Everyone I know has a fridge full of food. A full pantry. A full freezer.

I go to friends houses, take the kids on play dates… Every home I’ve been to has plenty of food.

The generous hosts will offer a cup of coffee or tea and ask if I wanted anything to eat, give the children a snack, fruit, yogurt, and/or a cookie. They open their homes and they open their fridge and kitchen cabinets.

Every now and then we invite each other over for lunch or dinner, or maybe we go out to a restaurant for a weekend brunch.

My children are invited to birthday parties. There is always a lot of food there, pizza, juice, treats, cake, and goodie bags.

My girl friends like to go meet at coffee shops. We buy a latte and a pastry.

We go on date nights, game nights, mommy nights, book club nights… All these gatherings have food.

I take the children grocery shopping with me. They always ask for a doughnut, or a fruit salad, and vanilla or chocolate milk.

Sometimes they get a special treat, we go to the ice cream shop.

There’s so much food around us.

We take it for granted.

If we had to live on $7 a day or food stamps, all this food will not be available. But it’s not just the food. All these places and social interactions might not be available either.

I suppose, when there isn’t enough food, it’s not only about being hungry, it’s also about being more isolated, and lonely…

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Read what other blogger write about the hunger challenge:

Eat. Write. Now

Dianasaur dishes

Gluten free girl and the chef

Savory sweet life

Foodista

Eric Rivera’s cooking

Cook local

United Way blog

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Give money to the Response for Basic Needs. Your gift will increase support for local food banks by helping a local cannery save fresh foods that might otherwise perish. The newly canned food will be distributed to local food banks, reducing their need to purchase such items.

If you want to know more, check out United Way’s hunger fact sheet.

 

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There are many other ways to help. A few of the ones I find to be the easiest are:

* Each time there’s a food drive at a school or work place, give something. There are always a few food items you have that will be happy to see a new home.

* Each time you receive a plastic bag in your mailing box announcing a food drive, put a few food items in it.

* Each time you get a postcard in the mail saying a truck is going to be in your neighborhood to pick up stuff, search around your home, your garage. There must be some things in good use that you don’t need anymore. Put at least one bag on the curbside.

* Each time you see at a (grocery) store that they are raising money for a good cause, give a little. Anything helps.

People can eat on as little as $7 a day that you give.

Related Posts:

Hunger challenge 2010 – As simple as pancakes

Hunger Action Week – the end – updated

Hunger Action Week – This is what’s left

Categories : Food events