A group of us were enjoying another leisurely summer lunch under a bright blue sky. Someone ordered a Thai chicken ginger soup, another had a chicken pot pie. There were lattes and hot cocoa, and everyone ended up too full for dessert.
Then somone made an observation: "I have never been hungry for one day in my life." We thought about it. Profound. There have been times when we've been hungry, after skipping a meal or being late for a snack, but how many of us have experienced true hunger, the kind where your cupboard is truly bare, the refrigerator empty, the prospects dim to nonexistent?
We love food, and we love having choices on the kinds of food we eat. In the season of plenty, summer is a good time to reflect on hunger, and how easy it is to alleviate some of this right where we live.
Each of our stores has Helpful Harvest bags set up. For $10, you can purchase a bag with nonperishable items that go to the food bank in your community. It's enough for a few meals, and maybe it arrives at that time when someone has no options for eating.
We donate our perishables on a daily basis to food banks, too. The need is great, and there's never enough. Maybe you will never experience hunger like people do that have no food. Maybe you can make a donation so someone doesn't have to. Food is pleasure and food is fun, but it's also sustinence, and that's where each of us can make a difference right in our own neighborhood.