Hunger Pains

I'm supposed to be working now but one brief glance at the news and the fact that cat is still missing (in case you wanted to know), my attention is all but gone.

29,000 kids under 5 dead in Somalia due to the famine.  Holy crap! I know things like this are happening all the time but seeing something so bold like that breaks my heart.  Ugh, I hate the news!  

But really this makes me think.  Every time Lyla eats, I'm throwing out uneaten food, food thrown on the floor, and just wasting.  Our society is so wasteful while other people all over are starving.  What if there was a way we could not be wasteful.  What if there was a "No Wasting Police Force"? They come to your house on a weekly basis and examine how much food waste you have.  You start getting fined for excessive waste.  If someone was going to charge me every time I threw out a bad piece of fruit, I think I would try harder not to waste it; but it's not like I am trying to waste it.  This is probably ridiculous but think about it.  I would think twice when shopping about perishable items. I would try so hard not to let Lyla waste food; but let's face it I already do.  There is only so much you can do with a 1 year old.  I feel like I'm talking in circles here.

I looked up what I can do to help those in Somalia but they just want my money.  I can't really run a can drive now, can I.  Can I?  I'm sure shipping a bunch of cans over to Somalia is easy peasy... But I don't like donating my money without knowing it's actually going to those in need.  I'm very weary of charities.

So what to do, what to do?  I don't feel just little ol me can make a difference in Somalia but I can do something about those in need locally.  Right before I had Lyla I was donating my time to help at the local Care and Share food pantry.  They stopped calling for help after the first time I was unable to help.  One thing I noticed is that so many people would come in and make donations.  With food prices the way they are these days I can understand how some families may be strapped for cash when it comes to food.  People from our community help them by donating food.

That is what I will do. I will make a point to start donating more regularly to the food pantry to help our community.  I may not be able to do anything for those poor people in Somalia, but I will make a better effort to help those in my own community.  I hope you will as well.

In the meantime, prayers for Somalia are needed people.