Yes, there are a lot of things to think about right now. Will I be able to keep my health insurance? Are we headed for war? Heck, will there even be a United States as we know it next year?
And, in the midst of all this, one of our greatest national problems, perhaps our greatest national shame, not only endures, but is getting worse: food insecurity.
In 2006, before Great Depression II, economic growth and robust giving had gotten the number of food-insecure households in the US under 11%. Predictably, after the housing/banking/auto/everything crash, that number rose to 14.7%. Since then, the economy has improved, and you would expect that number to fall significantly.
You would be wrong. As of 2014, the most recent year for which the USDA has figures, 14% of US households, 48 million of our fellow Americans, were hungry.
There is often little an individual can do about the great problems that face our country. We can’t frog march felons from government offices. We can’t force missiles back into silos.
But we can help these people. And thanks to the proud union members of the National Association of Letter Carriers, we can do it with dang near no effort on our parts.
This Saturday, as they have for the past quarter-century, your friendly postal pals will pick up your donations of non-perishable food items, right from your house, and bring them to your local food bank or feeding center. All you have to do is get the bag to the mailbox and they’ll take care of the rest. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.
I know we all have a lot on our minds right now, so I’m getting this reminder out early. I’ll try to kick out a couple more diaries between now and Saturday, but why not fill the bag tonight and put it by the door? That way, there’s no way to forget about it in the insanity that our daily lives have become.
Thanks in advance and, if they ask what you’ve done to make this a better country this week, tell ‘em the food is in the mail.
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