For the Good of the People

I'm blessed to be able to do many things in life that I feel passionate about. Yesterday I was very honored to speak at the South Kitsap Rotary groups lunch on a subject I have accidentally neglected to write about here in my Blog. Not for lack of enthusiasm- just for lack of time.

A few months back I met with Jennifer Hardison, Executive Director of the South Kitsap Helpline Food Bank and pitched an idea I had called 'Pick and Pass'. The idea is to collect the fruit that would otherwise go to waste from fruit trees. Last summer I started to notice all the fruit on the ground around Kitsap County and it broke my heart when I know the food bank is working so hard to feed people of the community that need some help. It seemed so simple- Pick the fruit and pass it along to the Food Bank. I was (and still am) in love with this idea. I couldn't make it happen last year, but this year, after an approval from the Helpline's Board of Directors, the program is up and running. To date, we've collected just shy of 100 lbs of plums and 85 lbs of apples- and more fruit is in the works to be picked!

I do think of myself as a 'do good-er' but the Pick and Pass idea comes out of something much deeper than just trying to be a creative and worthy person in my community. Back in the 1980's when I was about 15 years old, my family fell on hard times. I can clearly remember getting up early on Saturday mornings, getting in our family's GMC Suburban and driving an hour to the closest food bank with my 3 sisters, brother and Dad. The six of us volunteered for 8 hours each Saturday for what seemed like years (although I think it was just about 6 months). We would help accept food donations as they were dropped off, organize it on the shelves and do just about anything to earn the food we would come home with at the end of the day. I can remember walking through the door at home with boxes of food and the excitement we all shared for the food that would feed us for the next week. It wasn't embarrassing, it wasn't humbling, it was hard work that gave us an essential part of life.

Then I got older and society got to me. Any hard times I experienced without food became embarrassing and accepting food from the food bank was a humbling experience. I can accept the humble feeling because I think that shows appreciation and we need more of that in this world. What I can't accept is the feeling of embarrassment. Having food, to me, is the right of every human being. It saddens me to think that so many people struggle on a monthly basis to make ends meet and feed their family. It's my hope that through awareness society will one day understand that good people need help from time to time. Hard working people. Young people. Old people. Everyone needs help sometime, right?! Why should the need for food be embarrassing? In Kitsap County 80,000 people struggle to put food on their tables.

Pick and Pass isn't just about about picking fruit and donating it. It's about spreading the word, that we, as a society need to be mindful that we should all do what we can to help others without judgements or preconceived notions. I'll let the karma get the people screwing the system and I'll just keep spending my time doing what feels right in my heart.