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Leanna Tamburello

Laura Martinez

ENC 1101

3 April 2013

My Discourse Analysis: The Food Pantry

Background

“A discourse community is made up of individuals who share a broadly agreed

upon set of common public goals” said John Swales (Swales 466.) John Swales is a

scholarly writer who studied the concepts of a discourse community. For my college

ENC 1101 class, I was given an assignment, or something of a challenge. I had to go out,

observe and explore a discourse community that was not familiar to any of my own.

Many would probably think it was a scary task…well it most certainly was! For my

discourse community, I volunteered at a

Food Pantry in my hometown of Cocoa

Beach. This took place in the back of the

East Coast Christian Center Church. For

those who do not know, a food pantry is for

homeless, or very low-income families, families who make up to 10,000 per year to be

precise. When I first walked up with the friend I was volunteering with, we had been a

little bit late. There was a line out the back door of about 50 people; children, mothers,

and families. Seeing this was quite sad. Knowing that people cannot provide for their

families. What was even worse was seeing the drug addicts. As vulgar as it is, there were

so many people with rotten teeth, twitching, scratching, boils and blisters all over their

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faces and more. It made me realize that I am never going to get into drugs. Not that I had

ever considered it before anyway. Other types of people I saw waiting in line were older

men trying to hit on me as I walked up to the door, like they have never seen a women

before. I was quite uncomfortable. Which is why the rest of the time I worked in the back

bagging food that had been donated to the church. The other possible job to have would

have been to sit up front at the desk signing people in to receive their bagged foods and

handing them out directly to the customers. I would say that 75 percent of the food they

had us giving out was rotten. This particular day they were only bagging fruits and

vegetables. When I asked the volunteers if this was okay, one woman replied with words

that just about said “beggars can’t be choosers.”

Method

I chose to not only observe my discourse community, but also participate in it and

get hands on experience of how the people worked together, communicated, etc. I stayed

in the back and bagged food four brown bags at a time. I had a paper with a list of

questions (See Appendix One) and when I learned the answers, either through

conversation with my coworkers or from just plain observation, I wrote the answers down

when I had time. Also, I took personal evaluation of each person, in my head, by asking

each of my fellow volunteers the same questions so I could see what kind of people they

were. The few questions I could not answer by observing, I used in my interview with the

man at the front desk named Chris Richards. I interviewed him to find out things such as,

how the Food Pantry got started, how to gain power as a volunteer, etc. (See Appendix

Two.) I volunteered for four hours, 10:00 a.m-2:00 a.m. I was interested in finding

themes and patterns in people. Themes or patterns such as, how the volunteers work

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together, if it is organized, are the volunteers genuinely kind or do they have hidden

agendas, etc. This led me to my analysis and focus point, I wanted to focus on the

organization and structure of the place

and also the volunteers level of authority.

Evidence and Analysis

Aside from not caring about the

people receiving this food, there was a

very productive system at the Food

Pantry. It was very organized and

systemized. There was a line and people had to sign in at the front desk, show their ID’s

and receive tickets to make sure they wait their turn. I learned that this was something

Tony Mirabelli, a well-respected writer, defined as a kind of structure (Mirabelli 538-

556.) The food pantry is similar to Tony’s article because although his motive was

different, he talks about how he evaluates a restaurant. In this restaurant there are all sorts

of structure and rules to make the place successful. There are ways to make to waiters

and waitresses connect with the customers. To have structure, one needs to have ways of

getting information across to customers, and employees. This will later be defined as

genres. I also noticed that everyone I spoke to and evaluated individually in my head had

different levels of authority and different motives for being there. This will also later be

defined, it will be defined as common public goals and personal goals.

Evidence and Analysis:

Genres

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John Swales uses six categories to characterize a discourse community. Those

categories are:

1) Has a broadly agreed set of common goals.

2) Has mechanisms of intercommunication among its members.

3) Uses its participatory mechanisms to provide information feedback.

4) Utilizes and possess one of more genres.

5) Has an acquired lexis.

6) Has a threshold level of members with a suitable degree of relevant content.

The characteristic that ties the most into my discourse community of the Food Pantry is

genres. Genres are “how things get done, when language is used to accomplish them”

(Swales 472.) Examples of genres would be a

Facebook page, a group email, group text

message, business card, sign in sheet, filing

system etc. At the Food Pantry there is a business card and there is a ‘Certification of

Eligibility to Take Food Home’ form (See Appendix Three & Four.) The sign in sheet is

very important because it allows for structure. There are rules you have to follow, such as

not being allowed to receive food from the food pantry more than every two weeks. It

allows structure and allows the authorites to make sure everyone is being treated equal.

Evidence and Analysis:

Authority & Multiliteracy

I noticed that although everyone was a volunteer, there were different levels of

authority throughout the work place. Tony Mirabelli defines this as multiliteracies.

“Workers do not just read and write texts: They also read people and situations”

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(Mirabelli 538.) Before this project, I thought multiliteracy or to be literate meant to read

and write. I now know that it really means much more than that. It means to be able to

work in rhetorical situations. According to Mirabelli, waiters and waitresses need to be

literate in the sense of needing to be able to read their customers, know the menu, and

know if the customers are happy, unhappy, rude, etc. It is a lot of nonverbal

communication, knowing who is boss, and knowing how to read and please people.

The Food Pantry uses multiliteracies non-verbally. Even though no one gets paid

and nothing says in writing who has the upper hand, everyone knows who the higher

power is. There is one man who runs the Food Pantry named Sam. He is the one who

signs everyone’s community service sheet and gives him or her the opportunity to

volunteer there. He has every right to tell someone they can’t come back, or ‘fire’ him or

her. Therefore, everyone respects him because he is basically the boss. This is not in

writing, but people are able to read the situation, and rhetorically figure it out. Many

people do not know it, and before this assignment neither did I, but everyone uses

rhetorical situations and multiliteracies in their everyday life.

Evidence and Analysis:

Goals

Swales also talks about common public goals and person goals. When I

interviewed Chris, I asked how the food pantry began he replied jokingly yet

sarcastically, “hungry people.” Knowing also that this was the common public goal of the

Food Pantry, his sarcasm and melancholy lead me to another question. “Why are you

here today volunteering?” he replied, “My wife makes me.” (See Appendix Two.) After

some laughter and socializing, I decided I was going to ask others the reason they were

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volunteering, because surely teenagers were not there at the crack of dawn to help feed

low-income families. Four out of seven of them were there for community service hours

for school. As I observed one older gentleman, every time I would go to put something in

a bag that looked even remotely edible, he would ask me for it and set it aside in a corner.

When I asked him what his corner of stocked up food was for, he told me it was for him,

that he brings it home for himself. I then put together that each person working, was there

for his or her own personal reason while the common public goal was still being fulfilled.

The hungry were being fed, and the people who were volunteering were there for reasons

that benefitted them.

Conclusion

John Swales made an argument that a person could be a part of a discourse

community without being assimilated in it (Swales 467.) I believe this assignment helped

me realize that is very true. This is spot-on because I was able to interact and join the

Food Pantry for a day, yet I am not fully a part of it, I don’t receive texts or emails from

the volunteers or get called in to volunteer when someone is missing, however, if I

wanted, I could go back and get some service hours in here and there. From this

assignment, I have learned a great deal. From the assignment directly and the discourse

community I chose, I learned all about a different lifestyle. I learned that other people do

not have life as fortunate as I do. On the contrary to that, I learned that as for the people

who were volunteering to help, none of them actually cared about the well being and

hunger for the poor, but had ulterior motives to benefit themselves. As a result of this

assignment, I learned the process of analysis. I learned how to fit in with people whom I

am not comfortable with, who are not in my discourse group. This will benefit me in the

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future for when I join the Medical field. It will benefit me because being in a health field

means dealing with a lot of people who have different histories and backgrounds and I

will have to be able to work with them to make them comfortable as well as making

myself comfortable. Studying discourse communities is important because it allows you

to look at language differently. It allows you to see how language helps communities’

function. Studying it benefits me specifically because next time I join an unfamiliar

discourse, I will be better prepared to make myself, one of them.

APPENDIX ONE-OBSERVATIONS

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Observations of Food Pantry--- DOING STUDY MARCH 26

How do they greet each other at the start? Very casual. “hey whats up” How are people talking? Casual…some say ma’am and sir (mostly older

people)o Hand gestures-simple, things tossed around, high fives, ‘knuckle punches’o Who is looking at who-everyone talks to each other very friendly o Hugs/handshakes? Some husbands and wives give kisses, women give

each other hugs, men handshakes How do the workers communicate and get ideas across? Text? Email?

Facebook? By text or phone call Are people shy? Some people don’t say anything just do it for the community

service Body language? Kind, casual, everyone seems close and friendly How do they talk about each other? No one is mean behind anyone’s back,

people do judge the homeless/low-income families (poorly or feel bad) What do the things say about what they care about or don’t care about? They

don’t care about the well-being of customers “beggars cant be choosers” What kind of people go? Low income families Are there a lot of children? Yes many people bring their children Do they need proof of ID? Yes, they show ID at the front desk and the worker

matches the ID to the address and name on their form. Volunteers? Do they get paid? No, no one gets paid. All volunteer work. For the people who go all the time, do they speak/walk right on through?

People talk to each other, most work together every week so they swap daily gossip.

Do workers chat with people coming and going? The people who come to receive their food usually dump all their problems on the volunteers.

What are the relationships between workers and customers? Casual& limited What kind of system is it to get food? Food is bagged in the back, Meat is

bagged separately, someone brings it up front, the customer gets to choose from different sweets and breads, they give their ticket, and take their food.

What do customers take food in? (bags, plastic bags, bring their own bags, Etc.) Some bring their own carts or baby carriages, but the food is bagged in large brown paper bags

APPENDIX TWO: INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS RICHARDS

Interview With Chris Richards-Food Pantry

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Leanna: How did it all start?Chris: Hungry people. (Laughs) The East Coast Christian Center has been here since 1985. A few years ago the church decided they would hold a center for low-income families to get some service for their families, such as food, toiletries, meat. This was supposed to be a one-time thing until food companies decided to start sending us their non-approved foods instead of throwing it away. We figured, why not feed the hungry if we can! So here we are, five days a week we give out free food!

Leanna: Do people steal?Chris: People are unable to steal because all of the food is bagged in the back where only employees are allowed. The food that is out front always has employees around it and they would see if someone tried to take something. We are very giving so I do not see the need for anyone to steal, yet I am sure it happens!

Leanna: How often do the same people come? Chris: We see the same people very often. They are allowed to come once every two weeks and we usually always see familiar faces.

Leanna: How do you become a member?Chris: We are very lenient on our volunteers and always could use more help. Many people end up here by knowing someone, just as you knew someone and ended up here. But if a person hears about us and needs community service hours, they are welcome to walk up here and ask!

Leanna: How do people take advantage of the food pantry?Chris: I wouldn’t say any one takes advantage of it here. We are so lenient and laid back that there should be no reason for people to take advantage, however, there are people who come in late and think it is okay to just because they do not get paid. But it is mainly a respect thing and Sam can tell someone not to come back if they do not respect the rules.

Leanna: How does someone get power?Chris: You earn respect. There is no label of power. But there are people who act as authority figures such as Sam and myself. If someone regularly volunteers, they obviously will have more of a say in what times they would like to come over someone who comes once every two weeks.

Leanna: Why are you here volunteering? Chris: My wife makes me. (Chuckles) We have been doing it for years, it is almost like a job these days. We do it three days a week every week as a family, my wife and I, and occasionally my teenage grandson. We do it for the good faith. We love helping people who are not as fortunate as us!

APPENDIX THREE: CERTIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY FORM (FRONT)

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APPENDIX FOUR: (BACK OF FORM-SIGN & DATE TO MAKE SURE PERSON

GOES NO MORE THAN EVERY TWO WEEKS)

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Works Cited

Mirabelli, Tony. "Learning to Serve: The Language and Literacy of Food Service

Workers. “Writing About Writing: A College Reader. Ed. Elizabeth Wardle and

Doug Downs. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s, 2011. 538-556. Print.

Richards, Christopher. Personal interview. 26 March. 2013.

Swales, John. "The Concept of Discourse Community. “Writing About Writing: A College

Reader. Ed. Elizabeth Wardle and Doug Downs. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s,

2011. 466-480. Print.

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