I've been talking about hunger, poverty, and solutions on Facebook all week and many of you have asked me what's with all the Food Drive talk. Well, here it is:
September is National Hunger Action Month. If you know me, you know I can get way up there on the soap box about this topic. If not, don't say I didn't warn you... I want you to know that I actually researched these statistics; they have not been pulled out of thin air to pull on your heart and purse strings. 48.8 million Americans live in food insecure households: 32.6 million adults and 16.2 million children. That works out to 15% of all households, 10% of seniors, and 20% of children in the U.S. struggling with hunger. The Memphis area ranks #1 in hunger in the US; 26% of people in our area miss at least one meal daily due to poverty. Most of these families are considered working poor. TN minimum hourly wage remains at $7.25; and tipped employees are only paid $2.13 an hour, which hasn't changed since my waiting tables days over a decade ago. The price of groceries has risen 3-4% this year alone. This adds up to a lot of families (families we know) struggling; making the hard decisions about which bills will and will not get paid. How does one decide whether a roof or food is more important?
This issue hits close to home for me. I saw the heartache it caused my mother to constantly worry about where our next meal was coming from, how we were going to keep the lights on. I see how both of my disabled parents still struggle monthly to make ends even come close to meeting and have to depend on the generosity of food pantries because disability checks and food stamps are not enough to feed a person for a full month even for people that do shop smartly. I see hunger politely raiding my sidewalk community garden regularly. I see mentally and physically handicapped homeless people begging while many of us turn our eyes away. I've seen kids in the classroom not be able to focus and routinely fall asleep due to lack of nutrition. These are my experiences with the heartbreak of hunger. What are some of yours? Do you divert your eyes? I know, when I don't have anything to offer, I still do it.
So, what can we do about hunger? I don't have "the" solution, but I do have some suggestions that while may not solve the problem, can help alleviate some of the pain. The easiest thing you can do is donate canned goods to food pantries. If you picked up one extra can of food for donation on every grocery trip, you could make roughly 52 donations a year with negligible damage to your pocketbook. You can volunteer even just one day a year at a food bank (It could be a great family experience). You can organize a food drive at your place of work (You only need a box with a sign for can collection and to send out an email). If you like gardening, build a small seasonal sidewalk garden and invite people from your community to take what they need or spend some time helping with community food gardens (In Memphis, many of the elementary schools have started gardens and take parent volunteers readily).
The Mid-South Food Bank (http://www.midsouthfoodbank.org/) takes donations in the form of non-perishable foods, personal care-items, and money. They have an extensive and easy to participate in volunteer program. And, if you are inclined to host a food drive, they make it SUPER EASY to do. You just have to go to their website and fill out a form and email it, done. They will even bring you the boxes for food collection and then come pick it all up when the drive is over. Many churches, perhaps even yours takes up alms in addition to tithing one Sunday a month for the purpose of feeding the needy. They often have their own food pantries which take donations and often could use your voluntary help. First Congo in the Cooper-Young neighborhood, IONA (http://iona.gutensite.com/), and Catholic Charities of Memphis (catholiccharitiesusa.org) all have great programs for helping the hungry.
My sister and I have setup a Food Drive through the Mid-South Food Bank. If you would like to contribute, you can drop off items at Memphis Memorial Park Funeral Home at 5668 Poplar Ave Memphis, TN 38119 (Poplar Ave. at the NW corner of I-240); Pugh's Flowers at 5645 Poplar Ave, 1622 Union Ave, or 2435 Whitten Rd.; if you know where either of us live, you can drop off at our homes; or if you go to the Memphis Farmers' Market downtown, you can drop off there on October 13, 2012. We are taking donations from this point through mid-October. The items that they are in need of most are canned meats including: tuna, stews, chicken and dumplings, chili, Spam, and soups; peanut butter; canned fruits; canned veggies; canned fruit juice; any non-perishable item; disposable products including: paper towels, plates, napkins, cups, and plastic utensils; toilet paper; personal care items: toothpaste, shampoo, soap, and deodorant; laundry and dish detergents; and other household cleaning products.
Thanks for reading and feel free to contact me for help with anything in this post.
