Food, Glorious Food

Last night, a friend sent me an e-mail decrying the fact that the U.S. spends billions in foreign aide while people in this country go to bed hungry. His point was clearly political.

My response was chiding. I pointed out that I and another person he knows WORK at our local food bank. I capitalize the word work. It is no fun session. I basically challenged my friend to DO something. He is elderly and unwell. He would not be able to physically assist. BUT he most certainly has the resources to assist in a financial manner.

If 100 people each donated $5 per month to the food bank, we would be able to buy that much more food to help feed the hungry families of Valencia County.

What do we buy? Staples -- tuna, peanut butter, dried beans, rice, pasta, canned vegtables, canned fruit. The selection varies based on availablility. The Belen Area Food Pantry buys fod from RoadRunner Food Bank in Albuquerque. The food bank delivers. We also get bread, produce and frozen foods from Road Runner. Those are provided at no cost, they are part of the Government's commodities program. The catch? Availability.

Availability is the catch with most of the products. We have been unable to buy one or two pound bags of dried beans. The only way we can buy dried beans is in bulk - ONE TON bulk. In Belen, we have neither the storage facility nor the ability to package for distribution one ton of dried beans.

For the last two or three months, we have not had either dried beans or rice to distribute.

At times, the bread we have gotten has been infested with mold. We are unable to give it out. The produce is usually past it's prime, but as long as it is not actually decaying, we give it out.

Sometimes, there is no bread or no produce.

The Food Bank is not the only source of food for our clients. They qualify for food stamps. They come to the food bank before they do the rest of their food shopping so that they will have an idea of what they have, and what they will need.

Famlies may only obtain food from the food bank every other month. They do not receive ennough food to last two months. We don't have enough to give them that much.

I look at myself and know that I need to loose weight. How to do that? Eat less! Then I look for new, gourmet recipes to try. Great example, right?

At least I do give of my time.

But I challenge you - can YOU afford to give $5 per month to your local food bank? They say charity begins at home. Who do you help?