Fight Hunger in the United States

Each month, over 6 billion (that's right, billion) pounds of food are wasted in the United States. All this, while more and more people are food insecure, or hungry or at risk of hunger. This describes urban, rural and suburban folks, children, senior citizens and families, the working and the unemployed. But you can help. Start by clicking the big yellow button at http://www.thehungersite.com. Click everyday then visit America's Second Harvest (www.secondharvest.org) to learn more about hunger and food distribution in the US. On their site, you can:

* Learn more about hunger in the Unites States. Get the facts. They are sure to motivate you to act. Did you know that 36% of hungry households include at least one employed adult? Or that over one third or food insecure people have to choose between eating or paying the rent or mortgage, paying utilities or getting medical care? Those are choices no one should have to make.

* Identify a food bank near you. Enter your zip code to find services for yourself or for someone in need. Or you can volunteer, or donate food or money. My family recently donated food during the annual Stamp Out Hunger Campaign. On May 12, 2007, our letter carriers collected nonperishable foods for local food banks.

*Give food. Learn how to donate excess perishable food from your wedding, party, conference, or other gathering. Get information on how to conduct a food drive. Just enter your zip code to find a food recue agency near you. We found Potluck Food Rescue in Little Rock and donated the leftovers from our wedding.

*Give funds. Every dollar puts 15 meals on the table. Every little bit helps. How much can you spare? You can donate to America's Second Harvest online or find a local food bank and make your donation there.

*Give time. Find volunteer opportunities near you. People are needed every day to sort, distribute and deliver food.

And here are two more suggestions for cutting down on waste from my own life.

* Let people (children too) serve their own plates. My grandmother's rule was that we could always have seconds but had to eat whatever we put on our plates. Less waste saves money. If you don't need to save money, do so anyway and donate it to an organization that fights hunger.

* According to my mother, as a child my eyes were always bigger than my stomach when we'd go out to eat at the local cafeteria after church. After several weeks of my ordering food and not eating it, she decided to make me use my allowance to pay for the food I didn't eat. I stopped wasting food after just one Sunday.

So when you sit down for your next meal, consider those who are without. Then do something to combat hunger in your community. It's a solvable problem, we just have to work at it. It's the right thing to do.

"Love is the ability and willingness to allow those that you care for to be what they choose for themselves without any insistence that they satisfy you." - Wayne Dyer