Giving. Thanks!

Yours truly wound up taking an unexpected day off today to run errands, including buying most of the food and accoutrements for this week's Thanksgiving dinner. Basic as it may be (bird, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, etc.) it was still a tremendous amount of food. Around the time I was cruising through Costco picking up a pesto, sundried tomato, & cheese torte and bruschetta pita chips to snack on while everything was cooking, I started feeling really, really guilty about all the food we were going to have while so many people are going hungry.

Sigh.

What I wouldn't give sometimes to regain a little innocence.

I texted Girlfriend to let her know how I was feeling and asked if we could head back to Costco this week to load up on some items to drop off at the Foodbank. Girlfriend was all over it, as I knew she would be. :)

So please, everyone: I, the great Only Child, the girl known to threaten small children with a fork to the back of the hand as they reach for my french fries, am asking you all to share some food this week, in the coming weeks, and as much as possible over the course of the next year. If you're even remotely lucky in these trying times and have some money to spare, would you please donate some food to your local foodbank or make a monetary donation? Ours says it can squeeze 3 meals out of one dollar.

Perhaps we should put the foodbanks in charge of school lunches...

Okay, okay, that's a blog for another day.

In the meantime, our local foodbank cites these as the most needed items and I'm sure the need is pretty universal:

Protein, Meat, and Fish

peanut butter, tuna, canned ham, canned chicken, beans

Fruits and Vegetables

canned fruits and vegetables, 100% fruit juice, instant potatoes, fruit preserves, dried fruit

Grains

cereal, oatmeal, rice, whole grain crackers

Complete Meals

pasta and sauce, boxed meals, chunky soups, stews

Baby Products

powdered formula, baby food, diapers, wipes

People who would never dream of using the services of a foodbank are now doing so. Many of us are far closer to the edge of hunger than we realize. Please don't procrastinate. Go drop off some food or send some money and help your neighbor today.

I'm thankful for my good fortune and I'm thankful for you. :)

[If you're in the Norfolk area, go to

Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia for more information.]