Hunger

Just returned from an evening packing food at Food for Lane County. I was tagging along with the Molecular Probes people, who were granted a paid half day off today to participate in any number of volunteer activities.

We started by breaking 50 pound squares of butter into hand-sized pieces, which were then packed into empty salsa containers. Another group did the same with 5 gallon tubs of sour cream. Then it was 500 pound boxes of cornflakes (2 scoops per plastic bag) and 1200 pound boxes of frozen corn (15 pieces per bag).

At the end, I pushed a prep table back into the warehouse. That's where the scope of the problem hit me. Lane County's not all that big. This warehouse is. They give all this food away and they need even more. People still go hungry, even with this much charity.

What's wrong with us?