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Once you have forgiven me for the horrible pun in the title of this article, hopefully you will continue to read about a simple way that anyone “can” help the hungry. This, the third article in my series about helping others through food, features some wonderful efforts in my town to feed the hungry in our own backyard.

Food Drives are quite commonplace, and for good reason. They are simple to implement and have the potential to feed a lot of people. Enter any grocery store worth its salt during the holidays and you will find a receptacle placed strategically near the exit to collect canned and other nonperishable foods. Often, these are donated to the local soup kitchen or women’s shelter. I noticed one such bin at Trader Joe’s tonight whose contents are intended for the Ritter House, an organization that serves many of our homeless and working poor.

Not too long ago, the National Association of Letter Carriers carried out their Stamp Out Hunger campaign, collecting food donations that were placed in the mailboxes along their daily routes.  And just the other day, I came home to find a paper hanger on my door asking for food donations from the Boy Scouts of America. Scouting for Food encourages people to donate canned goods such as tuna/chicken, fruit, vegetables, soups, chili, spaghetti or ravioli. They also would appreciate peanut butter, pop tarts, pancake mixes, crackers, cookies, soup, rice, beans, pasta, powdered milk, dried fruit and snack bars. Collected food will be donated to local food banks and charities.

While most food drives give food to people we don’t know in our city, our elementary school is collecting food to distribute to the needy families in our own school community. While it feels good to help anyone with nutritious food, it feels even better to help families that we know or see every day at school. Anyone at our school that would like to receive two bags of groceries simply responds to an invitation that is distributed. Once all of the food is collected, parent and student volunteers check the food (thank goodness - last year someone donated something from the back of their cupboard that was 6 years past its expiration date!) and then sort it into sacks. Families or their children can pick up the food at a designated time, or parent volunteers will deliver it to a destination of the family’s choosing.

Sharing food is one of the most wonderful and natural ways to help another person. Consider adding a few healthy and non-perishable foods to your cart the next time you are shopping. Invite your child to deliver the food to a shelter or soup kitchen with you. Hunger IS a reality, and feeding a stranger is a valuable way for your whole family to be thankful to what they have.

One more thing…don’t forget that people are hungry all year long, not just during the universal Holiday Food Drive. Open your calendar to a day 6-months from now and jot down a reminder to feed a hungry family in your community.