Sgt. Pepper Was Lonely Because He Was Yellow

           

            On Wednesday, about three hours after having picked up the number 16, I went back to the food bank to wait for that number to be called.

            One of the regulars, while talking with someone nearby who was sitting on the fire escape, sounded like he was addressing the entire group when he talked about his father’s exploits in both of the world wars. His father had told him that he had knocked up a lot of women while he was fighting overseas, and so that made him wonder just how many relatives he has in Europe.

            Once I was inside, I noticed that instead of the shopping helpers calling out the numbers, Joe the manager was sitting at a desk beside them and almost shouting the numbers. Then, as the volunteer took the number from the client and put it in the big coffee can as usual, Joe would check it off on a list. Joe’s role seemed kind of pointless, like a lot of procedures at the food bank, but maybe there was a reason for it. My volunteer was the slim, friendly, thirty something blonde woman who has helped me there a time or two in the past.

            On the top of the first shelf there was a can of Bertolli 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil Spray. I didn’t have any virgins, let along extra virgins that I needed to get rid of, but I took it anyway. The things people package!

            On the bottom shelf was a little squeeze container of organic applesauce, though the label said, “puree”. It would be good for sweetening my yogourt on days when I don’t eat sugar.

            I took a box of roasted tomato and olive oil Triscuits. I wonder if Triscuits uses the “olive oil spray” to get the olive oil flavouring.

            There was a can of Campbell’s Country Kettle Prime Rib and Sweet Potato Soup. I took it, but one always forgets that even though it sounds delicious, since it’s canned, it’s probably going to be a disappointment.

            She offered me a bag of coffee beans “if you have a grinder”. I took it, telling her that I could grind it in the blender. “That must be noisy!” she commented. I said it was noisy for the cats but it didn’t really bother me.

            I passed on pasta, rice, sauce, beans and Apple Jacks. I noticed that they had no tuna this time around, which is something they’ve had in stock for months.

            Across the aisle, in Sue’s section, there was a litre of chocolate milk. There was a choice of a small package of either tabouli or bean salad. I took the bean. There was a good sized package of frozen breaded fish fillets. Sue told me, “These are good!”

            In the bread section, I took a focaccia loaf, a baguette and a couple of sausage buns.

            Theresa was minding the vegetable section. I took some zucchini and there was a choice of red and yellow peppers. I said I’d take the red. She commented, “Everybody wants the red!” I told her, “That’s because they’re red!” She declared, “Red is my favourite colour too!” I don’t think anyone picks yellow peppers for their flavour. It’s more of an aesthetic choice based on the colour of everything else one is cooking.