Last week the Grendel family were responsible for our local bread delivery and he wrote an insightful post based on his observations from that evening.
The essence of it was that despite the booming WA economy, the demand for free bread seems to have increased and the desperation of people coming to get it has also escalated.
This week it was our turn to pick up and distribute. We arrived at 6.45pm to a crowd of around 30 people – apparently half the size of last week when the Grendel’s were on. Several came to ‘help’ us unload – some to help – others to get first grab. The teenage kids were there ready to pounce on the sweets and the adults were hovering more politely but still eager to get their share. As hands grabbed for bags it was case of the strongest getting what they wanted first.
After being called back from the pile Danelle heard one young boy tell his mates ‘F*ck the adults’ and dove in to help himself. I’m glad I didn’t hear it because I feel grumpy today and I probably would have grabbed him by the collar and thrown him out.
It was a little disturbing to see people jostling and bumping to get a bit more than the person next to them. I’m sure some of it is because they are doing it tough, but there also seems to be a ‘stuff you’ attitude among some (which ironically is possibly why they are doing it tough…)
Within 5 minutes the sizable pile of bread was gone and we were back in the car and driving home…
I wonder how long it will be before there is some real conflict down there as people chase down the premium bread and the more robust push the less able to the back of the queue.
I always think its a shame if you have to ‘bring order’ to adults, but I can see a real possibility that we may need to get people to queue up and recieve a certain amount to ensure everyone gets a fair go and no one gets hurt.
