Food, faith and a woman on a mission
By Jason Cato on November 1, 2009
© Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Pittsburgh PA
Poverty and Joyce Rothermel shared a childhood on a farm in northern Ohio, although she never felt its pangs because food always was on the table -- including her father's second serving for his 185 acres of work.
"I found out later we were very poor," says Rothermel, 64, of Wilkins. "But we were never hungry. We grew food and preserved it."
A devoted Catholic, Rothermel set out on a career as a schoolteacher before a college course in religion uncovered an inner calling to do something different for the world and her community. For 30 years, Rothermel has waged war against poverty in Western Pennsylvania by fighting hunger.
"It was life-transforming to me to see how this faith was not just about after you die, but it was about recognizing the dignity of every person and the rights of every person to basic things like food and shelter, like health care and education," Rothermel says about a graduate-level course on Catholic social teachings she completed in 1974 at the University of Dayton. "The Bible says you will be judged at the end of your life on what you do to protect people's dignity."
Rothermel helped found the Jubilee Soup Kitchen in the Hill District, which served its first meal on Nov. 12, 1979. A year later, she co-founded the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. She has served as chief executive officer of the region's largest hunger-relief charity since 1987.
Last year, the food bank distributed 21.5 million pounds -- a record -- to 120,000 people in 11 counties through a network of about 380 member agencies. The goal this year is to supply an additional million pounds to people through a network of 380 food banks, soup kitchens, day care centers, shelters, after-school programs, home-delivered meal services and other programs in Allegheny and 11 surrounding counties.
"We all benefit from Joyce's work," says James Stark, executive director of the Fayette County Community Action Agency in Uniontown, which distributes about 2 million pounds of food per year. "It's really Joyce's work, not just in Pittsburgh but throughout Pennsylvania, that has allowed food banks across the state to be successful."
The ultimate goal, however, is to diminish the role of food banks by eradicating hunger through better government policies, stronger educational programs, higher wages and more jobs, Rothermel said.
"I don't think the food bank industry should continue to grow. I think we should be a canary in the coal mine, alerting people to the problem," Rothermel says. "We can be part of the solution, but I don't think we should be as big a part of the solution as we are now."
Striving to reach a day when food banks are no longer needed is a lofty goal, and one that isn't likely to be realized in the near future, says Carol Robinson, a vice president of Gateway Travel Management and the Pittsburgh food bank's board president.
"Even if we don't reach that ultimate goal, we should still try to get as far down that road as possible," Robinson says. "It would seem in a society as wealthy as ours, we shouldn't be dealing with it (the issue of hunger.) But we are. It's sometimes frustrating. But I see headway. I see support for our mission."
A need to help
Rothermel was raised in Jeromesville, Ohio, and later studied education at St. John College in Cleveland and the University of Dayton. She taught middle school math and religion for a decade, including three years at Our Lady of Grace in Scott Township.
But Rothermel's need to be involved with charities and causes led her to become an associate director at the Thomas Merton Center, a position she held for 10 years. After the end of the Vietnam War, Rothermel says, the Garfield-based activist organization branched out from its anti-war roots to address other causes. Hunger rose to the top of Rothermel's list.
"The poor will always be with you," John 12:8 states in the Bible.
"But why the poor?" Rothermel asks. "You can be poor, but you don't have to be hungry."
In addition to her role leading the food bank, Rothermel serves on committees for the American Second Harvest Affiliates, the Pennsylvania Association of Regional Food Banks, Just Harvest: A Center for Action Against Hunger and Bread for the World, among others. She is an advisory board member with Pittsburgh Storehouse for Teachers, Pittsburgh Cares and the Johnson Institute for Responsible Leadership. She is on the executive council for the School of Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh.
Rothermel also is active with the Association of Pittsburgh Priests, Leadership Pittsburgh and her congregation, St. James Church in Wilkinsburg.
"There are many sides to Joyce, many," says the Rev. Warren Metzler, who has been pastor at St. James since 1981. "Joyce brings a sense of focus on not only what is important inside the stained-glass windows, but beyond in the real world."
Rothermel co-founded the Pittsburgh Haiti Solidarity Committee and Partners in Progress, a group devoted to supporting rural sustainable development in Haiti.
St. James, through Rothermel's efforts, is collecting donations to supply vitamins to children in that Caribbean nation. The church also established its own food pantry, which distributes 60 tons of food and paper products per year because of its relationship with Rothermel and the food bank.
"There is some Mother Teresa in her," Metzler says. "She is a quiet and prayerful person, but she is very persistent."
Rothermel's words resonate because of their compassion and consistency with her beliefs, Robinson says.
"People listen to her," from the food bank's board to its 10,000 volunteers to its end users, Robinson says. "She speaks softly, but they listen because she has built up respect."
Rothermel is humbled by praise and accolades. She braves the spotlight because its glare shines attention on the food bank and other causes championed by her and her husband, Michael Drohan.
"The work of creating a more just and peaceful world is part of the air we breath," Rothermel says. "It's our modus operandi."
Need for food grows
A month before opening the Jubilee Soup Kitchen in 1979, the first committee meeting was held to form a regional food bank.
The task of feeding the region's hungry seemed doable, even from a 2,000-square-foot warehouse space in the Hill District they rented for one dollar a year from the St. Vincent de Paul Society. The food bank's first partners included Intersection in McKeesport, Focus on Renewal in McKees Rocks and the Salvation Army.
"My job was to go down to the Strip District three times a week and beg for produce," Rothermel says. "We thought the problem of hunger was one that could be solved, and that we just needed to support these groups."
That support is still needed today, and is as appreciated now as it was 29 years ago.
"She's a real prophet for us," says Sister Liguori Rossner, who helped found and still runs Jubilee, which also runs a food pantry that serves around 150 families.
Rossner calls Rothermel a visionary.
"She will not give up on any program to help the poor," Rossner says. "She has an enormous heart, and she uses it for the poor."
But just as the food bank was getting started, its task grew exponentially, Rothermel says.
The 1980s saw the closings of local steel mills, which led to rampant unemployment. The federal government shifted policies to cut taxes and spend more on the military, with less going to social programs.
"We called this the perfect storm," Rothermel says.
In 1981, the food bank acquired a 10,000-square-foot warehouse in the South Side and distributed 1 million pounds of food. A year later, the group distributed 3 million pounds of food to 100 agencies in Allegheny County. By the end of its first decade in existence, the food bank was distributing about 10 million pounds of food to 300 member agencies.
The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank distributed more than 20 million pounds of food for the first time in 2007.
Such large quantities require a lot more space, and next year the food bank will celebrate 10 years at its 95,000-square-foot headquarters in Duquesne.
"We're like the hole in the dike," Rothermel says. "As the hole gets bigger, we have to have more to fill it. But we're interested in getting the dike fixed."
'A few more years'
Rothermel's run with the food bank will last "a few more years," she says.
A depth of leadership within the staff and board have convinced Rothermel that its efforts will continue successfully, even if guided by different hands.
She also is convinced residents of Western Pennsylvania will continue to support the food bank and its goal of ending hunger.
"I really believe in the people of the Pittsburgh area a lot," Rothermel says. "They show such unbelievable generosity."
Last year, Rothermel and a youth group from St. James were collecting food donations at the Giant Eagle in Braddock Hills. A woman strolled over with a shopping cart brimming with groceries.
"You know that next piece of jewelry I was going to buy? I don't need it," she said before leaving the entire cart.
On the way home, Rothermel treated the children to McDonald's for their help. A woman in line asked what special occasion brought them all together. Told about the food drive, the woman bought lunch for every child.
The amazement of both acts still resonate within Rothermel as she tells the stories.
"These things happened as I was teaching them about random acts of kindness," she says.
The poor farm girl might have left the classroom, but she is still teaching lessons as important as any in life.
"Those will be big shoes to fill." Robinson says of the day Rothermel retires. "We're hoping that won't be for a while, though."
