May is Our Do Gooder Issue

Wali Collins Favorite Foods: Homemade chocolate chip cookies, Cheddar grilled cheese on multi-grain bread with burnt turkey bacon inside, Sautéed spinach with truffle oil and garlic.

In a world where 16,000 children die of hunger-related diseases every day—five September 11 holocausts every day, almost unnoticed—we Americans have ample reason to be grateful for the bounty of food we take for granted.  Indeed, while hunger in America is increasing due to the elimination of food stamp benefits and greater inequality, we are more likely to die in America from the complications of eating too much.  But we show precious little gratitude for our cornucopia and even less for the people who produce it.  From Jefferson to Tocqueville to Bryan and well beyond, farming was once an honored profession in America.  It is no more, but it can be again.

Remember, not everyone has loved ones to count on or a stable income, or has a place to live.  A lot of people do not even know what it feels like to be invited to someone’s home for a Thanksgiving celebration. A lot are stuck at home unable to travel, to sick, elderly, or perhaps their family has died leaving them with no one to count on.