Sharing the food

The other day someone who reads these words send me a message saying I seemed to have all the answers. Goodness no! I don't think anyone has all the answers, but if we listen to others and keep our eyes open, a lot of those answers will become very obvious. Downtown yesterday I saw a number of people arriving at their church for worship. I noticed that they all seemed to be carrying something too - food. Some folks had big boxes of cereal and other had those multi-packs of instant noodles and some had bags that seems to have cans in them (tuna perhaps, or soup, or maybe vegetables). Now I don't know how often they do this, but even if it is just occasionally, what a great idea! Here's something anyone can participate in.

Yesterday afternoon while I was in the supermarket, I took note of some of the sale prices of food. Amazingly I found soup for a dollar or less and canned tuna was just sixty-nine cents! Outside the store I saw a vending machine that had canned beverages for thirty-five cents. For five dollars, I could buy a soda, five cans or tuna, and a can of soup, and still have money left. So I did it. Most of us can afford five bucks every now and then, and look how much food you can get. There are of course many other options, but that's just one example.

There is a small boutique in my old San Francisco neighborhood that did food drives occasionally and, to encourage participation, they gave discounts on their merchandise to folks who brought in canned goods. It was a win-win situation, and just about everyone put some cans in the barrel. People who didn't know ahead of time, would run across the street at a Walgreens store and pickup some sliced peaches or chicken broth or maybe a can of beef stew or chili. Such a simple act that makes such a big difference!

Here is one answer to hunger. The other day the US Postal Service did a collection. The church here in Kingman that I mentioned does it and that clothing store back in San Francisco, and they aren't the only places. We can even start some new collection programs where we live, if ones don't already exist. Perhaps you have some other suggestions. You are more than welcome to share them in the comments below.