Begging for Crusts

Children and elderly men and women (and, in the worst years, the younger, able-bodied ones) would sling a sack over their shoulders and set out on foot or in carts for neighboring villages where food was more abundant, to receive crusts of bread from families who had some. In Letters from the Country, 18721887 the exiled Russian chemist Alexander Engelgardt describes the system of support: a peasant arrives as if he happened to stop by for no special reason, by chance, as if to warm up, and the mistress of the household, taking pity on his shame, will give something to him imperceptibly, as if by chanceNo one will die of hunger, thanks tothis system of providing mutual aid through giving out crusts of bread. Today, with so many Americans out of work, we need to make sure to provide a dignied way for the hungry to be fedthrough soup kitchens and food pantries that make them feel welcome rather than humiliated or marginalized.