Chances are pretty darned good that if you are reading this you are not one of the one out of six Americans who go hungry. According to a department of agriculture survey, that number doesn’t include folks who have food only because they are poor enough to qualify for food stamps. Food banks are in need of donations to meet the demand for emergency food.
“That’s pretty staggering,” I thought, as I shoveled more bacon in my face. Then I started to gag … not from the bacon grease, but from guilt. I feel that, like the hummingbird in the peace tale I told you, I should be doing my part.
Like the hummingbird, I am too little to do much, but I want to help. I’m planning a trip to donate to the food bank next week. I’ve decided that between now and December 12th, for any comment, on any post on this blog, I will donate an extra can to the food bank.
Yes, I know I am NOT good about answering comments — that’s beside the point. Dig in my archives, if you like, and drop me a line. It’s worth a half a minute of your time to donate a can to those in need, isn’t it?
[Note: As of 6:16 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 8th, there are 29 comments not counting mine. Spadoman has offered to match my donation, FairyKate (who has not left me a link to a blog) donated $50 to her local foodbank, and Kathleen G.(who doesn't have a blog) has offered to match my donation to 100 cans). Anybody else wanna join the party?]
{Note #2: As of 8:41 on Wednesday, December 9th, there are 69 comments (not including mine) that have been submitted on various posts throughout the blog. I’m headed out to start my shopping today!]
[Update #3: I just got back from the grocery store. This is the start of it:
Food for the bank
{Update #4: At 5:49 a.m. on December 10th, we have reached 88 comments! Folks from all over the world are visiting, mostly thanks to FairyKate & CrazyJudith! Thank you, ladies (and all you gents!)}
{Update #5: If you would like to see how many comments have been made on Friday, December 11th, you can visit my Only The Good Friday post for today. Comments that you leave on any post will be counted! In fact, if holiday drivers are making you insane, go learn A Ditty For Idiot Drivers. I promise you will never sing Jingle Bells quite the same way again.}
Other posts you might enjoy:
{ 123 comments }
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Enjoy your cuddle in weekend and add a can for me.
.-= Jamie´s last blog ..New Take This Tune Prompt =-.
I will indeed. I hope you are feeling better, I know you were under the weather.
Great idea! No… not the bacon – the cans for comments.
Hope you do well.
Sheila
The bacon was a great idea, too! It was yummy, I must say.
Thank you for this post. I saw it in a retweet. In fact you have inspired me greatly. I’ve been thinking about going to Sam’s Club and buying some food for a food drive here in my own town. I’ve found that it’s amazing how much food you can buy in bulk at a place like that.
I think I’ll visit and donate to stuff to the food drive at work in YOUR honor because you motivated me to get off my dead butt and DO it.
THANK you!
Well, I appreciate it! And, I am humbled if you feel inspired.
What a great thing to do. Here’s my first comment, and I’m going to tweet this right now too
.
.-= Robin from Israel´s last blog ..Olive Press =-.
Oh, I’ll appreciate any tweets you give it! I want to get 100 comments, if I can. Am I aiming too high? I’ll donate that many anyway, but … well, hey. I’d like to say it was because people commented
Great idea, Shelly! I’ve been buying an extra something now and again to have on hand for the inevitable can drives around here and at the door of the grocery store.
That’s an easy way to do it, and good advice, Kathleen. We don’t notice an extra can or two at the store when we are buying groceries. Thanks for stopping!
I came to your blog through Fairweather’s and I saw the great idea for the food donation. Blessings for that great gesture….
Sharer
.-= Sharer´s last blog ..Special Edition: Sunday Muddy Sunday =-.
Thank you for stopping by, Sharer (with a name like that, you almost had to, didn’t you?).
Hi Shelly–great idea! The Baptist church about a half-mile from here has a food pantry–I’ll donate there and add an extra “Shelly can”! Love & hugs–
.-= fairweatherlewis´s last blog ..WHAT THE DICKENS?!! =-.
I love it! Thanks, Fair.
Commenting! Commenting!
(Also: procrastinating from studying for final exams..)
What a wonderful post. You have inspired me. They are having a food drive at work. I was planning on going to Sam’s Club and spending some money on bulk food. In YOUR honor, I will spend an extra $25. That’s enough to buy 25 pounds of rice, 6 pounds of spagetti and an industrial sized can of tomato sauce (you know…those BIG cans)
Or I could buy two huge industrial sized cans of chilli beans and 12 pounds of pasta. Just think of the chilli-mac the food bank could make with that. Ggggrin! It’s fun to figure out just how much food you can buy for very little cash.
I’ve bought food for a local mission off and on for years, so that’s why I know how much the stuff costs. I shall enjoy myself picking out YOUR donation. Thanks for motivating me to get off my dead butt and just DO it! That’s the hardest part.
Well, now I am honored! Be sure to tell me what that $25 bought. I’ll do a post next week about the donations. I think I might find some other bloggers to donate as well. That would be awesome.
I appreciate you stopping by.
OOops, sorry I posted twice. I thought the other posting had NOT gone through. So you only need to add one can for me. Gggrin!
Nah, I’ll count it twice . Thanks for being persistent. I had better check my spam box & see how many got “lost.”
I am so inspired by these posts. We are reaching out to our local women’s shelter to make their holidays a bit brighter.
The women’s shelter could probably use some good cheer! Hooray for you! YOU inpire ME!
Great idea from someone that is always full of great ideas.
I’ll post a comment everyday, and I’ll match your contribution.
Peace.
.-= Spadoman´s last blog ..Only the Good Friday, December 4, 2009 =-.
Really? You will match? Cool! Thank you, Joe. Now, if I can find a couple of other people willing to match, maybe we can make a difference. You are a doll.
Great idea! Here’s my comment!
Thank you, girl! Tweet it, if you can, so other people will comment. I’m really ready to donate, and I need to do it before a retailer gets my money
Awww, your heart of gold just keeps getting bigger and bigger!!! What an awesome idea—maybe we should turn this idea of yours viral! What do you think???
.-= Jessica The Rock Chick´s last blog ..The Lost Symbol =-.
Yesss! Let’s go viral. So far, I only have 18 since my posting. Joe is willing to match me. If I could get 100 comments, and three people to match me, that’s 400 cans. Wanna match me? Maybe you and your sister go together?
I’m back after my trip to Sam’s Club to buy food in bulk for the food bank here in Peoria, IL. I spent $25 extra in your honor because you are doing such a wonderful thing and here is what your inspirational generosity bought.
25 pounds of rice $8.55
6 lbs of macaroni $4.88
6 lbs of chilli beans $3.36
6 lbs of tomato sauce $2.72
6 lbs of diced tomatoes $2.68
This makes a grand total of $25.87 and adds up to 49 pounds of food that I bought in your honor. WAY KEWL!
I spent $50 and my mother donated $25. I put in $25 in your honor.
Including your food this is what I bought:
*50 pounds of rice
* 18 pounds of green beans
* 6 pounds of peas
* 12 pounds of tomato sauce
* 18 pounds of tomatoes
* 21 pounds of pork and beans
* 12 pounds of macaroni
* 6 pounds of spagetti
* 1 pound of ground pepper
* 4 pounds of salt
* 2 pounds of minded garlic
* 12 pounds of corn
* 18 pounds of chilli beans
_____________________
Total 129 pounds of food for $101.38
WooooHOOOOOOOOOoooo!
Thanks for asking me to return and let you know what happened.
Double thanks for inspiring me.
Kate
You are AMAZING! And, look below at all the folks who say they visited because of you! Thank you, girl.
It’s a great idea! Tell you what – I will also donate a can for every comment, up to 100, that you get on Your blog, as I do not have one.
BTW, Fairy Kate sent me!
Kathleen in California
You are so awesome, Kathleen. That means that for every comment there will now be THREE cans donated! Thank you!
I’ve never been to your blog, but it looks like a very fun place to visit. Your plan to donate a can for every comment you get is very inspiring.
PS – Fairykate sent me.
I’m glad you stopped by, and I’m glad Fairykate sent you!
I think it’s a wonderful idea. Much success to you, and the food bank.
ps. Fairykate sent me.
What a wonderful idea. I just saw a TED video on YouTube about starting a movement, or starting a tribe. http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/538 It’s pretty cool. I think you are starting a movement. Oh, and p.s. Sheila and Fairykate sent me.
.-= Geoff´s last blog ..Flying with Toothpaste =-.
Great idea!!! Keep up the great work!
Thank you FairyKate for bringing me here!!
Peace, Sonya
What a great idea. We run a pantry at our church (too small too be a cupboard) and everyone tries to bring a can or two each week. I’m going to see if I can stir up some interest in our community to help our little pantry. .p.s. Sheila and Fairykate sent me
hello to you , Your idea is very good, each one can do a little bit. Please add a can for me .
Jeanne from Switzerland
Love what you’re doing!! I’m on a sort of similar quest. Every time I go to the store, I purchase cat or dog food. My local food bank accepts it for people who are trying to hold onto their little furry families in these tough times. The thought of some elderly person having to give up a beloved pet because they can’t afford food for it just about kills me. We need to remember to feed the heart as well as the body. Keep up the fabulous work! P.S FairyKate sent me
It would be wonderful if people who post comments on your blog wrote what part of the world they come from. I know Mr. Idea is from Canada and Jeanne from Switzerland is from, well…you get the picture. Ggggrin! They are both friends of mine. I’m from Illinois.
Sheila who posted a note above started all this with a tweet. I responded since she always posts great articles and this one sounded very interesting. I decided to pass the idea along to other friends so I posted the note in two forums, one of which Sheila belongs to and one that only I belong to…hence the differences in the P.S. as to who sent the people.
Best of LUCK!
Saw the tweet and will retweet for you as well. We just had a snow in Houston which is highly unusual. I went and bought some fleece to make my son a scarf. While there I bought more fleece on clearance, made a tons of scarves and donated them to the local shelter. Easy-peasy to make at very little cost. Yet, like food, a need in this tough economic times.
.-= Elizabeth´s last blog ..Christmas card making =-.
Very worthwhile project. Hope you get lots of comments.
P.S. Fairykate sent me!
What a great idea! I think I’ll make a donation to our food bank! Thanks.
Count this comment! Send cans of food! We’ve donated through our daughter’s school and will probably do so again before Christmas.
.-= Janet in Colorado´s last blog ..Bridge to Terabithia block =-.
Fairy Kate sent me. I’d like to share this with some of the other groups I belong to.
Great idea you’ve got here. Please add a can for me.
Judyth in Kansas
You’re going to one active hummingbird though! Great idea–and yes, fairykate sent me. Jane Hallstrom
Rather than keep answering each of you individually (because I have to COUNT all of these …) let me just tell you ALL a huge thank you, and “keep ‘em coming.” You can comment on other blog posts in my archives, as well (if you are bored!). Fairykate, I want you to be my manager! You are pretty darned good at promotion!
This is a GREAT idea!
I didn’t see your tweet, but if I had, it would surely have been retweeted.
I especially loved the comment about purchasing pet food…what an awesome idea.
While at (dare I say) Wal-Mart yesterday, I ran across a rack of coats and the sign said $5. I found an asisstant to see if there had been a mistake. Even she was surprised when it checked out to be accurate. I purchased 10 of them (and hope to go back to get more) to donate to our local Shade Tree.
Way to step up and make a difference.
Kat~
p.s. Shiela and FairyKate sent me
The pet food, the coats, what great ideas for giving that y’all have! This should be a “whole ‘nuther” post, don’t you think? As for re-tweeting, you can press that button at the top of the post, or follow me. My Twitter handle is @shellyktucker (I used to have another one without the “k” in the middle, but it broke. By the time Twitter fixed it, the new one was up and running).
Thank you for the extra ideas. I will give more!
Okay, I am inspired! I, too, will go buy some food to donate. Thanks so much for being such a wonderful example.
Mary Ann
What an awsome idea. I know the food bank at my church is very busy so I love this idea.
Thank you so much from all those who are hungry.
Hi Shelly – FairyKate sent me, too! Tomarrow our local food bank
invites families in need to a distribution center, the project called
“Community Christmas Project”. They expect to serve almost 400
families this year. It certainly improves my “Christmas attitude” to
help these folks by packing groceries in boxes and bags. I come home
exhausted, and happy, and THANKFUL. Our community has been
involved in this project for almost 30 years. Best wishes for the
success of your challenge. B. Lenz, Missouri
You can add a can for me! Fairy Kate sent me over here!
I think this is a grand idea and I am happy to help by passing along the information to the ladies in my Yahoo Group – StitchMap. I hope you will hear from many of them today. God Bless you in your effort. I know my own family has benefitted in the past from such efforts.
This was such a heartwarming story that I wrote a blog post about it! You are one awesome lady
.-= Martha Giffen´s last blog ..Bloggers and Blog Readers Unite =-.
Thank you for doing this. For a couple of years while fighting to get on disability (disabled teacher)I was one needing help. Things are little better: i can pay the bills and buy my own groceries now. I DO APPRECIATE everyone who helps others. God bless you for your giving.
You are indeed doing a good thing as are the others you listed — hope you get a good number of comments to bolster your giving AND you are providing food for thought for others to follow. FairyKate sent me, and wish you all the best . . .
Hi
You are doing a wonderful thing. Our garden club had our Christmas luncheon yesterday and at the last meeting I suggested instead of giving each other silly little gifts we all bring food and we had cartons to take today to our local food bank. I do this on a continual basis myself. Every time I shop I add to a carton and when I have one or two filled I donate them. If we could all do this maybe there would be no one hungry.
By the way FairyKate sent me.
Hugs
FredaB
Kate sent me (Catherine H.) we live on social security on a sailboat with a parrot… cheaper than trying to live a land life – no cars, no lawn – it works. Currently we are in Boca Raton, working for a month while my partner heads to WI for Christmas. When she returns we are heading to the FL Keys and on to the Bahamas.
Keep up the great work! Ruth says you are welcome to visit. Look us up at rbhammer.com.
Barry & Ruth
Add a can from Chris in Tucson–where I just got the nudge from fairykate, a long time fairy godmother to many. (and a dear friend)
What a fun thing to be a part of. Oh Yes, Fairy Kate sent me!!
Barb
Way to go!!!
FairyKate55 made me aware of your project. one minute of my time, one more can of food, one more person fed during these trying times.
Good luck.
what a great idea. thanks to fairy Kate for spreading the word.
So many great ideas. We are also contributing through our YMCA and our local church. Wish we could all keep this up all year.
PS: FairyKate sent me.
Hi. Have you set a limit? I’ve gotten the ok from a couple groups I’m in to re-post Kate’s post re: the comment/can wonderful thing that you are doing!
If you could, would you email me and let me know if you are stopping at 100?
Thanks so much for what you are doing.
Judyth
LOL! Thank you for asking. I have not set a limit, but be mindful that this will come out of my grocery money (I don’t have a “sponsor”). I have done this for three reasons: 1. to get to help the food bank. 2. to let my readers feel as if they were a part of it. 3. to hopefully get some new readers hooked on reading my blog.
Maybe some of those folks will get hooked … we will just see what happens.
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