So This Is Xmas

If you are prosperous enough to have a computer to read this post, have presents around the tree, and a feast on the table to be shared with family and friends, I hope you take a small moment out of this day to keep in mind the nearly one billion people in the world who are hungry, and the 36.2 million people living in the United States who are considered to be food insecure.

Every year we either load up a shopping cart with canned and dry goods and haul them down to the local food bank, or send in an online donation. At the Mid-Ohio Food Bank, requests for assistance is up 14% over last year. 44% of the people they serve have to choose between paying for food or utilities, and 29% have to choose between shelter and food.

So if you have the means, please give to your local food bank. And if you have more, please give to help end world hunger.

A country which sees its citizens line up at midnight for bargains on I-pods, flat screen televisions, video games and computers, certainly has the capacity to line up and help those who are suffering from hunger.

So this is Xmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
- John Lennon, Happy Xmas (War is Over)