A Tale of the Bread Brawl

Why your center leadership may want to say “No” to freebies

By Anthony Garcia

Once upon a time, a good hearted Recreation Coordinator at an enchanted senior center far, far away, accepted a generous offer from the kindly baker.  The offer was for all the free seven-day-old bread that the coordinator could carry back to his senior center.  He accepted the offer immediately.  The coordinator was very excited about the offer.  In his mind, he would be helping his low income seniors by providing them free bread, keeping usable bread out of the dump, and assisting the baker create goodwill.

Early the next morning, on his day off, the coordinator went to pick up the bread using his own transportation.  He came out of the bakery with several very large bags filled with seven-day-old black rye, white rye, marble rye, buckwheat, honey oat, dark oat, medium oat, light oat and many other types of bread. The coordinator thanked the baker for his generosity and returned to the enchanted senior center.

He entered the huge glass doors of the center with a wide smile on this face and his arms filled with bags of seven-day-old bread.  Sweat was dripping down his head from caring the heavy load.  Who knew bread weighed so much?  He placed the bread in neat rows on a table in the beautiful green marbled entry.  Free bread would be made available to anyone who needed it.  The coordinator was so proud of his good deed that he beamed from ear to ear.  Word went out through the center “Free bread, free bread free bread in the lobby!”  A dark shadow preceded the stampede of seniors moving toward the table.  This was his first inkling that this may not have been one of his best ideas.

People, who just a short time before were giving each other warm greetings and good morning hugs where now arguing and fighting over free loafs of seven-day-old bread.  One person walked away with four loaves of bread, one for themselves and three for their enchanted senior center friends.  Another took three loaves, one for themselves and two for the blue birds in the park.  Bickering and arguing could be heard up and down the corridors of the center’s green marbled halls.   After hearing the commotion in the lobby, the Queen of the enchanted senior center came out of her office.  She asked the coordinator what was going on.  The coordinator, whose smile had turned to a frowning, had to explain the situation.   He was directed to correct the situation at once or become at risk of losing his head.

The coordinator pleaded with the crowd to take only one loaf of bread and to leave the rest for others in need.  One member of the crowd began to “boo” him.  Several people told him that he was being unfair to them and their friends.  He was told that he would no longer be their favorite coordinator at the enchanted senior center.  Some threatened to call the fairy godmother and report him.  They were very unhappy that the few people who preceded them to the table were able to walk away with multiple bags of bread and they were only allowed one.  Another person wanted to round up the people who had taken multiple bags and have these people expelled from the center forever and ever.  Tensions were high and nothing the coordinator did seemed to appease the group.

After the initial rush was over, the coordinator sighed with relief.  He ask his best volunteer to watch the bread table and make sure that only one loaf of seven-day-old bread was given out per person.  The volunteer was very conscientious and did their job as asked.  Unfortunately for the coordinator, the volunteer’s personality changed once they became the “Keeper of the Bread”.  The volunteer enforced the one bread limit with an iron fist.  Anyone who dared to ask for more than one loaf walked away crying into their hands because of the harsh way they were spoken to.  They were chided for their greed and inconsideration to others.  The “Keeper of the bread” walked off with three loaves of bread.  One of which they tried to return to the baker for a cash refund.  The Queen of the enchanted senior center received a very, very, very angry call from the kindly baker regarding the attempted return of the seven-day-old bag of bread.  Finally, the bread was gone.  The good hearted recreation coordinator immediately instituted a “No Freebies” policy and everyone lived happy ever after.

I hope this story made you laugh a little.

A strict “No Freebies” policy can reduce the stress on staff and the participants of a senior center by eliminating the issue completely.  Employees would need to be empowered by strong leadership to say, “Thank you, but no thanks” to these offers.  Other formal ways of supporting senior programming can be offered to individuals or organizations that truly want to give.  Be comfortable enough to say “No” to offers of freebies. Most people will appreciate your honesty.  Don’t allow your center to become a dumping ground for other people’s waste.  Avoid putting your agency at risk of repercussions caused by any negative side effects of freebie food or nonfood item.  Just say “No Thank You”.