Skip to main content

Take Action

 


Sleeping through my alarm two days in a row isn’t an accident. It’s a trend. Something about the morning light must be changing as the season begins to lean towards Fall. Sigh. I must adjust.

I saw this on my morning exploration of Twitter and thought, “Huh! I didn’t know that.”

GET READY! Tomorrow is #HungerActionDay! We have an amazing donor, the Ellicott City – Columbia Lions Club, matching DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR for ONE DAY ONLY in support of the #HoCoFoodBank. bit.ly/3Dp4w2Q


This was a tweet from yesterday. So, “tomorrow” is today, if you would like to have your donation matched by the Ellicott City-Columbia Lions Club.

I did not know that September was Hunger Action Month. It looks like Hunger Action Month was established in 2008 by a group called Feeding America.  

Hunger Action Month was established by Feeding America back in 2008, when it decided it was time for a nationwide push to get involved with the hunger crisis across the country. 

In Columbia/HoCo the CAC and the Howard County Food Bank are well known. Other, smaller groups have also worked to combat hunger in our community. Food for Tomorrow comes to mind, the group that has collected food donations during area Fourth of July parades. Since the onset of the pandemic other initiatives have arisen to meet the growing need to feed our neighbors: Columbia Community Care, food distribution by ION HoCo, and other groups I don’t even know about. 

Individual churches collect food for donation, civic groups, too. Schools now have food pantries. Outside the Unitarian Universalist Church in Columbia there is a Little Free Food Pantry. 

Hunger in Columbia/HoCo did not begin with the pandemic but it has been both broadened and deepened due to illness, job loss, business failures and cutbacks.

If you can help in some way, I hope you will. One does not have to be a large corporation or a millionaire to make a difference. It is always a benefit to be a friend who tells a friend, so that the gifts may be multiplied.

I’m happy to link you up the the  CAC donation page but I also want to put in a plug for Columbia Community Care. I continue to be amazed by this completely grassroots organization and the difference they have made during the pandemic.

One last thing. If you, like me, are contemplating the ever-growing challenge of hunger in our community and in our nation, you might want to listen to this TED talk by Jasmine Crowe:

What We’re Getting Wrong in the Fight to End Hunger

Tell me what you think.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...

What Kids Are Thinking

  It’s a Monday in February, and if you guessed that a lot of Howard County students have the new cell phone policy on their minds, you’d be right. It will mean big changes and it will be stressful, no matter how much good we hope it will do in the long run. But on this particular Monday cell phones might not be top of mind, as amazing as that seems. Some kids will go to school wondering if they or family members will be seized by ICE. Some will fear that their parents’ employment will be purged by the ongoing rampage of Elon Musk and his cronies through Federal Government. Some fear heightened and renewed racism as programs that supprted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are vilified and destroyed.  Some worry that it soon won’t be safe for them to use the bathroom in school anymore. It goes without saying that some kids fear going to school every day because of the prevalence of school shootings.  And look! Here’s something new to fear. That old hate group, Libs of TikTo...