The Rev. Henry Doyle, Christ Episcopal Church

“Much is required from the person to whom much is given; much more is required from the person to whom much more is given.” Luke 12:48

March is Minnesota FoodShare Month, and food shelves throughout the state are conducting major food drives. All food and money stay locally.

Through participation in the campaign, each food shelf receives a percentage of the statewide FoodShare funds according to the amount of food and money raised locally during the month of March and its statistics during the remainder of the year.

Many in our community are food insecure.  What does that mean?  “To be food insecure means that one is living without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food for an average of 10 meals a month. Fifty-two percent of Minnesota’s food insecure do not qualify for federal nutrition programs and must rely on charitable, emergency food programs to meet their meal needs.  These people are the working poor amongst us.”  —Hunger Free MN

Why do we give to food shelves?

“It is more than charity. Human health — or disease — is largely the result of diet and lifestyle. Ignorance of what a healthy diet is has become an unwanted legacy of our late 20th century. Too many people in today’s world think that energy drinks, Happy Meals and processed foods are OK, even normal. Food shelves are well suited both to help fill a low-income family’s grocery bag and to show also what real food is. Slow food made at home is not only more nutritious, it is also more likely to draw family members together for conversation and healthy interaction. Healthier people have been shown to be more productive, learn faster, adapt better, be more creative and be more resilient. Our entire community benefits when solid nutrition and family togetherness are invested in.

“Secondly, much of the world, including some in Minnesota, truly cannot afford even basic food staples. The daily reality is not fast food vs. slow food; it is no food on some days of the week. Until cultures and governments become cooperative and peace-loving, the poor and marginalized need someone else — anyone else — to help them. We who have can do that. Our support demonstrates our faith in action, part of loving our neighbors as ourselves, part of our call to seek justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God.”— Connections, March 2014, Micah 6:8.

Let us see that the hungry have food. Let us stock the community food shelves.

“No one has ever become poor by giving.”

— Anne Frank