In San Diego county there are 10 cites where food is distributed to the hungry. Recently, the number of distribution cites has declined. Some may think this is due to a decreasing number of people going hungry. Because, we don’t see anyone going hungry here at CHS, the issue isn’t there. But, it is.

96 billion pounds of edible food goes to waste in landfills every year.  If the average person is eating 2,000 pounds of food a year, 48 million people could be fed if that edible food was given away instead of thrown away. Forty-eight M-I-L-L-I-O-N.

1 in 5 people in San Diego county go hungry.  If that doesn’t make an impact, look at it this way…

On an average street there are 16 houses. Say there are three people in each of those house which means there are 48 people on any given street.

So on your street, it’s possible for NINE of your neighbors not to have enough to eat.

Our government calls it being ‘food insecure.’ Personally, I call it shameful.

Possibly even more surprising than that is who is going hungry.

When you hear hungry, you think, bum, you think, too lazy to get a job, begs on street corners, smelly, dirty, uneducated.

When you think food distribution or soup kitchen, you think, lots of lazy, smelly, dirty, uneducated people trying to get an easy hand out.

You would be wrong.

I’ve worked at food distributions and soup kitchens, and you know who I see? I see Marine, Navy, Army officers.  I see their families, their kids, all waiting in line on Sunday morning, on Mother’s Day, on Christmas. Waiting for someone to show them compassion, respect and kindness by offering to help them when they need it the most.

So, don’t think of food pantries as places where the homeless get handouts. Think of them as places where good people, dealing with bad times, can get a hand up. A little help is all someone may need to get on their feet.

Still no impact?

1 in 4 kids go hungry. So, of every four students at CHS, one is going hungry. You do the math. It could be your classmate, your friend, you.