Serving the Rutgers community since 1869. Independent since 1980.
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RUTGERS UNIVERSITY—NEW BRUNSWICK
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2016
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Food pantry serves New Brunswick community for more than 20 years JESSICA HERRING STAFF WRITER
A recent study found that those who have strong opinions about masculinity will usually downplay medical issues to their doctors. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR
Study finds men tend to lie to doctors more SANJANA CHANDRASEKHARAN STAFF WRITER
Men who ascribe to the cultural script of masculinity answer less consistently to doctors than women do, said Mary Himmelstein, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology. Men who strongly endorse these ideas about masculinity are less willing to be candid with male doctors relative to female doctors because it violates masculine ideals, she said. They believe they have less to lose by displaying weakness to a woman. But men who do not buy into these ideas about masculinity actually disclosed more consistently to men relative to women. “Research tells us that men are the primary enforcers of gender violations among men. If one buys into masculine ideals, they believe that their masculinity can be lost and that they need to be tough, brave, not vulnerable and not weak,” she said in an email. This can cause large consequences to men’s health, she said. “If men aren’t honest with their doctors about their symptoms they might not receive adequate treatment. If they don’t seek preventative care they may miss early indicators of heart disease, cancer or other serious health problems,” Himmelstein said. Men are more likely to die of suicide than women, she said. Suicide rarely makes the top-10 list of causes of death for women, but regularly makes the top-10 list for men. Men are also much more likely to die from unintentional injury relative to women, she said. “The lifespan for men is about five years less than women, so men also die earlier,” she said. “These gender differences are not accounted for by differences in biology between men and women. Rather, we would theorize that these disparities relate to masculinity as masculinity is associated with delays in seeking medical care, lower likelihood of seeking preventative care and risk taking.”
Early socialization has a long term impact on men’s health behavior. Men are socialized into masculinity very early with statements such as “man up” and “don’t be a sissy,” said Diana Sanchez, an associate professor in the Department of Social Psychology and member of the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Research at Rutgers University. “These messages imprint very early on boys,” she said. “The most dire example of the impact this has on men’s health includes their early mortality rates. Men who endorse these masculinity beliefs tend to feel like their self worth is based on being self-reliant.” This results with them not engaging in or delaying preventative care, or if they see an injury or symptom they wait to see if it resolves itself before going to see a doctor. It can have these very negative costly outcomes, Sanchez said. It is important that men are aware that this happens, she said. People also need to inform doctors that this is an issue, so doctors can use conversation or different methods to be able to elicit more accurate responses from their male patients. “If you underreport your mental health issues or physical symptoms this can affect their prognosis, and specifically what kind of care they think you need and prescribe for you. And if you’re not giving them accurate information they can’t take care of your physical problems efficiently,” she said. Encouraging men to find a doctor with whom they feel comfortable is really important, Himmelstein said. It is important to re-frame masculinity, and to teach men that taking care of themselves and their bodies is more important than putting on a tough front. “I’m happy that people are interested in this work and becoming aware of some of the impediments of masculinity in a broad way because there are lots of different problematic outcomes associated with trying to be tough and self-reliant that way,” Sanchez said.
Vanessa’s Food Pantry in New Brunswick has provided food for those in need for more than 20 years. Volunteers at the food pantry located at the Emanuel Lutheran Church help to unload food, stack shelves, bag food, clean, break down boxes for recycling and pick up food from The Middlesex County Food Organization and Outreach Distribution Services twice a week, said Vanessa Dunzik, food pantry coordinator. Volunteers also pick up a U-Haul truck and collect food from the Hillside Community Food Bank of New Jersey, register clients, complete paperwork and reports for receipt of state and federal food programs, Dunzik said. The food pantry started a new program where they pick up donated food from local supermarkets, such as the Shoprite in East Brunswick, she said. Dunzik has been working at the food pantry for 13 years. She started working at the food pantry when it was a small closet that served mainly the homeless population, she said. The food pantry realized they needed to expand and partnered with Hillside community food bank in 2010, Dunzik said, as well as moving to a new location in the Emanuel Lutheran Church’s education building across the street. “I am humbled that the church chose to name the pantry ‘Vanessa’s Pantry,’” she said. “The truth is the pantry would not be where it is without the support of Emanuel Lutheran Church, its Pastor Jeffrey Eaton, its council and most of all its congregation.” Currently Vanessa’s Food Pantry lacks space, time and money, but there is no suitable solution for this problem right now, Dunzik said. The food pantry would like to increase their hours but they lack volunteers.
Since the food pantry is a part of the church ministry the space they use and the utilities are a part of the church’s budget, she said. Money donated specifically to the pantry can be used entirely for pantry expenses such as purchase of food, cleaning supplies and the U-Haul rental fee. “We are not at this moment feeling any ‘hardship’ other than seeing how many people in New Brunswick and the surrounding communities are in need of pantries such as ours, we wish we could ease their burdens more,” Dunzik said. A majority of the families that visit Vanessa’s Food Pantry are multi-generational, Hispanic, living in New Brunswick and walk to the food pantry, she said. Over the last year, the pantry has served more people over the age of 18 than children. “The pipe dream would be that we could function as a free supermarket, that people could shop at our pantry,” Dunzik said. Vanessa’s Food Pantry provides at least four bags of food to the people they serve, she said. Due to restrictions on some of their food they only allow their patrons to come once a month. For a few of the patrons at Vanessa’s Food Pantry, the rent and utilities are not getting paid either and they are living in hotel rooms or a car, she said. “When you see people who are choosing between paying rent or utilities instead of buying food you adjust your idea of how bad you think you might have it,” Dunzik said. Volunteering at a food pantry can offer people a new focus of their life, she said. Keith Murphy, a recovery counselor at the Center for Counseling, Alcohol and Other Drug Assistance Program and Psychiatric Services at Rutgers, partners with the students from the Recovery House to volunteer at Vanessa’s Food Pantry, he said.
Currently six students have volunteered at the food pantry, he said, and four students visit the food pantry monthly. Murphy and his students have been volunteering at Vanessa’s Food Pantry for about a year and a half. Murphy had students volunteer during spring break, in the cold and in the rain, he said. His students help unload the trucks and sort food. “They love volunteering and helping out at Vanessa’s Food Pantry because it helps them see the world and struggles that others may have,” he said. “I love and appreciate their willingness to share their time and talent to help in the community.” The food pantry is a great way for the students from the Recovery House to see how being a giver can directly change someone’s life, Murphy said. Donna Holden, a Rutgers University Class of 2007 graduate, started to volunteer for Vanessa’s Food Pantry in 2006, she said. Holden assists clients with filling out the intake forms at the food pantry and signs them in for the month, she said. “Volunteering for the pantry has been one of the most fulfilling things I have done,” she said.“To be able to help in any way that I can is a privilege, and I love being a part of a community such as Emanuel where I can be of assistance.” Volunteering at the food pantry has made Holden more aware of how many families are hungry, she said. When Holden first started volunteering she would often go home thinking about all the hungry people with tears in her eyes. “My gratitude in life has changed tremendously over the years,” Holden said. “Over the years I have come to know some of the people very well and enjoy being able to greet them with a smile and send them off with one less worry of how they will feed their family.”
Vanessa’s Food Pantry, hosted at the Emanuel Lutheran Church near New Street, provides food for the homeless and other people in need. NIKITA BIRYUKOV / ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
VOLUME 148, ISSUE 47 • UNIVERSITY ... 3 • OPINIONS ... 4 • CLASSIFIEDS ... 5 • FOOD & DRINK ... 8 • DIVERSIONS ... 9 • SPORTS ... BACK