We hope everyone will join us for our next fresh Pathfinder
Produce market, this Thursday, December 17, from 1 to 5 p.m. We’re here
to help as you plan your menus for family get-togethers and celebrations,
offering a wide variety of tasty fruits and veggies.
Following up on our successful “Thanks For Giving” Food Drive
last month, Pathfinder Produce will be accepting donations of canned goods and
other non-perishables through the rest of the year, and will distribute these
to our area food banks. Our remaining markets are set for Tuesdays, December 22 and 29, from 1
to 5 p.m.
***
When
I was a 20-something, the song “Do They Know It’s Christmas”
was released by Band
Aid, a group that included pop musicians and was spearheaded by Bob Geldorf
of The Boomtown
Rats. Released to combat the widespread famine in Ethiopia from
1983-1985, the song was a huge hit, making $24 million in support of famine
relief. Subsequent versions were released in 1989, 2004, and 2014, to
further humanitarian efforts in Africa.
I
heard the original song during my drive to work recently, and it reminded me
that hunger is a specter that haunts us still. Ethiopia and many parts of
the Sub-Sahara Africa are contending
with erratic rainfall, and although numbers aren’t as bad as they were in
the 1980s, they are bad enough … about one-in-four persons living there is
undernourished, according to Global
Hunger Relief.
Here
in America, our friends and neighbors are going hungry too. According to
2014 reports from Hunger
in America, in the U.S. about one-in-six struggles with hunger and
one-in-seven accesses food banks to meet their regular food needs. About
48.1 million Americans live in food-insecure households, according to the US
Department of Agriculture. Many of these people are active military
or vets, working families, the elderly, or are households with children.
That’s
too many and shouldn’t be happening.
This
holiday season, as you are finishing up your plans and shopping, I encourage
you to make a donation to your favorite global or local hunger charity; your
places of worship or social organizations that support hunger programs; or your
neighborhood food bank, to help fight this cruel and pernicious drain on humanity.
A list of regional food bank organizations is available at the New York State Department
of Health Website. More information can be found at www.foodbank.cny.org www.foodbankst.org, and regionalfoodbank.net.
In
closing, I offer these lyrics:
It's Christmas time;
there's no need to be afraid
At Christmas time, we let in light and we banish shade
And in our world of plenty, we can spread a smile of joy
Throw your arms around the world at Christmas time.
Until next time, be well.
Lori
