Pantry Man

I think the sign actually said Pantry Monitor. Whatever it says, volunteer, John Caruthers, is it. John packs and distributes emergency food boxes at the East Nashville Co-op. One of his legs was in a cast the day I visited so here in this shot, he was taking a little break, having just packed about twelve boxes before the doors were opened.

Cedar Seniors

Looks pretty tame doesn't it? In truth, the Cedar Seniors Center (say that three times fast), in Lebanon, Tennessee wasn't serving lunch when I was there but it was a lot like being at someone's house. Someone with a pretty big dining room, that is. I guess they had room for about forty people. There was a jukebox too, with a painting of The Last Supper hanging right next to it. For obvious reasons, The Last Supper is pretty popular in places where people gather to find food. It is so popular in fact, that I'm adding a category for it here.



Bankruptcies Rising Among Seniors, from the New York Times

Cinnamon and Sid

Sid was a pretty ordinary guy, until about twelve years ago. He drove a tractor-trailer truck for a living and had a house, a family and a couple of cars. One night he came home from work and while he was busy making himself a sandwich, an intruder knocked him out cold in his own kitchen. He woke up a month later in the hospital and nothing since then, has been quite the same. The doctors, he said, called it medical Bi-polar. Instead of his mood swinging over a period of weeks or months though, Sid's mood can change from minute to minute. They used to call me Five-minutes, he says. I'd come by and stay for a few minutes and next thing you know, I'd be mad as hell or crying like a baby - over nothing. I usually just go on home after that happens", he says. "I'd rather them call me Five-minutes" he says joking, "than to call me Crazy".

Sid has no transportation of his own but he occasionally gets food from the Nashville's Table truck despite the fact that much of it (sweets and bread) aggravates his diabetes.