparing the meals; you basically have to use what you get from donations,” said Kalro. Organizations will provide better quality food when they receive more nutritious donations more consistently.
Kalro added “there is also a lack of nutritionist becoming involved with these food operations,” saying dieticians and experts need to pay more attention to the needs of society’s poorest and most vulnerable.
Julie Agbasi, Tessie Aguirre, Kenechi Ejebe, Shania Flagg, Meredith Harding, Kathy Gold, LaTasha Lee, Kirsten Thomsen and Jennifer Sheen contributed to this report.
