Welcome to the Grace Organics Blog! If you're here you have signed up for our Ministry and we're looking forward to working with you and hearing your comments!
Only two days after the Ministry Fair the Bainbridge Islander published
an article confirming what we have seen in our community since taking
over the Grace garden in 2010; more and more people are depending on
Helpline to meet their basic needs. Records for food assistance were
broken in August in all of Kitsap County and Helpline served 263
families in one week. One week. 263 families. Think about that for
minute. 263 families on Bainbridge Island didn't have enough money to
feed their families.
This is the political season and I know there are
lots of opinions about what is going on in a country that has such an
abundance of food that 20% of our GNP is the food industry and yet in
2010, 14.5% of our neighbors were found to be what is termed "food
insecure" which is the wonky way to say: Hungry.
But really this is the bottom line........
Our neighbors are
going hungry in a place of abundance or forced to make do with seconds
from the more generous grocery stores or whatever non-perishables we
think to put in the basket at Grace or the bin at the local supermarket
on our way out. Now think about coffee hour at Grace every Sunday and
the beautiful food provided, some if it handmade, some of it purchased,
but all of it presented lovingly and abundantly.
Hold those images in
your mind and don't feel guilty, feel fortunate. There are plenty of
places in Christ's teachings were he asks us to enjoy what we have in
that moment and help others while we can. Enjoy your good fortune, help
those less fortunate. Simple, direct and totally doable.
Hope to see you in the garden soon.
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/sep/18/countys-food-bank-directors-struggle-to-rising/
http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/us_hunger_facts.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment