Really popular, too. Everyone’s doing it.
Well, not everyone.
Hunger and food insecurity is on the rise in America. After falling during the early 2000s, the number of food insecure households increased to 14.7% after the Great Recession. It has not dropped significantly since, with 14% of households reporting food insecurity in 2014.
Unlike so many of the problems we face, this is something we, as individuals, can directly affect. And, tomorrow, you can do so without having to do more than getting off your duff, grabbing some non-perishable foodstuffs from the pantry, and setting them out by your mailbox.
The ideal way to support your local food pantry is through monetary donations. With bulk buying and special relationships to suppliers, your local food bank can turn a single dollar into a complete, healthy meal for four.
But we can’t all make those donations. Budgets are tight. There are so many other needs. We don’t always remember.
That’s why your friendly, union postal carriers set aside the second Saturday of May every year to do more than just drop off your bills and advertising circulars. They will pick up, from your porch or wherever your mailbox lives, your bags of canned, dried and packaged goods and take them directly to your local pantry or feeding center. All you have to do is set it out. They take care of the rest.
Please, go to the pantry and check your chow supply. You probably have an extra pack of pasta, can of chili, jar of mayo, whatever. Maybe even something fancy. Bag it up and set it next to the door today, so that, tomorrow morning, you won’t forget.
Because eating really is fun. And not eating really, really isn’t.
Thanks for reading and feeding. And if they ask what you’ve done to make your country better today, smile and say, “The food is in the mail.”