Well, it has been a while since my last entry. Free lunch has still been going on, but it has been business as usual, and not much has been different. Sometimes I don't know that I really have a lot to write about.
When I first started out, I had a grand vision of a local or regional charity growing out of free lunch, and when I picked my blog address, freelunch.blogspot.com was already taken, so I had to settle for freelunchproject.blogspot.com. I was a little disappointed with the "project" part of the address because in my mind at the time, it was not a project. A project has a beginning and an end from the outset, and my vision at the time was an organization that had no end.
As I am now learning, the title was a little more appropriate than I thought because free lunch is going on a leave of absence for a little while. And I don't know how long! Healthy things grow, and I can certainly see how this has grown over the past year. I have given 945 lunches to hungry folks since the 16th of September 2006. A little over $2,000.00 has been donated (unsolicited) with a total lunch cost of about $3,150.00. Over 50 people have volunteered, and there was starting to be a good number of very regular volunteers. All of this is very encouraging.
When a gardener plants a garden (I don't know very much about gardining, so I am talking about my limited experience), every winter, the plants are pruned back so that new life can grow in a new season. Over the last few months, I have seen this coming, and I knew I was going to have to make a decision. I could try to keep a plant alive through a cold winter (which wouldn't work), and then try to make it grow in the next spring (which also wouldn't work). I am sad to see things go, and also looking forward to a little break. Through no planning of my own, the timing is pretty good. Around the holidays, a lot of charities ramp up and a lot more people volunteer, so I can trust that the people I have been serving will still be served.
Even as I type this, and as I have started telling people, I can feel the resources of the existing growth being pulled back in to the roots, awaiting something new. It may come back and look exactly the same, and it may appear different in the next season, but I know that this root will not die. It is permanent. And if it does die, it will leave a hole.
When I started free lunch, my life was messy. It still is. I had $1,000.00 in the bank, and I decided if I was going to go broke, I was going to do it my way. There were a couple of times that I was spending close to my last dollars on lunch thinking I was crazy. Other parts of my life were messy too. Relationships in ruins, a poor attitude, making bad choices for myself, all these things were going on, and one truth I could hold on to was serving poor people matters. It really matters. And it doesn't matter what is going on in my life when someone else hasn't had a healthy meal for a few days. My struggles are easier than a person completely addicted to a drug that is ruining their life. Or a person who can't hold a steady job for a whole host of reasons. Or a guy who thinks he has to pull a gun on a white boy from the suburbs to protect his way of life, I am not under the pressure or the threats that guy is under. Or the guy who's wife is dying of breast cancer and he is sending the money he earns here back to whatever part of the world she lives in so she has a chance to live.
I don't assume to know anything about that kind of life, because I have heat and a bed and clean clothes. But I do know something about eating lunch. And it is good to eat lunch. And I love it when my friends come and eat lunch with me. In the midst of whatever is going on in anyones life, lunch with a friend is pure gold. And even if it is for a few minutes, I can enjoy some time with a new friend.
Thank you to everyone that has helped out over the past year. I could not have done this on my own. I appreciate everyone who gave money, and everyone who volunteered. We will see what happens in the new season.
02 December, 2007
25 September, 2007
Free Lunch is 1 year old
1 year ago this past weekend was the first free lunch. 805 lunches later, i feel like my blog posts have just become boring! It kind of troubled me at first, but after some reflection, I came to realize that free lunch is predictable. And for me, predictable is good. The people I see are familiar. The newness of experiencing a different culture and different kinds of people with different values has worn off. The are no longer objects that fulfill my desire of being charitable, they are people I see and even know a little bit. I see Lorenzo at the community center almost every time. Lorenzo knows me and I know him. He sees my car and he stands up and puts his arms out with a smile, and we walk to eachother and shake hands, and it is good to see him. I look forward to seeing Lorenzo, and I hope he looks forward to seeing me. After we exchange our greeting, he grabs a lunch and we hang out for a little bit.
When I think about it, it takes a measure of trust to take a lunch from a stranger. I would be a little skeptical if someone just gave me a lunch...what if they put ex-lax in the chocolate chip cookies? Luckily, I don't serve chocolate chip cookies, so I don't ever get the question.
The familiarity is a good thing. A very smart dude sends out an email every so often, and the last email was pretty insightful and encouraging to my latest experience, Floyd McClung writes:
Put down and cultivate roots. There is no fruit without roots. Roots give us strength. They bring stability when the wind blows. Roots mean we belong. A rootless person is a person who floats through life, never having stayed long enough or committed deep enough to really give himself or herself to a place or a people. Roots give us depth. In times of drought people with roots will survive, even thrive, while others dry up. There are seasons in everyone’s life of dryness. But a person with deep roots draws from the water that flows far beneath the surface. There are different kinds of roots: emotional roots, relational roots, cultural roots, and spiritual roots. Love the place God puts you. Love the people God joins you with. Invest your life in a small community of people where you are known, held accountable, and are loved.
If I were to stop doing free lunch, I would feel a little uprooted. That's a good thing, and a new thing, something I can smile about.
When I think about it, it takes a measure of trust to take a lunch from a stranger. I would be a little skeptical if someone just gave me a lunch...what if they put ex-lax in the chocolate chip cookies? Luckily, I don't serve chocolate chip cookies, so I don't ever get the question.
The familiarity is a good thing. A very smart dude sends out an email every so often, and the last email was pretty insightful and encouraging to my latest experience, Floyd McClung writes:
Put down and cultivate roots. There is no fruit without roots. Roots give us strength. They bring stability when the wind blows. Roots mean we belong. A rootless person is a person who floats through life, never having stayed long enough or committed deep enough to really give himself or herself to a place or a people. Roots give us depth. In times of drought people with roots will survive, even thrive, while others dry up. There are seasons in everyone’s life of dryness. But a person with deep roots draws from the water that flows far beneath the surface. There are different kinds of roots: emotional roots, relational roots, cultural roots, and spiritual roots. Love the place God puts you. Love the people God joins you with. Invest your life in a small community of people where you are known, held accountable, and are loved.
If I were to stop doing free lunch, I would feel a little uprooted. That's a good thing, and a new thing, something I can smile about.
27 August, 2007
Last Saturday
It has been a month since the last free lunch. My neighbors volunteered with me this week, and that was pretty cool, and a couple of other really cool things happened.
I have been going down to the hispanic community center for a while now, and I sort of know a few of the regulars that are hanging out there. When I got down there, everyone was happy as they normally are, and the coolest thing happened, a few of the guys came out to meet me, and I think we could have hugged. I was taken back by it at first, so it didn't happen, but dang, we are familiar enough with eachother that we could really greet eachother with a hug. It still makes me smile when I think about it. Almost a year ago, I walked in there with lunches, and they all looked at me like some sort of weird stranger, and now, we almost hugged.
Sometimes when we are driving around in the hood, we offer a lunch to someone who isn't homeless, and they have responded in a lot of different ways, some just laugh, others get really mad. One guy this last Saturday was just really happy to get a lunch, and I was happy to give it to him. It was really great. No qualifications necessary. Just lunch.
I have been going down to the hispanic community center for a while now, and I sort of know a few of the regulars that are hanging out there. When I got down there, everyone was happy as they normally are, and the coolest thing happened, a few of the guys came out to meet me, and I think we could have hugged. I was taken back by it at first, so it didn't happen, but dang, we are familiar enough with eachother that we could really greet eachother with a hug. It still makes me smile when I think about it. Almost a year ago, I walked in there with lunches, and they all looked at me like some sort of weird stranger, and now, we almost hugged.
Sometimes when we are driving around in the hood, we offer a lunch to someone who isn't homeless, and they have responded in a lot of different ways, some just laugh, others get really mad. One guy this last Saturday was just really happy to get a lunch, and I was happy to give it to him. It was really great. No qualifications necessary. Just lunch.
18 July, 2007
Artwork!
Image is copyrighted by Jason Carrigan 2011
Over the last few months, I have been trying to come up with designs for a logo and a t-shirt design for free lunch, and it has been slow going. Today, I would like to announce the new logo, designed by Amber (thanks Amber!!).
Does that rock or what?
There has also been quite a bit of development on the business side of things. The form for registering free lunch as an official non-profit organization is almost complete, and I would like to get that done before the end of the year.
Last weekend was pretty cool because we had a lot of volunteers, half new half had volunteered before. I had a meeting in the morning and I didn't get back to the house until 11:30. According to the schedule, we should be finished packing lunches by 11:30, and guess what, when I got back to the house, they were exactly on schedule. Without me being there. Awesome. I have the best volunteers.
What do you think of the new logo?
01 July, 2007
Raving Fans
Ever since my encounter with a drug dealer a few months ago, I have mostly been turned off to them, and quite honestly a little scared of going back there. I have served lunches in the outskirts of the park where the drug dealers hang out, and I have really wanted to go back there, but I was not wanting to have an encounter with them like I have in the past.
Yesterday it was raining, which means most people are inside and there aren't that many people walking around. We had to work a little harder to find people, which always reminds me of how isolated anyone can become. When rain hits, we head for shelter. Out of the open and in to the places where the rain can't touch us. Sometimes those places can be filled with friends and families, and other times those can be places of isolation. I know what the outside of the buildings look like in the hood, I can't imagine what the insides of those places look like.
I drove around the block where the drug dealers hang out, and saw a drug deal going down, my enthusiastic friend, never having witnessed a drug deal going down, was so excited that she was able to experience that for the first time. So we went around the block thinking that when we circled back, they would be finished with their transaction, and it would be safer to give them a lunch. They were done, and we gave both of them a lunch. It is easy to figure out who the drug dealers are, because they are dressed much nicer than anyone else around there. This drug dealer looked pretty mean, but he was a nice enough guy, and we gave him a lunch and he thanked us.
We had to drive around quite a bit to find people, and when a car is driving around in circles in that area, it most often means that someone is looking for drugs. A guy waved us down, and I knew why he was waving at us (to offer us drugs), and so we drove over to where he was at. I rolled down the passenger window, he leaned his head down, and with a big smile, he said, "whats up?". This translates to: what kind of drugs would you like today? I smiled back and told him we have some lunches and asked him if he was hungry. He paused for just a second, and he figured out who we were, and he laughed and asked us what was in the lunch. He didn't care for ham sandwiches, but he asked for a water, and we gladly gave it to him.
He was the nicest drug dealer I have ever met. If I bought drugs, I would go to that guy every day. There was something about him that was just pleasant to be around. He was encouraging, he had a nice smile, and he was happy to serve me.
It was refreshing to have a pleasant interaction with people in that area. It is so hard to know what to expect going there because when people are on drugs, they are unpredictable. The Hispanic community center is very predictable. Smiles, everyone is glad we are there, the language barrier always makes communication a little difficult, but it is really fun. Drugs are just bad news. The addiction binds people up so that it makes them very difficult to be around. It isolates people to a certain way of life that isn't good for them and not good for the people around them.
When I meet a guy like that, it renews my hope and my purpose for going down to that part of town. I give them what I can, and be there in the ways that I am able to. I can only hope that they receive even a fraction of the joy I experience.
Yesterday it was raining, which means most people are inside and there aren't that many people walking around. We had to work a little harder to find people, which always reminds me of how isolated anyone can become. When rain hits, we head for shelter. Out of the open and in to the places where the rain can't touch us. Sometimes those places can be filled with friends and families, and other times those can be places of isolation. I know what the outside of the buildings look like in the hood, I can't imagine what the insides of those places look like.
I drove around the block where the drug dealers hang out, and saw a drug deal going down, my enthusiastic friend, never having witnessed a drug deal going down, was so excited that she was able to experience that for the first time. So we went around the block thinking that when we circled back, they would be finished with their transaction, and it would be safer to give them a lunch. They were done, and we gave both of them a lunch. It is easy to figure out who the drug dealers are, because they are dressed much nicer than anyone else around there. This drug dealer looked pretty mean, but he was a nice enough guy, and we gave him a lunch and he thanked us.
We had to drive around quite a bit to find people, and when a car is driving around in circles in that area, it most often means that someone is looking for drugs. A guy waved us down, and I knew why he was waving at us (to offer us drugs), and so we drove over to where he was at. I rolled down the passenger window, he leaned his head down, and with a big smile, he said, "whats up?". This translates to: what kind of drugs would you like today? I smiled back and told him we have some lunches and asked him if he was hungry. He paused for just a second, and he figured out who we were, and he laughed and asked us what was in the lunch. He didn't care for ham sandwiches, but he asked for a water, and we gladly gave it to him.
He was the nicest drug dealer I have ever met. If I bought drugs, I would go to that guy every day. There was something about him that was just pleasant to be around. He was encouraging, he had a nice smile, and he was happy to serve me.
It was refreshing to have a pleasant interaction with people in that area. It is so hard to know what to expect going there because when people are on drugs, they are unpredictable. The Hispanic community center is very predictable. Smiles, everyone is glad we are there, the language barrier always makes communication a little difficult, but it is really fun. Drugs are just bad news. The addiction binds people up so that it makes them very difficult to be around. It isolates people to a certain way of life that isn't good for them and not good for the people around them.
When I meet a guy like that, it renews my hope and my purpose for going down to that part of town. I give them what I can, and be there in the ways that I am able to. I can only hope that they receive even a fraction of the joy I experience.
06 June, 2007
i'm lovin' it.
That is the current slogan for McDonalds. I remembered when McDonalds had a sign that used to read 50 million served, and then it kept going up and up. I think now they just say billions and billions served. So tonight I decided to add up how many lunches that have been served through free lunch, not quite in the same league as McDonalds, but 560 is not too shabby in my opinion.
In case you didn't know, I was McDonalds Employee of the month in September of 1993 at store #6003, located in Apple Valley, MN, one of the busiest locations in the Minneapolis area. That's not too shabby either. The store is located on the main road that goes through all the southern suburbs. When I got bored, I would sneak down to the utility room, open up the breaker panel, and turn the breaker for the big sign out front on and off for about a minute. People freaked out and didn't know what was going on, not even the managers. I just smiled and kept working hard....and no one ever knew....until now.
In case you didn't know, I was McDonalds Employee of the month in September of 1993 at store #6003, located in Apple Valley, MN, one of the busiest locations in the Minneapolis area. That's not too shabby either. The store is located on the main road that goes through all the southern suburbs. When I got bored, I would sneak down to the utility room, open up the breaker panel, and turn the breaker for the big sign out front on and off for about a minute. People freaked out and didn't know what was going on, not even the managers. I just smiled and kept working hard....and no one ever knew....until now.
04 June, 2007
Values
This week my mom is in town, so I thought it would be a good time to talk about the values of free lunch. She went with us downtown to serve lunches on Saturday, and it was fun to have her along because she lives in Los Angeles, and we don't get a lot of time to hang out.
I always find it interesting that more girls volunteer than guys. In my observation, girls are so much better at getting involved and helping out. I don't understand why more guys don't join in, because the girls are cute, and a lot of my guy friends don't have girlfriends. It is a mystery to me...what better way to get to know a girl than to spend a few hours together on Saturday serving lunches??
I have been asked several times in the last few weeks if I would be interested in receiving food donations that aren't the standard free lunch menu items. Good food too...a friend of mine is a caterer, and she fixes food every weekend, always has leftovers, and she doesn't have a good place to take them. Another friend offered to take a grill downtown and put on a big bbq for people. These are good offers, and I have been a little conflicted about accepting them.
The vision of free lunch has evolved, or formed in to something that would resemble a city wide, or even regional charity organization that reaches invisible communities in the vicinity of a person that wishes to become involved. In order to accomplish that, I would like to develop a model that is so simple, that anyone can repeat it. The formula is simple, make a lunch menu, go to the store and buy it, go to wherever the people are at, and hang out.
Finding an invisible group of people is hard enough (because they are invisible), and each lunch has its own set of unpredictable events, so I think it is important to make as many parts of the process as planned and predictable (and efficient) as possible. I go to the grocery store at the same time, I even pack the cart the same way, we pack the lunches the same way, go to the same places at the same time in the same car. If someone wants to help out, and it doesn't fit in to the set of expectations that I operate under, I typically turn down the help. I feel bad, but as this little experiment is being built, it is important to stick to the values that hold it together. So here is what I see as the valuable parts of free lunch:
I always find it interesting that more girls volunteer than guys. In my observation, girls are so much better at getting involved and helping out. I don't understand why more guys don't join in, because the girls are cute, and a lot of my guy friends don't have girlfriends. It is a mystery to me...what better way to get to know a girl than to spend a few hours together on Saturday serving lunches??
I have been asked several times in the last few weeks if I would be interested in receiving food donations that aren't the standard free lunch menu items. Good food too...a friend of mine is a caterer, and she fixes food every weekend, always has leftovers, and she doesn't have a good place to take them. Another friend offered to take a grill downtown and put on a big bbq for people. These are good offers, and I have been a little conflicted about accepting them.
The vision of free lunch has evolved, or formed in to something that would resemble a city wide, or even regional charity organization that reaches invisible communities in the vicinity of a person that wishes to become involved. In order to accomplish that, I would like to develop a model that is so simple, that anyone can repeat it. The formula is simple, make a lunch menu, go to the store and buy it, go to wherever the people are at, and hang out.
Finding an invisible group of people is hard enough (because they are invisible), and each lunch has its own set of unpredictable events, so I think it is important to make as many parts of the process as planned and predictable (and efficient) as possible. I go to the grocery store at the same time, I even pack the cart the same way, we pack the lunches the same way, go to the same places at the same time in the same car. If someone wants to help out, and it doesn't fit in to the set of expectations that I operate under, I typically turn down the help. I feel bad, but as this little experiment is being built, it is important to stick to the values that hold it together. So here is what I see as the valuable parts of free lunch:
- Set very clear, and very low expectations of what I am willing to offer. Lunch and hanging out are two things that I know I can deliver on a consistent basis.
- Seeking out and connecting with invisible people is the fundamental purpose, and value.
- Sticking to a plan and model that can be duplicated is a value that will serve as the fundamental growth strategy.
That's about it. I try to keep it simple.
As I pulled up to the community center on the west side, one of the guys remembered my name, and that feels good. There were a bunch of people there, and I didn't see Alejandro. I will try to give an update if I hear from him again.
07 May, 2007
Livin the dream
Sometimes I go to the grocery store by myself and meet the volunteers back at the house and we pack lunches and go downtown. I have a plan when I go to the grocery store. I have a planned path that I follow every time I am in the grocery store, and the groceries go in the cart the same way. The lunches are packed the same way and handed out in the same way every week. Some people think I am a little...ahem...compulsive? For me it is all about efficiency. If I follow the same path in the grocery store, the groceries go in the cart and come off the cart so the person packing the groceries can pack them in such a way that they are easy to unpack at the house and easy to pack back in to lunches. I hold these plans loosely, and if I have people with me at the grocery store, I don't mind if the capri suns are stacked neatly in the front of the cart, and I don't mind if the snack packs aren't stacked neatly next to the capri suns, and I don't mind if the bread isn't stacked on the capri suns, or if the sliced meat is in the child seat, I do mind, however, if my volunteers purse is in the child seat, because come on, that just looks weird.
I make plans and hope that everything goes to plan. I also have hopes and dreams for free lunch. The purpose of free lunch is to meet the physical needs of people, and try to get to know them and be in community with them. I don't know anything about being homeless or being poor, so I don't assume that I know the life of a homeless person. I also don't assume that I know how to serve them. My dream is that someone would ask me to help them, that I would be invited in to their life, and I would have the opportunity to respond with whatever resources I am able to offer.
I have this notion that no one really wants to know the problems and junk of my life, so I often don't invite people in to the messy places in my life. Its easy to show someone the places in my life that are in order and comfortable to share, but it is a struggle, even with my good friends, to invite them in to the messes.
Alejandro is from Guatemala, his wife has breast cancer. We were serving lunch at the community center when Alejandro approached me telling his story in Spanish. I did my best to try to understand him, but I couldn't fully understand him. I asked Santos to help translate for me. Santos speaks English and Spanish, and he was happy to help me. How about that, now I am the one with needs, and the tables are turned. Freaking awesome. Santos translated for Alejandro, and Alejandro began to invite me in to a place in his life where he doesn't have it all together, and its a mess. I felt so privileged to hang out with him in his messy place.
I learned the lesson that we all have a deep need to share our whole lives with eachother. To know that we are not alone in our struggles and troubles is one of the most fulfilling feelings in the world. In my experience, most of us are walking around pretending that we have it all together, but the truth is that we are all fragile, and we don't know how to hold it all together. It is so much easier to make the best of things when we are known, and when others know what is going on. It doesn't matter if they can fix it, or have resources to provide help, but for some reason being known helps to hold it together. My belief is that when our burdens are known, they are a lighter load to carry.
So my hope is for more open doors, not only with the people I serve, but in my own life. I think we all have the ability to put on a facade of perfection, but we aren't perfect. It seems like a simple enough lesson, but it is hard to put in to practice. Baby steps. It doesn't matter if the groceries in the cart are perfectly situated, the same every time. That's not life. Life sometimes means the groceries can just be thrown in the cart in no particular order. Maybe even taking a different path through the grocery store, everyone needs a little adventure. One step at a time though...it gets easier with time.
If you have the chance to have Alejandro in your thoughts, I am sure he would appreciate it. I didn't get too many details, but he doesn't see his wife very often, and I am sure it is a stress on the whole family. He would appreciate you keeping him in mind.
I make plans and hope that everything goes to plan. I also have hopes and dreams for free lunch. The purpose of free lunch is to meet the physical needs of people, and try to get to know them and be in community with them. I don't know anything about being homeless or being poor, so I don't assume that I know the life of a homeless person. I also don't assume that I know how to serve them. My dream is that someone would ask me to help them, that I would be invited in to their life, and I would have the opportunity to respond with whatever resources I am able to offer.
I have this notion that no one really wants to know the problems and junk of my life, so I often don't invite people in to the messy places in my life. Its easy to show someone the places in my life that are in order and comfortable to share, but it is a struggle, even with my good friends, to invite them in to the messes.
Alejandro is from Guatemala, his wife has breast cancer. We were serving lunch at the community center when Alejandro approached me telling his story in Spanish. I did my best to try to understand him, but I couldn't fully understand him. I asked Santos to help translate for me. Santos speaks English and Spanish, and he was happy to help me. How about that, now I am the one with needs, and the tables are turned. Freaking awesome. Santos translated for Alejandro, and Alejandro began to invite me in to a place in his life where he doesn't have it all together, and its a mess. I felt so privileged to hang out with him in his messy place.
I learned the lesson that we all have a deep need to share our whole lives with eachother. To know that we are not alone in our struggles and troubles is one of the most fulfilling feelings in the world. In my experience, most of us are walking around pretending that we have it all together, but the truth is that we are all fragile, and we don't know how to hold it all together. It is so much easier to make the best of things when we are known, and when others know what is going on. It doesn't matter if they can fix it, or have resources to provide help, but for some reason being known helps to hold it together. My belief is that when our burdens are known, they are a lighter load to carry.
So my hope is for more open doors, not only with the people I serve, but in my own life. I think we all have the ability to put on a facade of perfection, but we aren't perfect. It seems like a simple enough lesson, but it is hard to put in to practice. Baby steps. It doesn't matter if the groceries in the cart are perfectly situated, the same every time. That's not life. Life sometimes means the groceries can just be thrown in the cart in no particular order. Maybe even taking a different path through the grocery store, everyone needs a little adventure. One step at a time though...it gets easier with time.
If you have the chance to have Alejandro in your thoughts, I am sure he would appreciate it. I didn't get too many details, but he doesn't see his wife very often, and I am sure it is a stress on the whole family. He would appreciate you keeping him in mind.
01 May, 2007
I Heart Google
And Google hearts me, #1 baby
However, I didn't give an update from the last free lunch, and the next one is right around the corner. On Cinco de Mayo. Maybe some sombreros are in order.
More soon.
However, I didn't give an update from the last free lunch, and the next one is right around the corner. On Cinco de Mayo. Maybe some sombreros are in order.
More soon.
13 April, 2007
Normal
After each Saturday I serve, I try to think about what was different, or what I learned, or who I met, and how it changed me. This last Saturday was just a normal non-eventful Saturday. I am thankful for non-eventful. It's good when it is just pleasant. When I know what to expect and when it goes the way I planned it, that's good.
We did run in to one peculiar fellow down in the hood. There is this small apartment building that looks like a crack house. There are usually about 6 or 7 guys who hang out in front of it and for some reason I am drawn to that place. It is around the corner from the drug dealers, but it is clearly a place where squatters squat.
There were a few guys hanging out in front of the place when I pulled up, one of them looked a little lost, and I don't think he spoke english. We asked him if we wanted a lunch, and he looked around for a while, and then he just started running.
I wonder what the story is behind all of those people. How did they get where they are? How do I find out? There are so many people I serve that rarely recognize people. A few people know me because included in every lunch is a Capri Sun. People love the Capri Suns. People ask for them specifically.
It's good that people are getting to know me. Especially the drug dealers. They know my car now. They know about the Capri Sun's too.
I am sure there will be challenges ahead, but it is restful to just keep the normal procedure running. The danger is still there and the ride is still exciting, but it is a familiar road.
We did run in to one peculiar fellow down in the hood. There is this small apartment building that looks like a crack house. There are usually about 6 or 7 guys who hang out in front of it and for some reason I am drawn to that place. It is around the corner from the drug dealers, but it is clearly a place where squatters squat.
There were a few guys hanging out in front of the place when I pulled up, one of them looked a little lost, and I don't think he spoke english. We asked him if we wanted a lunch, and he looked around for a while, and then he just started running.
I wonder what the story is behind all of those people. How did they get where they are? How do I find out? There are so many people I serve that rarely recognize people. A few people know me because included in every lunch is a Capri Sun. People love the Capri Suns. People ask for them specifically.
It's good that people are getting to know me. Especially the drug dealers. They know my car now. They know about the Capri Sun's too.
I am sure there will be challenges ahead, but it is restful to just keep the normal procedure running. The danger is still there and the ride is still exciting, but it is a familiar road.
28 March, 2007
Sweet ride
After last week's brush with death, I was encouraged by the past few weeks. Here's the scoop:
- There has been a significant increase in interest from volunteers
- Web traffic has increased
- Last weekend two brand new volunteers joined me
- There has been an increase in donations
- A friend of mine took his family and handed out lunches downtown
It is nice to have a positive wave of stuff happening. Starting Free Lunch has had its ups and downs, but one thing is for sure, it has always been a sweet ride. Its kind of like driving too fast through the mountains. The danger is real, the likely consequences of skidding off the mountain is death, going around a corner too fast and starting to feel the tires slip is exhilerating, eyes glued to the road, calculating every turn, planning each pass, then hitting the straightaway and just flying.
I love this life.
10 March, 2007
Stayin Alive
The weather is getting nicer, which meant that there were a lot of people working and the hispanic community center was nearly empty! I love going there. The people are nice and thankful, they always smile, and the awkwardness created by our inability to communicate is fun. It's empty because a lot of people were working, which I am happy about, but I missed seeing my friends.
Also, when the weather is nice, there are a bunch of people at the park on the east side. Lots of parents with their kids playing. There are a lot of people in need there, so the lunches go quickly. With the nice weather, I expected a large crowd. So when we started up Harrison Street, and I saw a lot of people, I told the two girls with me to roll up the windows because we always serve lunch there outside with the car doors locked so people won't be able to get in the car.
There are a few people who know me, and know what I am about, so I am never surprised when people approach the car as I am pulling up. I usually smile at them and get out of my car to serve them lunch. As we were driving to where we get out of the car, a guy was walking quickly toward the car, and I was glad that a regular recognized me. When he got in the street, I could tell he didn't know me and he assumed I was there threatening his turf. The park is prime real estate for drug traffic, and this guy was the neighborhood watch dog, a mean one too. I rolled down my window as he approached the car and he yelled at me in a way that made me more scared than I have ever been while I have been doing free lunch. I have been approached before, and scared before, but this guy shook me. I told him I was here to hand out lunches to whoever wanted one, and asked him if he was ok with it. He let me know he was cool with it, and walked away. When I got out of the car and started getting lunches out, it was immediately obvious who the drug dealers were and who wanted food. The drug dealers scattered, and the hungry people came and got lunch. Eventually the watchdog came and I gave him a lunch too.
There is good and evil that exist in this world. We will probably never all agree about who or what is good, but it is easy to agree on what evil is, and most of us know what it feels like.
I couldn't shake off my feelings about what happened, so I called a friend who could articulate the realisty of what happened when I told him the story. Encountering evil with kindness is dangerous work. Evil is real, and if you choose to go in to evil territory, you will probably be threatened. And it's not just your comfort that is at risk, evil uses guns and bullets to stake its claim. Death is a real possibility.
So it is important to be aware of the choices I am making, and to communicate the reality of the places we go to serve lunch. It is also important to choose what battles to fight. Is it worth the risk of death to bring someone a lunch? Why? I don't pretend to have an easy answer to that question, because I don't think an easy answer exists. For me, it is about a belief in something that is sometimes hard to believe. I'm really forced to choose when I am confronted with the possibility that my life my be threatened. Because if I don't really believe it, I am better off to stay home. I believe kindness can change another person, or several people. I believe that kindness is the best tool to infiltrate evil territory. Opposing force can wipe it out or destroy it, but I believe that kindness can change it. When it comes down to it, it's good vs. evil, and I'm in the fight.
Also, when the weather is nice, there are a bunch of people at the park on the east side. Lots of parents with their kids playing. There are a lot of people in need there, so the lunches go quickly. With the nice weather, I expected a large crowd. So when we started up Harrison Street, and I saw a lot of people, I told the two girls with me to roll up the windows because we always serve lunch there outside with the car doors locked so people won't be able to get in the car.
There are a few people who know me, and know what I am about, so I am never surprised when people approach the car as I am pulling up. I usually smile at them and get out of my car to serve them lunch. As we were driving to where we get out of the car, a guy was walking quickly toward the car, and I was glad that a regular recognized me. When he got in the street, I could tell he didn't know me and he assumed I was there threatening his turf. The park is prime real estate for drug traffic, and this guy was the neighborhood watch dog, a mean one too. I rolled down my window as he approached the car and he yelled at me in a way that made me more scared than I have ever been while I have been doing free lunch. I have been approached before, and scared before, but this guy shook me. I told him I was here to hand out lunches to whoever wanted one, and asked him if he was ok with it. He let me know he was cool with it, and walked away. When I got out of the car and started getting lunches out, it was immediately obvious who the drug dealers were and who wanted food. The drug dealers scattered, and the hungry people came and got lunch. Eventually the watchdog came and I gave him a lunch too.
There is good and evil that exist in this world. We will probably never all agree about who or what is good, but it is easy to agree on what evil is, and most of us know what it feels like.
I couldn't shake off my feelings about what happened, so I called a friend who could articulate the realisty of what happened when I told him the story. Encountering evil with kindness is dangerous work. Evil is real, and if you choose to go in to evil territory, you will probably be threatened. And it's not just your comfort that is at risk, evil uses guns and bullets to stake its claim. Death is a real possibility.
So it is important to be aware of the choices I am making, and to communicate the reality of the places we go to serve lunch. It is also important to choose what battles to fight. Is it worth the risk of death to bring someone a lunch? Why? I don't pretend to have an easy answer to that question, because I don't think an easy answer exists. For me, it is about a belief in something that is sometimes hard to believe. I'm really forced to choose when I am confronted with the possibility that my life my be threatened. Because if I don't really believe it, I am better off to stay home. I believe kindness can change another person, or several people. I believe that kindness is the best tool to infiltrate evil territory. Opposing force can wipe it out or destroy it, but I believe that kindness can change it. When it comes down to it, it's good vs. evil, and I'm in the fight.
05 March, 2007
T-shirt design contest update
Entries continue to come in for the t-shirt design contest, but there is no clear winner. My friends Becca and Patti put their heads together to come up with this design:
If you think you can design a better t-shirt than this, the design deadline is April 15th. Good Luck!
28 February, 2007
New questions
The last few weeks, Free Lunch has operated like a machine. Volunteers show up, lunches are made, handed out, and we come home. We know where we are going, and we know what we are doing.
When I first started Free Lunch, I drove around downtown for a few months just trying to find the right place to go. During that time, I was thinking through all of the logistical problems I would have to solve like: How am I going to tell people about it? What kind of lunch am I going to make? How much should I budget? How will volunteers find out about it and sign up? Where will I hand out lunches? How will I hand out lunches? Who will I serve? Who else should I think about serving? Questions like that.
Recently a new question has surfaced, How effective are the methods used in accomplishing the purpose? If the purpose of Free Lunch is to form communities with invisible people, and inform people that pathways to these invisible people exist, then how do I measure success?
Jim Collins is the man. He wrote a book called Good to Great, a book that profiles businesses that went from good businesses to great businesses. He first defined good and great businesses, and made a few observations about why some companies make the leap. He also wrote a additional chapter, released in the form of a monograph, about how to apply the great company principles to the social sector. One of the challenging questions that came from that book was, How do you measure output from a social cause? Can I measure community? Can I measure the effectiveness of my efforts? What is the effect? Is the effect in line with my purpose? These questions are more difficult to answer.
Floyd McClung is also the man. I had a chance to hear Floyd speak last night and he shed some light on answering these new questions. He made the point that a person's core values will determine how they interpret input and ultimately dictate how they choose to act. Floyd McClung has done some incredible work in his lifetime. He is unprecedented...sort of. He doesn't have a lot of precedence. Most of us live life similar to how the people around us live life. That isn't a bad thing, we are very lucky to have well developed methods for getting an education, getting a job, living accommodations are plentiful and comfortable. This is one reason why America rocks, we have a great country with lots of good role models that have preceded us, showed us what they did right, and what we can do better.
I don't know Floyd very well, but it seems to me that he had the energy and ideas to carve his own path. AND he has been effective in what he is doing. So when he says that a persons core values influence what they choose to do, I am going to start asking that question. What does Free Lunch value? What do I value? I don't answer that question by what I am saying, but by my track record.
I am going to be honest and tell you that I value having fun, and running a machine. I like how smoothly Free Lunch runs every time. I like the system. I like how everything is timed and it happens on time or just a little bit ahead of schedule. I don't think those are bad things to value and enjoy, but they are secondary.
So I will continue to ask more questions and get better at doing what Free Lunch is all about.
Now, since I do enjoy the systems part of it, I will share with you a few statistics:
First Free Lunch: 16 September, 2006
Number of lunches served to date: 350
Average Cost of Lunch: $3.16
Number of volunteers who have contributed: 23
Approximate number of volunteer hours served: 190
Fastest grocery store run: 12 minutes
Percentage of lunches paid for by donors (unsolicited, they gave out of their own generosity!): 65%
A lunch includes:
When I first started Free Lunch, I drove around downtown for a few months just trying to find the right place to go. During that time, I was thinking through all of the logistical problems I would have to solve like: How am I going to tell people about it? What kind of lunch am I going to make? How much should I budget? How will volunteers find out about it and sign up? Where will I hand out lunches? How will I hand out lunches? Who will I serve? Who else should I think about serving? Questions like that.
Recently a new question has surfaced, How effective are the methods used in accomplishing the purpose? If the purpose of Free Lunch is to form communities with invisible people, and inform people that pathways to these invisible people exist, then how do I measure success?
Jim Collins is the man. He wrote a book called Good to Great, a book that profiles businesses that went from good businesses to great businesses. He first defined good and great businesses, and made a few observations about why some companies make the leap. He also wrote a additional chapter, released in the form of a monograph, about how to apply the great company principles to the social sector. One of the challenging questions that came from that book was, How do you measure output from a social cause? Can I measure community? Can I measure the effectiveness of my efforts? What is the effect? Is the effect in line with my purpose? These questions are more difficult to answer.
Floyd McClung is also the man. I had a chance to hear Floyd speak last night and he shed some light on answering these new questions. He made the point that a person's core values will determine how they interpret input and ultimately dictate how they choose to act. Floyd McClung has done some incredible work in his lifetime. He is unprecedented...sort of. He doesn't have a lot of precedence. Most of us live life similar to how the people around us live life. That isn't a bad thing, we are very lucky to have well developed methods for getting an education, getting a job, living accommodations are plentiful and comfortable. This is one reason why America rocks, we have a great country with lots of good role models that have preceded us, showed us what they did right, and what we can do better.
I don't know Floyd very well, but it seems to me that he had the energy and ideas to carve his own path. AND he has been effective in what he is doing. So when he says that a persons core values influence what they choose to do, I am going to start asking that question. What does Free Lunch value? What do I value? I don't answer that question by what I am saying, but by my track record.
I am going to be honest and tell you that I value having fun, and running a machine. I like how smoothly Free Lunch runs every time. I like the system. I like how everything is timed and it happens on time or just a little bit ahead of schedule. I don't think those are bad things to value and enjoy, but they are secondary.
So I will continue to ask more questions and get better at doing what Free Lunch is all about.
Now, since I do enjoy the systems part of it, I will share with you a few statistics:
First Free Lunch: 16 September, 2006
Number of lunches served to date: 350
Average Cost of Lunch: $3.16
Number of volunteers who have contributed: 23
Approximate number of volunteer hours served: 190
Fastest grocery store run: 12 minutes
Percentage of lunches paid for by donors (unsolicited, they gave out of their own generosity!): 65%
A lunch includes:
- 1 ham or turkey sandwich in a sandwich bag ($1.17)
- 1 chocolate pudding snack pack ($0.27)
- 1 apple ($0.45)
- 1 banana ($0.20)
- 2 granola bars ($0.50)
- 1 spoon ($0.03)
- 1 napkin ($0.01)
- 1 bottle of water ($0.16)
- 1 capri sun (woo! juicy!) ($0.23)
- 1 brown bag ($0.02)
- the man ($0.23)
- 1 smile (priceless)
Isn't it fun to keep track of all the stats? I love that part.
12 February, 2007
Warmer Weather
The weather was a little bit warmer this weekend and more people were outside walking around. The last few weeks it has been pretty freaking cold outside. A taste of warmer weather and sunshine brought anticipation for springtime.
The last few weeks we have got our foot in the door at the hispanic community center on the west side. Typically when I pull up, people pour out the doors and flock to the car to pick up a lunch and go back inside to eat. This week I really wanted to bring the lunch all the way inside and hang out with them for a little while. When I pulled up, we all grabbed the food and started inside. It was all smiles as usual when we started handing out lunches. I felt comfortable and welcomed being inside, which was a relief because I was a little nervous about how it would be once I was on their turf. They seemed to be comfortable, we communicated as much as we could to eachother, and then we took off.
I feel like we made a big step this weekend. We are on the inside. It has been slow going building a relationship with anyone and it feels good to see something forming there.
There are always a lot of people walking around on the east side. As the weather gets warmer there are even more. I don't exactly know how I am going to form relationships with anyone up there, because I don't see the same people very often. I became curious about a small group of people standing outside what looked like a small abandoned building. They didn't appear to be the most welcoming people, but when I talked to them they were nice and appreciated the lunch. I am going to try and see what they are all about. I don't think I will make any efforts to go inside their building though...it looks like dangerous territory.
The last few weeks we have got our foot in the door at the hispanic community center on the west side. Typically when I pull up, people pour out the doors and flock to the car to pick up a lunch and go back inside to eat. This week I really wanted to bring the lunch all the way inside and hang out with them for a little while. When I pulled up, we all grabbed the food and started inside. It was all smiles as usual when we started handing out lunches. I felt comfortable and welcomed being inside, which was a relief because I was a little nervous about how it would be once I was on their turf. They seemed to be comfortable, we communicated as much as we could to eachother, and then we took off.
I feel like we made a big step this weekend. We are on the inside. It has been slow going building a relationship with anyone and it feels good to see something forming there.
There are always a lot of people walking around on the east side. As the weather gets warmer there are even more. I don't exactly know how I am going to form relationships with anyone up there, because I don't see the same people very often. I became curious about a small group of people standing outside what looked like a small abandoned building. They didn't appear to be the most welcoming people, but when I talked to them they were nice and appreciated the lunch. I am going to try and see what they are all about. I don't think I will make any efforts to go inside their building though...it looks like dangerous territory.
27 January, 2007
Woo! Juicy!
We just finished handing out lunches a few hours ago, and I couldn't wait to write about it. The word that best describes my experience this Saturday is 'juicy'.
First, we stopped by the Latino community center, and everyone there was happy to see us again. We always get such a warm response when we go there. The people that hang out there are so happy when we pull up. I went inside for just a minute and made sure that everyone got some food, and I really felt welcomed when I stepped inside. I think that is really rare. A white boy stepping in to a different culture, and getting nothing but smiles and greetings. It just feels good to serve there. Most of the guys don't speak English, so communication is pretty limited, but dang, I really like that place.
We took two cars again because we had too many volunteers for one car, which I think is a great problem. I really like the people that were helping, so it is fun to serve with friends. I have been working pretty hard to tell people about Free Lunch, and to get everything set up, and I was surprised at how much joy is packed in all the work. We just laughed most of the time. We met funny people as we were heading over to the east side. There were a few creepy people too, but people were funny today.
I was driving down a road and saw a guy walking that looked like he could use a lunch, and we rolled down the window and handed him a lunch. We also give out a water and a capri sun with every lunch. People love the capri sun. It reminds me of elementary school cafeteria, and it usually makes people smile when I give them one, I think it is an unexpected surprise.
When I handed this guy his capri sun, he let out an emphatic, 'Woo! Juicy!' He laughed and we all laughed. And we continued to laugh about it the rest of the car ride. I would not have experienced that if I had been at home fixing lunch by myself, and I would like to think that he would not have been able to joke around with someone if I had not pulled up. Free Lunch changed my afternoon. I just really enjoyed it.
Free Lunch is also currently accepting designs for the first annual t-shirt design contest. Submissions are due by April 15th, and shirts will be available in the summer.
First, we stopped by the Latino community center, and everyone there was happy to see us again. We always get such a warm response when we go there. The people that hang out there are so happy when we pull up. I went inside for just a minute and made sure that everyone got some food, and I really felt welcomed when I stepped inside. I think that is really rare. A white boy stepping in to a different culture, and getting nothing but smiles and greetings. It just feels good to serve there. Most of the guys don't speak English, so communication is pretty limited, but dang, I really like that place.
We took two cars again because we had too many volunteers for one car, which I think is a great problem. I really like the people that were helping, so it is fun to serve with friends. I have been working pretty hard to tell people about Free Lunch, and to get everything set up, and I was surprised at how much joy is packed in all the work. We just laughed most of the time. We met funny people as we were heading over to the east side. There were a few creepy people too, but people were funny today.
I was driving down a road and saw a guy walking that looked like he could use a lunch, and we rolled down the window and handed him a lunch. We also give out a water and a capri sun with every lunch. People love the capri sun. It reminds me of elementary school cafeteria, and it usually makes people smile when I give them one, I think it is an unexpected surprise.
When I handed this guy his capri sun, he let out an emphatic, 'Woo! Juicy!' He laughed and we all laughed. And we continued to laugh about it the rest of the car ride. I would not have experienced that if I had been at home fixing lunch by myself, and I would like to think that he would not have been able to joke around with someone if I had not pulled up. Free Lunch changed my afternoon. I just really enjoyed it.
Free Lunch is also currently accepting designs for the first annual t-shirt design contest. Submissions are due by April 15th, and shirts will be available in the summer.
T-Shirt Design Contest
Free Lunch is hosting its first annual t-shirt design contest. Submit your design by email in jpeg format by April 15th, 2007. T-shirts will be available to purchase this summer.
The winning design gets a free t-shirt and publicity on the site and some other prize that I haven't figured out yet.
If you have questions, my email address is jasoncarrigan@gmail.com
A design review board will pick the best design. All proceeds go towards free lunch.
The winning design gets a free t-shirt and publicity on the site and some other prize that I haven't figured out yet.
If you have questions, my email address is jasoncarrigan@gmail.com
A design review board will pick the best design. All proceeds go towards free lunch.
15 January, 2007
No Hablo Espanol
One of my regular stops is a latino community center on the southwest side of the city. It is one of those places where you can pick up a truckload of day laborers if you can pay in cash. When I serve lunch there, everyone is very appreciative, but I can't communicate with them because the ones I talked to didn't speak english, and yo no hablo espanol. I usually just smile.
This week I took some friends with me that know spanish, so when we pulled up, Kurt asked the dude out front if they wanted lunch and if there were more people inside that wanted lunch too. We ended up staying for about 30 minutes. Kurt and Emily went inside (they are both fluent) and met a bunch of the guys. I waited outside with Santos. Santos told me about his 8 boys and 1 daughter (and 2 wives). I hardly had to say a word, Santos had a lot to talk about.
I was curious to know the story on the community center. The area is heavily populated with latinos, and before the community center, they all hung out at a local liquor store. That started causing a lot of trouble for the community, so someone built the community center (I think there are some apartments above it), and people wait there to be picked up for day labor. Santos said that it helped to clean up the neighborhood.
I have worked with the latino community several times on different projects, and I always go away feeling thanked and appreciated. It is different from the feeling I get when I leave the east side location. Up there when I leave, I feel glad just to be alive. I don't know what the difference is, the circumstances are about the same, there is just so little hope on the east side. I think that is what keeps me going back. It doesn't matter how much money anyone has, if someone loses hope, they are in a bad spot. Nothing is good.
I want to be able to offer what little hope there is in knowing that there is a meal coming on Saturday. I don't know if that makes a big difference in someone's life, but from what I have observed so far, it makes some kind of difference in their day. And that is good enough for me.
On a side note, I handed out more lunches, and had more volunteers this week than I have ever had before. That was fun.
This week I took some friends with me that know spanish, so when we pulled up, Kurt asked the dude out front if they wanted lunch and if there were more people inside that wanted lunch too. We ended up staying for about 30 minutes. Kurt and Emily went inside (they are both fluent) and met a bunch of the guys. I waited outside with Santos. Santos told me about his 8 boys and 1 daughter (and 2 wives). I hardly had to say a word, Santos had a lot to talk about.
I was curious to know the story on the community center. The area is heavily populated with latinos, and before the community center, they all hung out at a local liquor store. That started causing a lot of trouble for the community, so someone built the community center (I think there are some apartments above it), and people wait there to be picked up for day labor. Santos said that it helped to clean up the neighborhood.
I have worked with the latino community several times on different projects, and I always go away feeling thanked and appreciated. It is different from the feeling I get when I leave the east side location. Up there when I leave, I feel glad just to be alive. I don't know what the difference is, the circumstances are about the same, there is just so little hope on the east side. I think that is what keeps me going back. It doesn't matter how much money anyone has, if someone loses hope, they are in a bad spot. Nothing is good.
I want to be able to offer what little hope there is in knowing that there is a meal coming on Saturday. I don't know if that makes a big difference in someone's life, but from what I have observed so far, it makes some kind of difference in their day. And that is good enough for me.
On a side note, I handed out more lunches, and had more volunteers this week than I have ever had before. That was fun.
03 January, 2007
New Years Eve Eve
I served lunch on the 30th. It was raining that day, and there were a lot of people walking around. Sometimes it is really hard to find people and sometimes it is really easy. I went to the east side and met some more scary drug dealers, but it was pretty uneventful. I went to the southwest side and met up with my Mexican friends. There is a pretty severe language barrier with those folks. I don't really know spanish, so I have to get out of the car and show them I have lunch for them. When the first one gets served, they all come running out of the building and I never have enough lunches. I would really like to get to know those folks. I don't know anything about why they congregate there.
The first guy I served that day was pretty funny. I was driving up towards the east side, and I saw a guy walking across a bridge. When I offered him lunch, he smiled and laughed and said, 'now I don't have to go to church!'
Most of you that read this blog know that I do go to church, so I was a little alarmed by his response. Did I just make a mistake? Did I take someone away from church? I came to the conclusion that I brought a little bit of church to him. serving lunch = church. It's really that simple.
I hope you all had a great holiday season. Have a great 2007!
The first guy I served that day was pretty funny. I was driving up towards the east side, and I saw a guy walking across a bridge. When I offered him lunch, he smiled and laughed and said, 'now I don't have to go to church!'
Most of you that read this blog know that I do go to church, so I was a little alarmed by his response. Did I just make a mistake? Did I take someone away from church? I came to the conclusion that I brought a little bit of church to him. serving lunch = church. It's really that simple.
I hope you all had a great holiday season. Have a great 2007!
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