Hungry All Year Round
This Christmas was one of the best yet as I spent it volunteering with the Salvation Army, delivering meals to the elderly, shut in and homeless. I met two new friends (John and Matt) in the morning and we teamed up to deliver our 40 meals together since our assigned recipients were located in the same apartment complex near downtown Chattanooga. I had never delivered meals and I guess didn’t know what reaction to expect as we knocked on each individual door. To my pleasant surprise every single answered door garnered the same gratitude and holiday cheer.
“Americans give more to charity, per capita and as a percentage of gross domestic product, than the citizens of other nations.” (Forbes, December 2008)
Some of our knocks did go unanswered, creating a surplus of meals that we didn’t want to go to waste. We were able to find a handful of people interested in meals on the way to our cars, but then took the rest to a plaza on ML King Blvd where we had seen folks being served earlier in the day. We pulled up, donning our Salvation Army aprons, and were surprised to see hungry people running to our truck. Some of this crowd were grateful, while others were expectant and rude. Yet, all were hungry and we fed as many as we could, realizing just how many people were in need of food. That day the Chattanooga Salvation Army (with its approximate 50 volunteers) fed approximately 900 people.
The main food bank back home is the Utah Food Bank. In the past, donations have been a clunky process of dropping off food to a store or mailing in a check. I’m not sure if I would have donated again this year as the process seemed anything but personal. But prior to Christmas I received an email showing me their new website and the simple process of how to donate online, allowing me to choose what to donate.
Even if you have only a few spare dollars, consider stopping by. A simple $10 can buy a turkey (which is matched by Siegfried and Jensen) and can feed a good handful of people. And though the holidays have passed, there are folks who go to bed hungry all year round.