How Desperate Things are in My Town Now

[Mike 03]

We had a canned food drive this weekend where we were asked to buy some canned food (or otherwise safe, packaged and nutritionally adequate food) and place it in bags near our mailboxes so they could be picked up by the mail service and distributed to our local food shelters (and also our battered womens shelter). To the credit of this community, many people participated, but there are some people so desperate for food here that they actually went around my neighborhood stealing the bags of food before they could be picked up by the mail people.

This is such a serious--deadly serious--situation now for some families. I'm beginning to see things I never ever thought I would see here, like nine or ten year old emaciated girls going from door to door begging for food because their parents are too sick to work or even try to figure out if they are eligible for state aid.

It's terrifying. I imagine my neighborhood is not the only one experiencing these kinds of horrific developments right now.

[ColbertWatcher]

1. How sad. n/t

[Ocracoker16]

2. Your canned food drive was a national food drive

Postal workers across the country collected non perishable foods placed in bags by mailboxes on Saturday May 9. It is called out Stamp Out Hunger and is an annual event. It benefits food banks which are at this time struggling to have enough food to give out to the needy.

It is sad that people are having so much trouble that they were stealing from the bags before they were collected. It speaks of desperation. Things are pretty bad when little kids go begging for food. I try to make a donation of food to a nearby food bank once a week. They are having trouble meeting the demands of all the families that rely on them. I sometimes give money to Feeding America too. I find it sort of sad that people donating to food banks are helping out some, but that many people are still going hungry.