Thursday, May 20, 2010

Spring Give

This afternoon, I attended the local Food Bank's semi-annual 'Give'. This is the occasion when they award certain amounts of vouchers redeemable for food. These vouchers are actually shared among various organizations, all of whom are busy about the task of feeding the hungry of our city.

According to the stats, there are about 1000 more 'hungry' in the city this year than there were last, at least the ones who are availing themselves of the programs which are funded by the Food Bank. This is perhaps not too surprising considering the current downturn in the economy, and the fact that VALE, one of the large employers here in town has had more than 3000 of its employees on strike for the better part of 10 months now.

What is surprising, and pleasantly so, is that the local Food Bank was able to distribute more than $240,000 worth of food credit to various organizations today ... and there will be another 'Give' in six months' time!

These are the times when I truly have to stop, take a breath, and believe as deeply as I can that we've got it right: life is about giving life, about taking care of the orphans, and watching out for the ones who need our help.

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