Four days without food

Someone on the Main Board posted a reminder, and I think it was a very good thing for us to remember, that while we are enjoying lots of yummy food on Thanksgiving (or at least a nice protein shake or some pureed something or other), there are people with no food at all.  I bet they'd love to have that protein shake!  Or three or four of them a day, for those on the pre op liquid diet.

There are kids all across this country that rely on their free breakfast and free lunch at school for the majority of their nutritional intake.  Too bad schools don't serve more nutritious food, but it's sure better than nothing.  A lot of school kids will be going hungry for the four day weekend, or maybe eating a turkey dinner in a soup kitchen or church basement, but going hungry for at least part of the long weekend.  Of course, there are adults that wil be going hungry too.

So if you can, donate some food to your local food pantry or soup kitchen, or even volunteer to help serve Thanksgiving dinner at the local soup kitchen.  And let's all take just a moment to think of those that would love a protein shake before we complain about being on a liquid diet or having to puree our turkey or having to pass up the pumpkin pie.

So true, Kelly... we agonize over what we CAN'T eat, when we should be thankful for what we CAN, and that we have something to eat at all.

I got choked up reading this... sometimes it's something simple like this post that helps remind us of what's really important.  I don't have big plans for Thanksgiving... might check into local shelters and food kitchens to see if they need any help on Thursday.  If I can't spend the holiday with my extended family, I can't think of a better way to spend it than helping others.

Thanks for the reminder, Kelly... I'll be taking a case of food to the local pantry later this afternoon.


tori

I got choked up thinking about it.  I have to do a little shopping later and I think I will be picking up a few items for the food pantry, too.

And when you're picking up food for the food pantry?  Mostly we want to get healthy food because especially if people don't have a lot to eat, they need to get all the nutrition they can out of what they do eat.  But it's a holiday.  So throw in a package of cookies if you feel like it.  Food pantries often don't have dessert items to give out and I think it's nice to have a special treat on the holiday.

i so agree with you kelly. its that time of year which should be all year long to just be thankful. i read a post one day that has stuck with me for a long time and it said :: what if u woke up to just the things , you thanked god for yesterday.. well there would be a day i would wake up to nothing. so i thank him often anymore for EVERYTHING.  

That's someone's signature line, isn't it?  I've seen it to but I can't remember whose it is.

It's a good point, though.  If that was the case, I would not be posting here right now because I would have woken up without my lap top.  Among many other things I usually take for granted.

My partner and I are going to start volunteering at the local homeless shelter.  I want to do some sort of volunteer work and I think it would be good for him, too.  One reason I think it would be good for him is because he complains a lot.  He complains about the fact that our mobile home is in  need of some repairs we can't afford (but it keeps us warm and dry and all that stuff) and complains about not making as much money as he thinks he should make and stuff like that.  I decided he needs to see people that are just happy to have a roof over their heads.  People that would be happy with any crappy minimum wage job because it would mean they could buy their child a new outfit for school or a birthday cake or some little thing like that.

You are so right. It's a real disgrace that it's that way in our country, but it is. All the focus seems to be on childhood obesity, and then there are so many that are malnourished. My son had a friend over last night and he kept going on about how nice and warm our house is and how cold it is at his house. I didn't pry into it, but apparently there is no heat at his house or they just keep it turned down. There are so many things that just shouldnt be. Living without the basics is one of them.

My partner used to own a pizza place and I helped manage it for him sometimes.  One employee was a senior in high school and her mom was an alcoholic and did not work very often and spend most of her money on alcohol when she did work, apparently.  This girl got a job so she could pay to take her SATs because she wanted to go to college and to pay for her gown and stuff for graduation.  In January, when it was really cold, the electricity got shut off in her house.  She would wor****il 11 pm, then go  home, get under a pile of blankets with a flashlight to do her homework.  She got mostly  As.  Can you imagine?

It is a disgrace.  I don't how we've gotten to the point in this society that we think it's OK, or that we don't feel responsible.  We think well, I work hard to earn money to keep my house warm, if someone else doesn't work hard enough to keep theirs warm, that's their problem.  But how is a little boy supposed to work hard enough to pay the ultility bill?  

I'm not saying we should all feel guilty every time we turn on the heat in our house, but maybe we should turn our heat down a degree or two, put on a sweater, and donate a few dollars that we'll save to a family that can't afford to turn on the heat?  And I know those few dollars won't make a big difference in the grand scheme of things, there will still be children that are cold and hungry, but if everyone did just a little?  Besides, that small difference would seem huge to your son's friend on cold winter nights.

Another social worker and I coordinate a Thanksgiving food basket program for the county that we work for.  We have one church that donates the bulk of the food, the Wild Turkey Federation purchases a bulk of the turkeys and then other churches, schools, and individuals also contribute.  This year we decided to put donation boxes in each of the break rooms throughout all of the county offices in an attempt to expand the project and serve more families.  I found it very interesting that the offices that have lots of contact w/ struggling members of the community (Social Services, Sheriff, and Court Administration) made significant donations.  The other departments that sit behind their desks or go about their jobs without contact with struggling members of the community (County Administration, Auditor, Controller, Licensing Department, Highway Department, etc.) donated little or nothing.  I guess it goes to show that it is easy to forget about those in need or simply put them out of our minds because it is not something that is pleasant to think about. 

In addition to the 20+ hours donated to this project our family has also donated money to the project and several pounds of food to our local food shelf through a food drive at the kids' school.  I love that the food drive gave us the opportunity to talk to the kids (I have an eight year old autistic son and a six year old daughter) about people that do not have basic necessities and what it must be like to walk a mile in their shoes.  The food drive also gave us the opportunity to instill in our children a sense of responsibility to help others.

Thank you Kelly for bringing this to the forefront.

I find it easy to believe that the offices where employees have more contact with those in need donated much more money.  It is very easy to forget about those less fortunate than ourselves.  I don't know where you live, but in my town you very rarely see homeless people, at least not those easily identified as homeless.  I used to live downtown in a major city and saw homeless people every day just walking to and from work.  But even if you see them, maybe holiding a cardboard sign, how often do you give them money?  And how often do you walk on by, thinking they would just spend the money on alcohol or that maybe they aren't really homeless but just too lazy to get a real job because you saw that segment on dateline a few years ago? 

But it's easy to just not think about it.  Unless of course you were standing out in the cold holding a sign while your stomach growled.  I guess it would not be so easy to forget then.

I kinda came from that way. Not as a little kid but when I moved out and started my own life. I worked at a deli for minimum wage and only worked for a few hours maybe 3 days a week. Some weeks the only food I would get was from the deli after we closed, like the fried chicken we couldn't sell. That lasted a good 6 months. Every holiday season my church packs a grocery bag full of food for people depending on the size of the family. That way they have at least one nice meal. I've been on both sides and I feel touched every time.