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This week’s column is going to be a little different. Normally, I like to write about food, food and more food. Today, I’m going to speak a little about a BIG, BIG problem in America: the lack of food. Specifically, hunger. And, I’m going to ask for your help, big time. Please keep reading.
I have never been hungry (I can hear the jokes now: “Yeah, we can TELL, lady!”). By that, I mean truly hungry. Not the kind of hunger that’s self-imposed, like when we girls need to lose a few pounds before a vacation or some other event and live on Slim-Fast and celery! The kind of hunger I’m talking about is the kind that is caused by not being able to afford groceries, the kind that wakes you up in the middle of the night, the kind that makes your head so fuzzy and your stomach growl so much that you can’t learn. That kind.
I have been so blessed. Food has always been abundant. When I was a little girl, my parents weren’t wealthy, but our family was comfortably middle class. My mom used coupons and those green chip stamps (remember those?) to stretch the grocery budget a little bit, and I can remember eating leftovers, and spaghetti, and tuna noodle casseroles a lot. Definitely not “rich people” food, but our tummies were always full. Breakfast on the table EVERY morning, without fail. Lunches packed lovingly by my mom in my Partridge Family lunch box, EVERY school day, also without fail.
As a mom now myself, I can imagine no greater hell than worrying about my child being hungry. But guess what? Millions of American moms have that worry each and every day, and some of those moms live right here in beautiful Old Forge! No community is exempt. By the end of this year, over 12 million children in this great country of ours will not have enough food to eat. That figure appalls me, and it should appall you, too.
Yes, we do have the school lunch programs to feed our at-risk children when they are at school; hot, nutritious breakfasts and lunches are served daily, nationwide. But, school is not every day—what about after school, summer vacations, weekends? Did you know that 80 percent of low-income children who receive school lunches do NOT receive regular meals in the summer months? This is a statistic that I fear will only get worse as groceries get more and more expensive.
Children suffering from hunger are more likely to have weaker immune systems; more stomachaches; more hospitalizations, and impaired performance in school, academically, athletically and socially
Usually, you can’t see hunger by just looking around. The victims are black, white, Asian and Hispanic, short, tall, thin and chubby. The hungry look just like us. This problem of ours seems so overwhelming; just what can one person do? Bake cookies, that’s what!
Let me explain. Our beautiful daughter, Abbie, who is a junior at Town of Webb School, is joining the Great American Bake Sale, co-sponsored by the Food Network and C & H Sugar. This is a national campaign that mobiles Americans to end childhood hunger by holding bake sales in their communities. Since 2003, more than one million people have participated in the Great American Bake Sale, raising nearly $4 million to make sure that no child in America grows up hungry. Grants from the bake sale campaign support and promote access to after-school and summer feeding programs, nutritional food education programs, and support for organizations working to provide services to low-income families living in areas of high-need and extreme poverty.
Our bake sale will be held at Paddlefest, all day long, on both Saturday and Sunday, May 17 and 18, at the Old Forge lakefront. Abbie’s goal is to send a nice, big fat check for $1,000 to help feed hungry American children. Boy, we’d better sell a heck-of-a-lotta cookies!
You, dear readers, can help this very fine cause in three ways.
• You can bake some cookies, muffins, cakes, pies or candy. ANY kind is great. If you can bake, please call 369-2885, and either Abbie or I will give you the drop off and packaging details. You can also e-mail me at: lnwillard@hotmail.com. We need all goodies by Friday, May 16.
• Come to Paddlefest and buy some treats and maybe some hot coffee. Yum!
• Make a donation, either by stopping by our booth or going online to Gabs.Strength.org. This is also a great Web site to check out, as it describes in detail how all funds raised are allocated.
You can also call me or e-mail me for easy recipe ideas—you KNOW I have a gazillion!
Please plan on baking for a wonderful cause, and maybe stopping by our booth at Paddlefest for some treats. We can’t wait to see you there!