Just back from her annual visit to the Campus Kitchen at Northwestern University, Western Region Program Coordinator Erin Yudchitz ruminates on what “economic hard times” mean for real people.

I visited one of my former homes last week: the Campus Kitchen at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. In addition to a great trip to The Spice House, I also had the privilege of meeting John F. at the Monday night cooking shift.

John isn’t just any volunteer: last fall he saw the article about CKNU in the Chicago Tribune and, having been unemployed since May, he inquired about volunteering. He’s been a steady presence at both the Monday and Wednesday night cooking shifts since the start of the year, and he’s so well-versed in kitchen operations that shift leaders look to him to guide new volunteers through the kitchen.

As for me, I was impressed with John’s generous spirit and upbeat attitude… and I marveled at the “small world” factor we find at CKP-turns out, John is high school friends with the father of one of the Campus Kitchen at Marquette‘s founding volunteers. Who knew?!

It was a conversation with another dear friend of mine that got me thinking about the other side of the coin here: yes, the Campus Kitchen has gained an incredible, dedicated volunteer and increased its web of community support.

But what about John? It’s clear that he’s fed by his work with the Campus Kitchen, and I don’t mean to diminish the value of that. However, because of his age and the economic downturn, the reality is that he may never work in his chosen profession again.

That’s what I was thinking when I came across this article from Philanthropy News Digest. There’s no arguing that young people are starting their working lives with more debt, and that’s a daunting challenge.

Through my work at CKP, I’ve encountered plenty of students and graduates who are having difficulty finding work-it’s frustrating and disappointing to see the great leaders from our network face these obstacles. But how do you compare the struggles of a young person who (most likely) has the time to ride out the recession, to those of someone nearing retirement age?

Is it even possible to quantify who’s being hit hardest?

Maybe it is, but I’m not sure it’s worthwhile. I think such comparisons only create more boundaries at a time when we need to develop an attitude, and a lifestyle, that we’re all in this together.

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