The Summer Slump
The Summer Slump
By Chris Carbone
The summer slump is upon us. This is not some metaphor for the relaxed posture of our toil from June to August; in retreat to some nacreous beach to sip margaritas. The summer slump refers to the decline in volunteering that occurs during these months. This is in no way meant to signify some massive neglect. Our volunteers, and those across the nation, take this work as seriously as they do the paying jobs they abscond on these sun-soaked respites from. Additionally, a large part of volunteer pools, especially here at nOURish BRIDGEPORT, include college students. Who could blame them for wanting to get a few months of recharging back home with friends and family before the next big school year?
The crux; however, is that food insecurity does not take a vacation. In fact, it seems obstinate to ever retire now; as if it were some djinn possessing the big, ugly gavel that has recently left lifelines like SNAP in shambles.
The summer is prime time for hunger flare ups to begin with. In the 2023-24 school year, over 20 million American children received free or reduced-price school lunches. Nine months of this created expectation may lead to a soft flummox when, at noon on a blistering day in July, two fifth-graders look down at their Nickelodeon-themed placemats; Spongebob winking an eye and holding forth a thumb as if he were trying to distract from the fact that they are devoid of plate and food. This all while their single mother vicariously looks on; furtively calculating how much a lunch of simple rice and beans, of anything, will be two times a day and seven days a week; now until late August.
Additionally, the weather puts more at risk than just ourselves. Record heat waves in the already stifling New England humidity can make it harder for our neighbors in need (and some of the less-equipped pantries that serve them), to preserve produce. There must be few more disparaging symbols to a rumbling belly than that of wasted or expired food. A rotten apple says I was once ripe and beautiful. Just yesterday, I was rich with vitamins and nutrients which you could have made work for you, but you were too late; bruised purple as if it were trying to disguise itself as a bleeding heart.
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The question this all raises is: How can we enjoy ourselves this summer while not neglecting the perennial problems of our neighbors? There are non-profits all over the country; in most major cities and small towns alike. When the third or fourth day of vacation hits, and all the sites have been seen and laps around the hotel pool feel more like a chore than coveted summer ritual, why not pack the family up and out for a day of volunteering? Staying around town for the summer? Do the same thing. The author of this blog can surely attest to the dread of attending summer camp as a child. Giving back; working neck-and-neck with the adults, whether that involves helping to cook meals to give out to our unhoused neighbors, or helping to usher neighbors through our shoppers-choice pantry. More than just an honorable way to pass a summer’s day, a family volunteer day serves as a most primal education. Parents, leading by real-time example, showing their kids a rite that is as necessary and timely as it is ancient and instinctual: the need to help and connect with other people.