That Time of Year Again

It’s Christmas time again. I can’t believe another year has passed and it is time for the colors of red and green, reindeer and jolly old elves. It’s time for the crush of shoppers and children leaving hints for their parents and letters to Santa. It is time once more for Christmas carols and homes decorated with colorful lights that blink. It is a time when we start thinking about food and family gatherings and a warm home.

There is another side to this season of giving and warm memories, a darker side, a hidden side. There are struggling people, the working poor and the homeless that pass us on the street. There are families living from pay check to pay check. There are children that Santa won’t be visiting and men and women that call a box under an overpass home. It is the season of hunger…and want.

Lisa and I were invited to spend part of the day working at our new Food Bank here in San Antonio. It is a large new facility built by HEB Food Stores. This distribution facility supplies food (donated and purchased) to food pantries in a surrounding six county area here in South Texas. They feed 25,000 hungry people a week and the numbers are growing. The day we were there, we packed over 1,000 food boxes for senior citizens.

After our work session, we talked with the volunteer coordinator and were surprised to learn that the Food Bank worked with prisoners, as well as handicapped and disadvantaged young people. It is part of an ongoing community training program. These people are trained in warehousing technology and culinary arts. Those people passing their certification program have no problem getting jobs as chefs in some of San Antonio’s finest hotels and restaurants. Prisoners become certified to run forklifts and other heavy equipment for area factories and warehouses when they get out. So people are not only getting fed, but they are learning useful skills to make a decent living.

We also learned that the need for food and volunteers is not just at Christmas and Thanksgiving, but all year round. Yes, the spirit of the season reminds us of those who are less fortunate, but hunger and poverty are with us 365 days a year, not just on holidays. Lisa and I realized how much we have to be thankful for and decided to spend some of our spare time as volunteers during the rest of the year. We felt good knowing that in just that one day, we helped feed over 1,000 people. Why not use this season of giving and stop by your local Food Bank or food pantry and give a little of your time.

Food for THOUGHT…