For my birthday this year, I'm asking for donations to Metrocrest Services. For those of you who are not familiar with Metrocrest (you no doubt don't live in the area), the organization helps people who've fallen on hard times from all walks of life. A fraction of the services provided includes rent and utility Assistance, the most immaculate food pantry I've ever seen, financial education, workforce development, and services for seniors.

The first time I ever set foot into Metrocrest I was at the beginning of my run for school board last year. CEO Tracy Eubanks took me on a tour of the facility, and I was immediately in love. Why? Because food insecurity was a big part of my childhood, and even came back to haunt me shortly after I'd left college. When you're put in a position where you're dependent on some stranger for food, that food often comes laden with shame. You might not get to choose what your family wants or needs.

The food pantry... is a thing of beauty at Metrocrest. Rather than showing up and being handed a bag of goods that your kids might not necessarily not eat, you show up to an atmosphere that resembles a standard grocery store. There's a standard allotment of non-perishable items, but each item, each can of vegetables or bag of pasta can be chosen by the client. Then there's the allotment of toiletries (and baby supplies if needed). The part I love most is the fresh fruits and vegetables. They're often donated by Sprouts, Whole Foods, and local community farms. Clients are allowed to get as much as they think their family can consume.

When I was younger my mother stuck primarily to perishable goods. Electricity/housing not always being friendly, we'd could go weeks or months without fresh fruits or vegetables outside of school because "they're expensive, and they go bad." At one point we spent months eating nothing but oatmeal at home because my mom felt to ashamed to ask for assistance.

I didn't realize how deeply this affected me until I went to college. At CMC we had an all-you-can-eat style dining hall, and we were allowed cartons. I often took fruit back to my room. The problem with this was that I could never get through all the food I brought back because I would always return to the dining hall to eat with my friends. After throwing out a 3rd round of what I assume used to be melons (they were now furry and likely sentient), I came to the realization that I was still afraid of starving. I had to fight myself to see the new reality: I can eat every day now, and the foods I can choose are healthy. I came back from college 15 lbs lighter because I started listening to hunger cues rather than forcing myself to clear the plate. I was finaly able to restrain myself enough to give my wonderful roommate some room in our mini-fridge, but the experience understandably stuck with me.

Food insecurity doesn't mean that you're always homeless or that you're always starving (I know I certainly ate well at many junctures in my childhood too), but that you may not always be able to eat foods that can sustain you for various reasons. Some folks drive up to the pantry in Mercedes (we all know the story of the woman with the fancy car or the fancy purse getting food stamps) but what we have to keep in mind that anyone can sustain a great financial loss by no fault of their own. If that fancy car is the only vehicle a man has to get to work after paying for his wife's substantial cancer treatment bills, that is the car he has.

Metrocrest services is picking up the slack for some of the big gaps we have in assistance in the United States, and specifically Texas. We can wring our hand at the bigger dogs nationally, but we have to do what we can where we are because there are people who need help now, not in the abstract long term.

I've sat at Metrocrest with many other volunteers putting together care packets for those displaced by Hurricane Harvey, while some of the displaced sat the other room getting counseling on how to get their footing after losing everything. People who receive help from Metrocrest often come back to help because they don't remember the experience as an indignity. They remember it as one that is both caring and professional. For me, the opportunity to volunteer in the food pantry whenever I can is a therapeutic one. When you find an entity that is there for the good of everyone, you should do what you can to support it. I hope you'll consider donating to Metrocrest Services for my birthday. See More