Every winter, there are countless holiday food drives. I’ve donated to some of them. I suspect many of you have as well.
But now is actually the time of year when they need more.
Why?
School is out. (Or it’s getting close.)
Many impoverished kids get two of their daily meals at school. Others get their only two meals at school.
With schools closed, food banks become more necessary to those communities.
I’m not sure if it’s the lack of feel-good or what that has prevented “school’s out” food drives, but I’ve never seen one.
While we’re here and talking about it… I’ve read that donating money to food banks leads to more food availability than donating food itself. The explanation I saw said that because they can buy in bulk or otherwise have cheaper-per-unit powers, giving $1 buys more food than donating a $1 can of something.
There are also issues of fit with the community, of health issues within the community, and of people just plain being jerks and donating expired food.
It’s not an opportunity to clean out your pantry.
So. If you’re a food donating kind of person, take a few bucks to your local food bank and help out your neighborhood youth. They’ll be grateful.