By Kendall Worth!
This year I have been hearing a lot of mixed feelings about celebrating Thanksgiving. In the past I have written about how celebrating holidays, including Thanksgiving, can be a socially isolated celebration for people living in poverty. However, this year I have been talking to “Better off “ people (meaning “Middle Class” People) who tell me they will not be celebrating Thanksgiving for the first-time ever this year. The reason for that is because of Inflation. To me this is sad on one side, but totally understandable on another side. Thanksgiving should be a time of family and friend togetherness. The majority of welfare recipients are single and live alone. Thanksgiving is one of those holidays, that, for those alone (probably 70-80% of welfare recipients), can be a time when their anxiety rises and they suffer from their isolation for others. When you ask many folks living in poverty “What are your plans for Thanksgiving weekend?” They usually answer by saying “Sleeping the weekend away. “ They say this year will be no different.
By my estimation, about 20% of the people-I-advocate-for are the lucky ones, who do have family that would invite them over for holidays in non COVID time. However, some people tell me that this year, even though public health COVID restrictions have come to an end, their families are still not celebrating because they are elderly people with immune and compromised health conditions. One welfare recipient told me that two family members of his who are in their late 70’s/early 80’s, and who have serious health conditions, are still not celebrating Thanksgiving this year because they are still Freaked out over COVID.
However factors that make Celebrating Thanksgiving 2022 Different from other Years:
A trip to the grocery store today costs more money and feeding a crowd at thanksgiving is going to I suspect, cost a lot more than in other years.
People who live in situations where family members, they normally celebrate with, are now in their late ‘70’s/early 80’s, with compromised health conditions and who are still concerned about COVID and do not feel comfortable having get-togethers at their homes.
I have also spoken to people who told me that because of things COVID, and Hurricane Fiona, they just forgot all about thanksgiving this year!
I want to take a moment to go back to this article where I talked about a group of people who are friends who live in poverty back in 2018 who went shopping for Thanksgiving Dinner. This article talks about how they cut every corner they can to have an affordable Thanksgiving dinner.
Taken from that article, here is how much it was costing for snacks as well as what is needed for a turkey dinner for Thanksgiving. We went through the grocery store and found:
Turkeys, lowest price $30 to highest price $80.
Fresh vegetables, anywhere from $2.99 a pound to $5.99 a pound.
Nachos $3.99 a bag
Salsa $3.99 a bottle
Potatoes $5.99 for a 10 pound bag
Boxes of party mix, $3.99 a box
They all agreed to just drink water to save on beverages. The total cost of the food, for 4 people, after doing the math, came to roughly $94.
What people living in poverty can afford to spend on a Thanksgiving dinner is just one aspect of what they experience on this holiday. For many welfare recipients it is a day without celebration or connection. They are on their own – having no fun whatsoever!
This year, because of
inflation you can expect prices of the Thanksgiving dinner fixings to
be above and beyond, maybe even double the price from the list
above, especially for some items.
What adds fuel to the fire of poverty and isolation for Thanksgiving 2022, is that, other than the one time $150.00, that Income Assistance recipients received following Hurricane Fiona, the government is doing nothing to help with the rapidly rising cost of everything, but especially food. As a result of continuing increasing inflation that $150 should be sent monthly! Food banks and soup kitchens have always been doing the best they can with their resources. However, food banks and soup kitchens have lately been experiencing longer than usual lines, and requests for assistance. This year, if any soup kitchen is going to be offering a Thanksgiving dinner nothing has been advertised as of yet.
Some have been telling me lately that they worry about how they are mentally going to get through Thanksgiving this year, because just like during the height of COVID, their families are not celebrating again. Thanksgiving has always been a time of anxiety for those who have no-where to go, even prior to COVID.
Perhaps as one solution -- if a Social Prescription Organization already existed, then maybe on holidays like Thanksgiving, we can organize groups to meet and have Thanksgiving dinner together. There is concern about how those with mental health issues are going to handle celebrating Thanksgiving this year. Through the existence of a Social Prescription Program, maybe they can find someone to keep in touch with over Thanksgiving Weekend/plus other holidays?
I say celebrate Thanksgiving the best way we know how given the current rapid inflation.
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