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The sacred texts of numerous religions express in their own distinctive languages the so-called "Golden Rule" of living together in caring harmony, and are filled with specifics about helping the poor and hungry. An impulse to help those who did not have enough food to feed themselves and their families led to the creation of a Hunger Center in the basement of then-Emmanuel Episcopal Church on Euclid Avenue near the Cleveland Clinic in the 1970s. The Euclid University Cluster of Religious Institutions brought Roman Catholics, Protestants, and Jews together to relieve the hunger and begin to work on the systemic issues leading to poverty and unmet needs.
It was to be a "temporary" center for hunger relief, but the need for it did not cooperate by going away. The need grew.
Under Mary Tinker's able direction, the Hunger Center continued to increase the number of people it served despite the fact that the boundaries remained essentially the same. InterAct was able to computerize its records, which meant that people no longer waited all day to receive their food. In addition, InterAct raised money to replace its eighteen refrigerators and freezers with a walk-in freezer/cooler. The freezer/cooler increased food safety, enabled the Hunger Center to accept and distribute more fresh and frozen food, and reduced the cost of electricity.
Meanwhile, the original church home developed flooding and other hazards of old buildings, and the only access to the Hunger Center was via a stairway that was daunting to the able-bodied and a forbidding obstacle to the growing numbers of elderly and mobility-challenged clients.
In the fall of 2005, through the urging of longtime volunteer Daniel H. Garland of the Church of the Covenant, the Cleveland Clinic provided its vacant one-story building at 8520 Carnegie Ave. for $1 per year, as well as assistance in renovating it. Cleveland Clinic nursing staff offerred to provide health education on site. A coalition of countless professionals and volunteers, congregations and faith communities, individuals and companies, participated in providing the labor and dollars to ready it for the service that began in March 2006 and was celebrated in a dedication on Oct. 10, the actual 15th anniversary of the initial meeting of the first board of trustees of the original East Side Interfaith Ministries which became InterAct Cleveland.
Following the dedication, attended by Cleveland's mayor, Council members, County commissioners, and other elected officials as well as the project's friends and supporters from the Clinic and throughout the religious and secular community, Mary Tinker reflected on its real meaning:
- Mr. C., relocated to Rainbow I at 7829 Euclid when the city closed his previous residence, gets around by motorized wheelchair following a paralyzing accident. Mrs. Tinker used to drop off his packages for him, because he could not access the former Hunger Center. He now comes to get his groceries and takes them home in the cargo holders of his chair.
- Mr. T., who lives in Abington Arms at 11501 Mayfield, has serious vision impairment that prevented his accessing the former Hunger Center, but he can come and go with comparative ease and dignity in the new facility.
- Twenty-one grandparents caring for grandchildren were served in September 2006 alone. All but one of the grandparents is over 65, and the exception is a survivor of two surgeries for brain tumors.
- Two of the Pantry's regular clients used to be factory workers for TRW and LTV. The shortage of jobs in Cleveland and the overwhelming challenges of commuting to jobs in the suburbs accounts for these and many other examples of homes where ends do not meet.
Asked how she continues in this business for over thirty years, Mrs. Tinker says, "I never thought I'd be here this long. Once I got started, I saw so much pain. I saw how people had to live, and it humbled me to the fact that life needed to be better. I've had a chance to listen, I open myself up. Sometimes their situation is no fault of their own, and how to get themselves out of it can be complicated. We have a lot of physically and mentally challenged clients. There is a small minority who have hit rock bottom, and not a lot of people are willing to give a felon a second chance. No matter how bad, there is some good in every person I see."
Under the leadership of Mrs. Tinker, the Community Food Pantry is a place of hope-a place where people can share both their challenges and their successes. People do overcome their challenges, and they return to help and to share their stories. People from the suburbs come into the city and work side by side with city residents, learning and sharing. Youth groups from temples and churches work at the Community Food Pantry as well as support the center in other ways. Hawken Lower School, for example, takes up a collection of children's winter clothing each year. Some years, so much is donated that our center is able to share the wealth with smaller centers.
The InterAct Community Food Pantry provided over 8,000 individuals and over 6,000 families with 3- to 5-day supplies of emergency groceries in 2005. It is also a site for adults and youth to do court-mandated community service (280 hours for adults, 75 hours for juveniles in a sample month), and those receiving food stamps to do their community service (250 hours) to retain their eligibility. The volunteer force is rounded out by people from the faith community (50 hours) and former clients who come to give something back to the community. Volunteers may assist with offloading delivery trucks, packing food, and client intake. There is no other facility with the capacity and willingness to provide this service to all those low-income individuals eligible in this part of the community. It is deeply meaningful to those involved to provide this service, and deeply regrettable that it is still needed.
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