I had a great time checking people in and serving lunch at the soup kitchen yesterday. All of the other volunteers were really nice, along with the two AmeriCorps employees that help run the program. This particular soup kitchen serves lunch every weekday and recently added dinner three nights a week.
I remember being surprised as a kid when someone would come in dressed in a suit or looking particularly clean. Yesterday no one came in dressed to the nines, but I was surprised to see the janitor from my office building. I hope that he wasn’t embarrassed to have me see him eating there….I can’t imagine that he gets paid very much although he does work really hard.
Seeing him reminded me of the book “Nickel and Dimed.” Have you guys read that book? It’s by a journalist (Barbara Ehrenreich) that decides to go undercover and work minimum wage jobs in different parts of the country to see if people can really survive. It’s a fascinating book and not surprisingly, she finds it very difficult to eek out a living on minimum wage. I would bet that the janitor in my office building gets paid more than minimum wage, but most of the northeast is crazy-expensive to live in. I don’t know if he has a wife or kids, but I truly shouldn’t have been as surprised as I was to see him eat the free lunch.
I look forward to going back next week!
2 comments:
It is heartbreaking to see so many people who struggle to make ends meet when they work long hours at minimum wage.
I will have to add that book to my list.
I thought Nickle and Dimed was fascinating and depressing. Makes me think about the guy who dresses up in a suit and asks for change at our local Dunkin Donuts. If I saw him in any other circumstance, I never would think he needed the money. There is always more to the story.
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