Food Bank Contributions

I have become acutely aware of the many families experiencing hard times as the country struggles to recover from the collapse of our financial system. Families are losing homes, jobs are being lost, employers are not hiring workers, and many are going out of business themselves.

In one of our Instant Message chats, I told my sister Esther about an interview I saw on CNN of a man desperately looking for work; his biggest worry was getting food for his family and he himself was hungry.

There must be many people in the same situation. Wishing we could help in some way, Esther and I decided to start using the money we planned to spend for Christmas presents and make donations to a food bank. We have told our children about our plan, and they too have decided to do the same.

This year, I would like to ask those who send me Christmas presents to make a food bank donation instead. It will be a holiday without presents ‘going to’ and ‘getting from’ but the holiday will still be cheerful knowing we have might have made a small difference in someone’s life.

There are many ways to contribute besides giving money and there are many worthy causes besides food banks. I encourage readers to make a special effort during this time of recession to help, be it a family member or a charity of their choice.

Editor's note: Here are some charities to consider:

Charity Name	What they do
Fisher House	specializes in helping vets and their families
Feeding America	food bank previous known as Second Harvest Food Bank
Just Give	clearing house for many worthy charities
Oxfam America	oxfam's usa branch - works on world wide hunger
Heifer International	works on world hunger by helping families raise animals that can be used for food and exchange