I'm not good without a healthy deadline, so needless to say I've been spending a lot of hours working with fiber of the cloth variety.
I've had a lot of time to think about things that matter to me. I like to take stock of my life this time of year. I'm sure a lot of people do. I'm fortunate to have wonderful health, a loving family and wonderful friends.
I have a home.
I have food security.
It absolutely kills me that food security is an issue for a lot of people. Food insecurity is an issue for 49 million Americans. Of those, 17 million are children and 5 million are seniors. Last year over 37 million people accessed a food bank for emergency food assistance.
A few years ago, my good friend Frances Holliday Alford spent a year working on something she called "The Hunger Project". She sent blank checks to many of her friends for a set amount and asked us to research our local resources and make a contribution to one we were interested in funding. I thought this was brilliant: a perfect way to get others to look into local organizations and educate ourselves about them. I learned about our local food bank: the San Antonio Food Bank. I learned that, for every dollar given, the SA Food Bank can stretch it to the equivalent of $15. I was impressed!
Every year, rather than exchanging gifts with extended family members, each family unit makes a charitable contribution. I always give to the local food bank.
I know each of us has a pet project. Some of us cannot afford to give beyond what we can do for our immediate family members.
I'm really not trying to be preachy (I detest that!): I'm simply planting a seed of an idea. I encourage you to look into the possibility of contributing to a local food bank. They are really good at stretching a food dollar. Thank you for your consideration. Have a wonderful holiday season.
I promise to start cooking some interesting food. Soon!
