Any of us who listen to the national news, pay attention at the gas pump or shell out more at the grocery store these days knows that prices are going up all around us.
I've long appreciated the fact that we live in a country where there is so much abundance and so much is available to us in every aspect of our lives, but I often wonder if people take it for granted because we are so conditioned to it.
Many years ago, while we lived in Nevada, my husband had a Russian colleague visit us. Wanting to show him a good time, we took him to our favorite Basque restaurant, hoping he would enjoy the plentiful family-style meal and boisterous atmosphere. But we found that to show him a really good American time, we needed to take him to the grocery store after dinner. He was itching to see what an American grocery store offered.
I'll never forget his reaction. His jaw dropped when he saw the shelves full of bread and canned and bottled goods, the bounty in the produce and meat sections and every aisle of the store bulging with good quality, dazzlingly packaged items.
That was what he looked forward to telling his wife about, not the scenery, the cattle ranches, the cowboys, the mountain ranges or the casinos. The grocery store knocked his socks off, and it was far and away the highlight of his trip. And that was the same grocery store where I'd shopped for years with a ho-hum attitude.
I don't think I've ever looked at a grocery store the same way since.
So in my roundabout way, I'm getting to my point. May 10 is the National Association of Letter Carriers' Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.
This is the 16th year for the event, and its impact is local and valuable.
Eagle River residents are encouraged to fill a grocery bag or box with non-perishable foods, such as canned soups, canned fruits or vegetables, pasta, peanut butter, tuna, etc., and leave it by their mailbox that morning. As postal carriers deliver mail, they'll load the food into their trucks and take it directly to the Eagle River Food Pantry to help stock the shelves before summer vacation. Residents who receive their mail through the Chugiak Post Office are asked to bring their donations to the post office.
Last year the local Stamp Out Hunger drive generated around 4,000 pounds of food for our local food bank, which according to Karen Maskarinec, the local coordinator for the program, was the second-highest amount collected locally. This year, they are hoping to surpass that amount, and it's my hope that this will be their best year ever.
One thing to keep in mind as you contemplate sharing the abundance of your cupboards for the drive is that during the summer months, children who counted on the free and reduced-priced breakfasts and lunches at local elementary, middle and high schools will go without those meals over the duration of vacation.
Frankly, I can't imagine sending a child to bed hungry. And I can't imagine having them wake up hungry. Or go outside to play hungry.
Whenever I fill my bag, I ask myself, what would I want to feed my child? Certainly not canned frosting or some odd jam received in a Christmas basket, so I cram a bag with nutritious, filling food that I like to feed my family.
Please consider this food drive as May 10 rolls around. It benefits people in our community who need a hand, and it helps fill plenty of little tummies.
Reach the reporter at sally.foo@alaskastar.com.
