Zero hunger writing competition entry for #livesustainably. Focus on voluntaryism

“For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.” (Deuteronomy 15:11 KJV)

I am only one, but still I am one,
I cannot do everything, but still I can do something,
And because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do the something I can do.
-Edward Everett Hale

This quote by Hale has always been one of my favorite quotes. Imagine a world where everyone who has the means, no matter how small, stops passing the buck and pointing their fingers at somebody, anybody, whatever entity appears more rich or more influential, and realizes they have four fingers pointing back at them when they do that.

Do you have extra money? You donate it.
Do you have extra time? You volunteer it.
Do you have the gift of persuasion? You go forth and convince others to help.
Do you have the gift of leadership or organizing? You start an initiative in your community, or look for ways to improve existing efforts.

source

In this article I'm only focusing on the voluntaryism aspect to reduce hunger; there are certainly other ways, like education (remove the standardized testing shackles so schools could provide more home ec and life skills type classes), or removing government interference in people's attempts to be self sufficient (let the front yard gardens and rainwater collection barrels abound!), or working on a cultural shift away from some of the misplaced priorities that I think are contributing to the problem. Hunger has a myriad of root causes that vary by region, so you simply can't expect to apply an efficient "one size fits all" fix to a very diverse problem. I could write all day long, dreaming up potential solutions to all the root causes I can possibly think of, but trying to address them all would take forever :)

In the interest of keeping it simple, I believe it is best if people who are close to the source step up and apply whatever particular solutions fit their community; both in the immediate need to provide assistance, and then in identifying and addressing those root causes in the long term.

Food is such a basic need, people seem to be programmed with an innate desire to feed others. Why else do children want to feed the ducks and pigeons at the park, overbearing mothers in law snatch baby bottles for the pleasure of feeding a baby themselves, and millions upon millions of people want to operate restaurants? People want to provide food. The key is tapping into that desire by organizing a way to feed the needy and then communicating to others how they can help.

When I worked at a grocery store, expiring food and unattractive produce was thrown in the dumpster, until a local pastor came along and requested it for the food pantry he operated downtown. He got an amazing haul of free food every week after that! Sometimes all you have to do to get creative, raise awareness, and ASK!

It needs to be easy for people to help, too. In our county, for example, a church runs the largest voluntary food locker, and has a whole network set up in which other church congregations collect food (in our church, there is a food basket sitting in the foyer--how much easier does it get than dropping items off as you walk in every Sunday?) and then somebody volunteers to bring it to the central food locker for distribution. For those who don't attend church, one of the businesses downtown serves as a daily collection point. They also host events like silent auctions and concerts to raise additional funds and spread awareness. Then once a month, a horde of volunteers amasses to hand out bags of groceries at the church, and also deliver groceries to those who are homebound.

Also, one side of our county is more economically depressed, so donations received on the more affluent end are shared with the other. I read an article here on Steemit describing Steemit basic income as a pool that would fill up and nourish the people in that pool, and then overflow and fill new pools with more people, rippling ever outward until everybody benefited. I feel that same analogy applies to channeling the desire and ability of good people to help others. Communities with an abundance can look outward for those who need more help, thus creating that ripple effect.

A full grocery bag for the food pantry that only cost around $12.

Going back to Hale's quote. I will not refuse to do the something I can do, which is give out of my own abundance. Additionally, as a Christian, I will obey the command to take care of others. I budget a percentage of our grocery money to buying food pantry donations, and then drop them off at church. I've identified a logistics problem in that the ladies who normally transport the food, work full time and frequently can't take the donations to the community pantry during operating hours. So guess what? I have the ability to do that, so I intend to take on that task, assuming they agree :) I'm already mulling over ways to encourage and inspire others to join me!

My efforts may be one drop in the bucket, but when combined with everybody else's drops, I figure it can help fill up the bucket.