Thu Feb 26, 2015, 10:13 PM

Tennessee police buy groceries for elderly woman who lived off a jar of peanut butter for one week

A 78-year-old Tennessee woman called police for help with her food emergency.

Police in Knoxville said they received a call from a "confused or distressed" woman and were shocked when they arrived to discover the only food in her house was a half-eaten jar of peanut butter, the department said on its Facebook page.

The desperate woman finally called police to ask for food Tuesday.

She told the officers that arrived at her home she had been rationing the jar for the past seven days.

The woman, whose identity was not revealed, told police she had not reached out for help before because she didn't want to be a burden, but had become desperate due to her dire situation, police said.

She also said she didn't know where to go for help.

But the two officers immediately went to a local grocery store and bought her groceries.

They also registered her with the Knoxville Area Rescue Ministries so she could receive more food and prepared meals, according to TV Station WATE.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/police-woman-78-living-jar-peanut-butter-article-1.2130643

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9 replies	Author	Time	Post
Tennessee police buy groceries for elderly woman who lived off a jar of peanut butter for one week (Original post)	Liberal_in_LA	Feb 2015	OP
Oh my. Good for them.	libdem4life	Feb 2015	#1
Well that was alarming	Kalidurga	Feb 2015	#2
Yes, I agree. She needs a social worker/case worker...	one_voice	Feb 2015	#5
Kudos to them. :)	romanic	Feb 2015	#3
isn't that true about EVERYTHING?	Skittles	Feb 2015	#7
A good deed	mythology	Feb 2015	#4
When I was a homeless teenager, I broke into a home	Midnight Writer	Feb 2015	#6
That is a very moving story and I'm glad your life turned out	BrotherIvan	Feb 2015	#8
I hope they have	yuiyoshida	Feb 2015	#9

Response to Liberal_in_LA (Original post)

Thu Feb 26, 2015, 10:18 PM

libdem4life (13,877 posts)

1. Oh my. Good for them.

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Response to Liberal_in_LA (Original post)

Thu Feb 26, 2015, 11:21 PM

Kalidurga (14,177 posts)

2. Well that was alarming

I am glad the police got her the food she needs. But, I was thinking she should probably get some ongoing help. And then there it was they have provided a case manager for her.

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Response to Kalidurga (Reply #2)

Thu Feb 26, 2015, 11:31 PM

one_voice (20,043 posts)

5. Yes, I agree. She needs a social worker/case worker...

maybe even some assisted living.

She was probably so scared and feeling so alone. No one should ever feel like that.

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Response to Liberal_in_LA (Original post)

Thu Feb 26, 2015, 11:24 PM

romanic (2,841 posts)

3. Kudos to them. :)

There are definitely good cops out there. Just wish the bad ones weren't there to spoil the bunch.

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Response to romanic (Reply #3)

Fri Feb 27, 2015, 01:17 AM

Skittles (147,773 posts)

7. isn't that true about EVERYTHING?

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Response to Liberal_in_LA (Original post)

Thu Feb 26, 2015, 11:29 PM

mythology (9,527 posts)

4. A good deed

Hopefully she can get the on-going help she needs.

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Response to Liberal_in_LA (Original post)

Fri Feb 27, 2015, 01:16 AM

Midnight Writer (18,315 posts)

6. When I was a homeless teenager, I broke into a home

I broke out a window pane in the back door and reached inside to unlock it. It was the middle of the day and no one was home. The back door opened into the kitchen, and I went no farther. I took a jar of peanut butter and a box of saltines and a butter knife.

I know it was wrong, and I think to this day about how violated those folks must have felt.

I took the stolen goods back under the overpass bridge where I had been sleeping, and damn me to hell if it was not the best meal I ever had in my life. 50 years later I still remember the taste of those saltines with peanut butter.

By the way, I later became a productive citizen, and even did pretty well for myself.

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Response to Midnight Writer (Reply #6)

Fri Feb 27, 2015, 02:08 AM

BrotherIvan (9,126 posts)

8. That is a very moving story and I'm glad your life turned out

But please don't beat yourself up about it. Once they saw that it was only food that was stolen, they probably figured it out. I had a homeless person break into our laundry room at 2 AM. I happened to be up. The room is attached, but I went around the back and went up to the door. He was walking out with some jeans and shirts. At that point I wasn't mad and just asked him quietly to go. He obviously needed them more than I did. I don't blame him. If it had been food, I would have minded even less. You needed to eat. It's so sad that people in the wealthiest country on earth are starving. That should never happen.

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Response to Liberal_in_LA (Original post)

Fri Feb 27, 2015, 07:56 AM

yuiyoshida (40,070 posts)

9. I hope they have

Meals on Wheels there, she certainly is old enough to qualify.

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