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    Wednesday, January 9, 2008

    Have YOU Eaten Today?

    I know I've eaten my share, and felt no stress as I opened my cupboards to see if there was anything to eat. It's probably the same for you. Did you have food to feed your kids this morning? I know I did, and it sounds like a silly question.

    But I wanted to remind you, faithful readers, that there are LOTS of folks who do need food. I cleaned out our pantry this week and got rid of some stuff we don't need or use, but that is perfectly good food, and posted it on Craigslist to give away. The response has been a little overwhelming, and I am reminded of how many have needs I can't even begin to understand. In the 1/2 hour it was posted before I chgd it to "pick up pending", I heard from SEVEN people asking for it, saying how much that one box of food would mean to them. Two were asking for a food pantry that helps people like the other five. I'm sure there would be more if I hadn't listed that someone is coming to get it. Actually as I type this, more emails are coming in asking for the food anyway.

    It's easy to get warm and fuzzy during the holidays about helping the less fortunate, but sometimes we forget that need knows no season, and people go hungry all year round. Today I was reminded of how much some pasta, baking staples, canned goods and pudding mixes can mean to someone. It takes five minutes to go through your pantry and find a few things that you know you won't use (or shouldn't have), but that someone else may need. Or, next time you're out shopping spend an extra five dollars (or two, whatever) on canned vegetables, or baking items, or anything else you know you'd be lost without in your kitchen. It takes SO little effort to make a HUGE difference for someone else. Every can helps, every box of food is one meal that a baby doesn't have to go without.

    So find your local food pantry, clean out the cupboards and give, give, give! Here, I'll get you started:

    In Columbus:
    Platte County Food Pantry
    3020 18th Street
    Columbus, NE 68601-4254
    Phone: (402) 563-4544

    In Lincoln:
    http://www.lincolnfoodbank.org/home.asp

    In Omaha:
    Omaha Food Bank
    (402) 331-1213
    6824 J St
    Omaha, NE 68117-1090


    In Norfolk:
    Norfolk Food Bank
    106 West Norfolk Avenue
    Norfolk, NE 68701-5340
    Phone: (402) 371-2591


    Feel free to search online and find other community food banks, add them to this list and then copy this into an email and pass this on (or you can use the "email this post" button to send as-is). It's ridiculous that in this day and age, babies go hungry in the wealthiest country on the planet. Whose fault it is that they go hungry, and why they go hungry doesn't really matter, does it? They are still hungry, and they still need our help.

    So find a way to help, and then pass on something worthwhile today - this! You'll feel good about it!

    1 comment:

    Deb said...

    You're so right. I'm going grocery shopping tomorrow -- what's another $10?