Greater Grows the Pain

Do you stop for a coffee and something to munch on your way to work? Or maybe, heading home, you pop into a convenience store and grab what Winnie the Pooh calls a “smackeral” to tide you over until suppertime? Show of hands. Yeah, me, too.  

We’re not talking about a lot of money; just a couple or three bucks, give or take a couple or three bucks, right? And if it comes to more than ten to fifteen dollars in the course of a week, we’d both be amazed but if you’re looking for more bang (or bagel) for your buck (and who isn’t), I may have a pretty sweet deal for you. 

Let’s say you have eight dollars. I know how to turn that into sixteen meals. And if you’re spending a little more, say between twelve and sixteen dollars a week, I can set you up with twenty-four or thirty-two meals a month, every month. I knew that would catch your eye, but wait, there’s more.

And actually, this is the important part. Think ‘put your money where your mouth is,’ but I’m asking you to consider instead, putting your money where someone else’s mouth is and becoming a member of the Harvest Club, Connecticut Food Bank’s Monthly Giving Club.

Every day one of every eight people in Connecticut struggles with hunger, and in terms of kids, it’s more like one of every six. I’m not talking about people choosing to take a late lunch or skipping breakfast. The technical term is food insecurity, a euphemism that hides the stark reality of not knowing where/how your next meal is coming from.

In a state with about 3.6 million residents, we’re talking hundreds of thousands of our neighbors living with hunger as their constant companion, relying on food pantries and soup kitchens.

I know around the holidays usually from just before Thanksgiving through the New Year we all dig a little deeper for ‘those in need,’ a great thought and a lovely abstraction. We feel better and our help really does help but the need doesn’t go away just because the calendar changes years.

And speaking of change, the coins in our pockets are NOT what I’m talking about. You know how you pay for your gym membership or home delivery of your daily newspaper with a credit card or via electronic funds transfer through your bank? Why not do the same for the Connecticut Food Bank whose support is essential for the St. Vincent de Paul Place, and so many helping hands across our state.  

We’re spending five bucks plus a day now on a Veni, Vidi, Vici Mani, Pedi (or whatever it’s called) and for a little more we can help those helping feed so many who don’t have a guaranteed next meal.

It’s no muss and no fuss, it's just us. The Harvest Club is the backbone of the Connecticut Food Bank and our membership will do all of us a state of good.  Our state, Connecticut. 

-bill kenny