Generosity of Cork Penny Dinners was my salvation at my lowest ebb

I’ve been a customer of Cork Penny Dinners and I’ve listened with a great deal of interest to the discussions of the work its volunteers do.

One aspect of the contribution it makes has not been emphasised; I would like to address that.

For eight months last year I relied completely on Cork Penny Dinners for food. I am a pensioner recently resettled in Ireland as an Irish citizen born and raised in the United States.

I was denied benefits of any kind at all except for a medical card and a travel card, and was struggling to live on €650 per month, paying rent of €300, leaving me with €350 per month for all my living expenses.

I can tell you from direct personal experience it is not possible to live in Ireland on €350 per month. A friend told me about CPD so I went there one day. I sat down, was immediately asked if I wanted a dinner, and I burst into tears, not having any idea at all that I was upset.

I didn’t realise until that moment how deeply frightened and upset I was at having to live so close to destitution.

Knowing I had a place to go to for food made all the difference in the world, but it was not the biggest benefit of Cork Penny Dinners.

What the majority of the middle class don’t realise is that the most common characteristic of people who are poor is a devastating lack of self-esteem, a conviction beyond words that I am worthless; I deserve this misery, I deserve to be isolated and ignored.

Having a place to go to where I am not only fed a decent dinner but given it with love and generosity is what reminds me that I am a worthwhile human being, that I don’t deserve to be punished with destitution. I cannot stress this too strongly. It isn’t the food itself that matters so much; it is the warmth, generosity and love of the volunteers, and the simple act of being served a meal in company with others that makes such a huge difference in my life and in the lives of the other customers there.

Now that I have benefits I don’t have to rely on Cork Penny Dinners for food, so now I donate vegetables I grow organically in my garden. But I still go for a dinner once a week because I have come to love and appreciate the wonderful people who are customers, as well as the volunteers.

It is the one place I have an experience of family that is nurturing and that I can rely on.

Janet Thornton

Toames

Macroom

Co Cork