Thankfulness in action.

By Amanda Ponzar

This article on Yahoo News stopped me dead in my tracks. “In 17.4 million U.S. households, someone goes hungry.”

That means one out of every eight U.S. homes –- families and children –- do not have enough food to eat. Can you imagine that?

I have such an abundance of food (I wanted to count it all to show the sheer magnitude but quickly realized cataloging every can, box, frozen meal, tomato, etc. would take hours, so here are a few photos instead). My food-related complaints are more like running out of Cheez-its or being in the middle of cooking and realizing I’m short one egg. I’ve NEVER, ever gone hungry because my family couldn’t afford food. We may not have eaten filet mignon and escargot every evening, but daggone it, we had what we needed, thank God.

With Thanksgiving approaching, let’s focus on being THANKFUL. Thankful for food to eat -- even if your Thanksgiving turkey is dry or the mashed potatoes have lumps or you only have pumpkin and apple pies and you were hankering for pecan. Let’s be thankful for a place to live. For family, friends, coworkers, a job, money to pay bills, clothing, pets, beautiful fall leaves, movies, music, art, hobbies, freedom!!!!, and of course, this fabulous blog we love reading.

And then, let that thankfulness move you to action.

Find your local food bank, or contact 2-1-1 to find a homeless shelter, food pantry or other organization in your community that provides food for people who need it. Just imagine if everyone reading this gave a little something out of our checkbook or stocked cupboards. We could make a dent in those 17.4 million households right now. What are you waiting for?

 

(Photos from Amanda Ponzar's fridge, freezer & cupboards, November 2010.)

Comments

[Yvonne DiVita]

Amen, Amanda. Thank you for this post. I hope we can spread the word far and wide.