Day 9: Donate to Food Bank.

Day 9: Donate to the Food Bank.

All throughout the week we have been gathering things to put in a box for the food bank. And today as I bought a few more canned goods to go in the box I was disappointed with myself.

Why is it that the majority of us only donate once or twice a year, usually being back to back months?

How sad to be a family in need of food ALL YEAR ROUND, knowing that you wont get nearly the box of treats that come when Thanksgiving time rolls around and people like ME have some how given ourselves a pat on the back for thinking of the needy near the holidays.

I explained to the boys as we packed up the box that all of these items were luxuries to the families that would be receiving them. Who would have thought SPAM and 10 pounds of plain old white rice would be considered a luxury?

I explained to the boys that the kids receiving this box probably have never had a root beer float or homemade cinnamon rolls. That got the boys thinking and popping off questions.

How about smoothies or milk shakes? Nope!

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Oreos in the middle? Nope!

Dinner at Benihana’s? Nope!

Wouldn’t it be an eye opener from this day forward- each and every time you took a bite of food you considered how blessed you were to have that particular item on your fork or spoon?

You didn’t have to dig through a trashcan to find it.

You had a stove, microwave, etc. to cook it on.

You most likely could get up from your seat to get seconds if you wanted too.

And given the culture these days, you’d most likely have some type of dessert to finish off a very satisfying meal.

Makes my heart hurt. It also makes me feel shame for all the PETTY things my family complains about.

It’s time to find a soup kitchen and sign my family up to go serve a Hot Meal to the needy families we just put a box together for. I want my boys to SEE and FEEL what I am trying to convey to them. I need to SEE and FEEL what I am trying to teach them.

Here’s to hoping that I can make it a priority to set aside a specific amount of money to use every time I go grocery shopping so that our family can start donating more than just around the holidays.