Blogging For The Hungry

All is Well

2007-07-05T15:42:00.000-07:00

I bought some rice and a few other groceries. I spent about $4.50 on the food which should last me for at least another week. So, I’m okay as far as food goes.

The truth is, I’m okay with everything right now, although I still haven’t found any volunteer work. It’s going to work itself out. I have faith and hope that it will. And because I getting better and better at living in the moment, I can firmly say that right now in this moment, I’m fine.

I’m going to keep the donation button here, just in case someone would like to help me. One dollar can also be added to another dollar, etc., which could go for a bill or bus transportation so that I can go do volunteer work that’s not within walking distance to my house.

Last year when I got food stamps, there was a food drive where the postal workers would pick up any groceries that was left by the mail boxes for them. Because my cupboards were so full and because my heart was so filled with gratitude for the help that I had received from food pantries and from a neighbor, I felt compelled to help with that food drive. So I bought three bags of groceries for that food drive. It felt really good to help and my hope and my intent is to help when I am able to. I’d like to do more, but I don’t know what it is that I can do yet. I’m going to keep searching for answers within myself and through resources until I find an answer.

Return and Volunteering

2007-06-28T18:03:00.000-07:00

Well. It’s been more than a year now since I’ve written anything here. I was hoping to write more, but honestly, I didn’t know what to write. I haven’t been involved in anything that would give me material to write about so I have felt pretty empty as far as that goes.

Let me open up here for a moment. I live in government housing. It’s a decent house in a pretty good neighborhood. Thanks to the manager of the apartment complex I once lived in before I moved here I feel safe. It’s a long story and I’d rather not go into detail about what happened four years ago. I’m just grateful to that manager, who is thankfully still my manager since she transferred positions when I moved.

One of the requirements from HUD for anyone living in public housing who is unemployed, under 62 years of age, and who is not disabled to do community service or be involved in a self-sufficiency program eight hours per month. It’s not a lot and can, in most cases be easily done. For some it may be easier than others.

Only certain establishments would accept government housing tenants to do volunteer work for them. At one time there was around 25 companies, but it has dwindled since the last time I spoke to my caseworker. It seems that there have been many tenants who caused problems and so those companies decided that they no longer wanted to allow any of us to volunteer for them.

There was a time when there was only one place that I could go because it was close to my house and I didn’t need to rely on public transportation. I wanted to volunteer at a food pantry, and I even spoke with Amber Wood about this. She told me that she would love for me to work there. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the money for the bus.

So, I chose to volunteer at the community center which was the place that I could walk to. It was only a 15 minute walk and I didn’t mind that. But the person that I worked for wasn’t always there to sign the papers to prove that I was there. And the secretary was pretty rude, but I think that could be because of her experiences with other tenants who didn’t want to be there and therefore caused problems.

That was last year. Pretty much around the time that I stopped writing here. And now, it’s time for my annual recertification. Every year I have to fill out a new “personal declaration” form where I have to answer questions about my all of my assets including my income and who lives in the house. It’s about four page long and it’s not one of my favorite things to do. But I found that getting it done early gave me a bit of a relief.

My appointment is next Friday and I’m supposed to bring in proof of my income, a bank statement, and my recent utility bills. I had also planned on bringing in a form with hours that I thought I would be working at the food pantry or distribution center. But I just found out today that they don’t want our help. I wonder if they would if I were to just come in without it being for the government housing here.

This makes me sad. And upset. I wanted to help. I have at least 154 hours that I have to do but once those were over, I had planned on continuing my volunteering efforts. Funny. Now that I am able to take the bus there, I’m not able to go. And the money that I do have, needs to be used for those hours that I have to make up. It won’t do me any good to take a bus to do volunteer work that won’t count for the hours I need.

I’ve called several other places and people are telling me “no” left and right. I have until November to make up this time and if it’s not complete by then, I could be evicted from this house. I wish HUD would understand that there are people who want to volunteer, but may not be able to for one reason or another.

There are other places that I need to call again and to call for the first time. So, there is hope. There’s always hope, right? I still have time and it won’t do me any good to worry about this. All I can do right now is call companies who take volunteers and ask if I can work for them. If not, then I’ll have to think of something else. And hope for the best.

I found a list of FAQ about community service on the HUD web site. There are ways to avoid being evicted. Instead of just simply hoping for the best, I'm going to expect the best.

Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive Day

2006-05-13T18:50:00.000-07:00

Well, today is the day that mail carriers across America are going to collect donated food to get delivered to food banks and pantries in our communities. What a great opportunity to help feed the hungry. For more information, visit the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive website.

It's been raining here in Illinois almost daily for the past week. This makes it difficult for a person who doesn't drive to go grocery shopping. Thank goodness there was a break in the weather soon enough to take that two-block walk to the store so I could buy a couple bags of food to donate to my local food bank.

I don't donate or even share the fact that I gave, for recognition. I do it because I know that hunger is a huge problem and it hurts me to think that there are people who will be going to sleep without having had a meal at dinner time. It's very sad but true that not everyone has enough to eat. But it doesn't have to be that way. In reality, there is enough. All we have to do is look inside our hearts and give what we can.

Maybe it's because I've had to go to bed hungry that makes me more sensitive to this issue. My hope is to bring awareness to everyone, including those who have never had to go hungry.

A couple of years ago, neighbor told me that someone had been stealing from her mailbox, so I was concerned that someone driving by my house would see the bags sitting by my mailbox and would steal them. Sometimes I worry too much.

I took the bags out at around 10:30 a.m. and a few minutes before 11 the mail carrier came. Seeing him take the food and knowing where it was going really felt good to me.

I don't know how much food was donated yet, but I'll post the results as soon as I find out.

Please remember:

Tuesday, June 6, 2006 is National Hunger Awareness Day

Here's a way to help feed the hungry across the world:
Just click the Hunger Site link to give free food.

The Hunger Site

Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive

2006-05-10T09:58:00.000-07:00

On May 13, the 14th annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive will be conducted by the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) in order to help replenish our nation's food banks and pantries.

To participate, just leave a sturdy bag of nonparishable food items by your mailbox before mail delivery on May 13. Your mail carrier will collect your donation. It will then be taken to the post office and then delivered to local food banks and pantries.

Here is a list of items you can donate:

Canned soup
Canned fruits and vegetables
Canned meats and fish
Canned juices
Boxed goods (cereal, etc.)
Pasta
Rice

They ask that the donations do not include any items that have expired or that are in glass containers. This information is on a card I received from the post office about the food drive. Very understandable.

Resources:

Stamp Out Hunger
Stamp Out Hunger 2006
NALC Food Drive
America's Second Harvest

Thirty-eight million Americans will be going to bed hungry tonight. I used to be one of them. It can happen to anyone. Let's all donate to help Stamp Out Hunger.

Not all post offices are able to participate in this food drive. Check with your local post office or ask your letter carrier for more information.

If your local post office will not be participating, but you would like to make a cash or food donation or if you are in need of help, find your local food bank or food rescue organization at America's Second Harvest for more information.

How does your country help fight hunger?

Hunger In America 2006

2006-03-28T19:23:00.000-08:00

From my email newsletter that I get from The Hunger Site, I discovered that America's Second Harvest did a study on hunger in America. According to the web site, it's the largest study of its kind.

Hunger really is a problem in the United States. After reading the statistics myself, I must say that it's a lot worse than I first thought. And to think I was once one of those people.

Northern Illinois food Bank , which serves 13 Northern Illinois counties, is part of America's Second Harvest Network.

Hunger Pains

2006-03-13T17:24:00.000-08:00

Going hungry isn't fun. It doesn't feel good to the body or to the soul either. But it happens. It can happen to anyone. It has happened to me more than once. More than I'd like to admit, but, I think that people should know that no matter who you are, there's always that chance that you could be wondering where your next meal is going to come from.

I've always had a difficult time either getting or keeping a job. Keeping one has been the most difficult for me. I have a daughter who misses me so much when I'm not home that she gets depressed, which has stressed me out too much. I have never been able to handle this situation well. And since I put myself in this situation, I hope to help others by sharing my story so that maybe they'll know that they're not alone or that they don't have to go through what I did. There is help out there.

My daughter's father used to buy groceries for her, but it was only enough for her and it was only when he would pick her up on a Saturday or Sunday. If he didn't pick her up, then she went without for that week. And back then I wasn't able to get food stamps. Now I'm not so sure that should have been the case, but, anyway, this meant that there wasn't a lot of food in the house, so, I skipped a lot of meals to make sure that my daughter would have food. I usually ate when I started to feel weak. I'm not sure how well I hid the pain from my daughter. She's pretty in tune with my emotions.

My daughter's father stopped coming over to pick her up because she didn't want to go with him, he didn't buy her food either. So, we were really running low on food. It was so sad when my daughter would still be hungry after eating one helping of food. It also broke my heart when she would be eating and I wouldn't join her. She'd look up at me with her beautiful brown eyes and I'd see a tear or two running down each cheek, which would often bring me to tears that I had been holding in. It got to the point where I didn't even want to look at my daughter's face anymore, while I was eating.

I had to find a way to help ease her sadness. I explained to her that she needed to eat more than I did because she's still growing and it wasn't going to hurt me to eat less. I think she would tell me that she was full before her food was gone, just so that I could eat the rest.

I went to the food pantry a few times and each time it was like we had won the lottery. I'd look in the cupboards that had once been almost completely empty and just thanked God that someone out there cares enough to buy food for the pantry and that there is somewhere to go to.

I did get emergency food stamps a couple of times, but for one reason or another, I'd get denied to get any on a regular basis. So, I tried to make them last by not eating too much myself. But I also couldn't let my daughter not have seconds every single day. It just broke my heart too much.

I still don't have a job and I have been getting the Link card for a few months, so now our cupboards are full. And so is my freezer. I still look in my cupboards and my freezer sometimes and thank God for how blessed I am.

I'm sitting here eating some almonds that I bought a couple of months ago. And I'm drinking a cup of coffee with french vanilla creamer. I enjoy my food more. I still eat junk food sometimes, but I eat healthier than I used to. I had missed snacks. Popcorn. Strawberries and banana yogurt. I savor everything I put in my mouth. And I don't waste food. My daughter now understands why that is so important. She doesn't like leftovers too much, but she remembers when we didn't even have enough food for leftovers.

I have another story to tell. A much sweeter one. Which I'll tell in my next blog.

Update: June 28, 2007. I edited this for spelling errors and a couple of words I needed to add for more clarity. And I'm sorry that I didn't write the story and I'm even more sorry that I don't remember what it was about. But I do know that I was doing much better than before. And I had a grateful heart and a full stomach.

Please remember to feed the hungry.

Thank You Amber Wood

2006-03-10T10:53:00.000-08:00

I spoke with Amber Wood, the Community Relations Manager for Northern Illinois Food Bank at the beginning of this month. I told her about this blog and about my desire to help spread the word and do whatever I'm able to do to help end hunger in Rockford, Il.

I just wanted to thank her for her words of encouragement and for giving me the o.k. to do this. I believe that if more people got involved with this effort, that there would be less hungry people here. Think about it. There could be somene going hungry living right next door to you.

Most of my neighbors never knew. And those that did reached out to me. So, thank you Amber for your support in my efforts of giving back to the community. Also, thank you for your efforts in everything that you do for this community. We need more people like you.

Diana

Feed the Hungry

2006-03-02T20:10:00.000-08:00

Please help feed the hungry. This button will take you to the Hunger Site where you can do just that. There are other ways to help there as well. All it takes is a few minutes. Just a little time is all you need to spend to help someone in need.

The Hunger Site

Thank you for your compassion.

"got breakfast?" Essay Contest

2006-02-28T00:24:00.000-08:00

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. When I don't eat a good breakfast, I often get dizzy or I just can't concentrate very well which makes it more difficult to write.

Only a few short months ago I had to go without breakfast in order to be sure that my 13 year daughter had something to eat. I know how hunger feels and I want to help stop it but I need the help of many others as well.

There's an essay contest for students. The winner can win a Dell laptop computer. Pretty cool, huh?

Just click on the link above and it'll take you to the page where you can read the rules and enter. Contestants must be between the ages of 6 and 18 and enjoy eating breakfast.

Instead of "Got Milk", it's "got breakfast".

Please eat a well-balance breakfast.

Listening From the Heart

2006-02-18T22:02:00.000-08:00

I'm in the process of writing some of my personal story of hunger, but since it's not ready,as I was looking around finding inspiration for myself, I found something to share.

I've had many experiences of not being listened to by many different people. Here's an inspirational story about someone who listened and provided a service from his heart.

When we are doing a service, whether it's mowing someone's lawn who isn't able or going on errands for someone who doesn't have a car and lives too far to walk where they need to go, we are using a part of us that we can't see, but we can feel it and by our acts of kindness and so can those we are being of service to. Our hearts.

There are many ways in which to make a difference. And doing just one act of kindness could mean the world to that one person and it could also have a butterfly effect meaning it could make a difference in the lives of many.

You just never know what one single act of kindness can do in this world.

My writingUp blog

Blogging For the Hungry - Introduction

2006-02-16T05:22:00.000-08:00

I've thought about writing a blog about hunger, but didn't know how to get started until now. A friend and a fellow blogger has created a website where you can advertise your non-profit organization or you can advertise your own blog that focuses on some type of community service.

If you hurry, you may get some FREE advertising space. You also have the chance to win a grant.

This is what Trey has to say about CommunityFundSpot:

"I want CommunityFundSpot to be THE PLACE people come to if they are looking for a charity to donate to directly, looking for a place to volunteer, or looking to provide support of another kind (donations of computers or other needed supplies). There are SO many non-profits and other organizations that could use support. Wouldn't it be nice if they were all in one, easily accessible place?"

I know what hunger feels like and I'll be sharing my own story in upcoming blogs.

I'll be focusing on hunger in Illinois and even more in my own community, but I do plan on expanding my focus. My goal is to educate through this blog and help fund food banks through donations.