Food Thanks

Today, I'm thankful for food.  (I really wish I didn't like it as much as I do).  For the longest time, food was my enemy.  Eat too much and your weight will increase.  Eat too little and your body will have a tantrum.  As the end of the year nears, food will be something that is gathered around, given, bought, cooked and cherished.  But as you sink your teeth into your next meal, I ask you to pause...

So many people are without food.  I can't imagine not knowing when I would eat again.  So many children are food insecure, not knowing where their next meal will come from.  This breaks my heart.  I eat every day.  Often times MUCH more than I need.  Food is something we take for granted.  I think it's sad that we as a nation struggle with obesity, while other nations are starving to death. 

Sadly, it's not just other nation's that suffer from hunger. There are many of our own citizens that struggle with hunger on a daily basis. This is not okay.   

We have an entire holiday dedicated to over eating, it's coming up soon.  I wonder if those who are in a constant state of food crisis hear of this holiday and can't believe it.  Tables of food that remain unfinished and are saved for later.  I'm betting their concept of leftovers is completely different than ours.  I bet they think that things like 'hunger strikes' are a stupid venture.
  
When we need food-- we go to the grocery store, go to the drive-thru, open our pantry and there it is.  I can't remember the last time I was truly hungry.  Yes, my stomach has grumbled.  Yes, I have looked at the clock and realized I haven't eaten all day.  But I have never really been hungry.

The holiday season is coming up, and I encourage you to truly think about the less fortunate.  I do find it crazy that we tend to only focus on them at the end of the year, when the 'holiday season' is in full swing.  We should be concerned 100% of the time.  No one should go hungry....ever.

And so, I encourage you to donate--- food, time, money, anything---to help cure world hunger.  When that chipper young lady comes to your front door asking for donations---don't shut your door.  When you pass that bell ringing man, dressed as Santa---don't ignore him.  When you are asked to assemble gift baskets full of Thanksgiving dinner items---go willingly.   When you are asked to donate an extra dollar or two at the cash register---donate.

No one should ever go hungry when we have an abundance ourselves.      

I am thankful for food. I am thankful that I can eat every single day, without thinking about the when's and how's. I am grateful that I am, for the most part, healthy and well-nourished.  And mostly, I am thankful for perspective, that helps me realize that I have much more than others, and gives me an opportunity to change that.

A few quotes I'd like to share:

"We know that a peaceful world cannot long exist, one-third rich and two-thirds hungry." -- Jimmy Carter

"Hunger is not an issue of charity. It is an issue of justice."-- Jacques Diouf, Food and Agricultural Organization Director-general

"The war against hunger is truly mankind's war of liberation." -- John F. Kennedy

Bergen Says:  Feeding the hungry nourishes more than just the body.