Earlier this week I went grocery shopping. The next day my daughter looked in the cabinets (which were filled to capacity) and complained about not having anything to eat. (I didn’t get her favorite cookies).
This caused me to reflect on my life. Over the years, there have been times at my house when the food supply would run out before month’s end. But there was never a time when the cupboards were bare. Our cabinets might not have had what we wanted to eat, but my children and I never went hungry.
Then I think about the 17 million hungry children in America. Those who look in the cupboard only to find it empty. Children who go to school because there they can get fed.
Today (November 15) is National Philanthropy Day. Philanthropy means “love of humanity” and is an active effort to promote human welfare.
As we prepare for the upcoming holiday feasts, what can we do for those who are hungry?
Deborah Calvert is associate executive director for Women of the ELCA.
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Photo by Lynda Giddens, used with permission