This past month, the kids and I were doing our own neighborhood food shelf pick-up on a sweltering hot Wednesday. After my two-year-old had attempted to peek into one window too many as we were collecting bags from our neighbors' front steps, and after my four-year-old had honked the horn for the umpteenth time after I got out of the van, my patience was at its end. I confess I found myself thinking, "Argh, I just want to get to the end of this."

Most of life centers around the "me" in each of us. It can be a hard thing to escape—even in the midst of doing for others. But despite the occasional inconvenience, despite the hassle, despite horn-honking or window-peeking, there is change that occurs in us when we do for others.

This morning at 6:30 a.m., I was sitting at Perkins meeting with a group of individuals who are passionately committed to feeding people who are hungry. During the course of conversation, Steve Bonesho of River of Joy offered this nugget: "Changed hearts will change the world."

When we serve, we are changed. When we are changed, the world is changed. No wonder Albert Schweitzer said, "The only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve." It's at the root of a bigger, brighter, better, more beautiful world, and who wouldn't want to be part of that?

Consider this a note of encouragement to all of you who are engaged in a monthly neighborhood food pick up. What you are doing is amazing, and it is making a difference. Every single item you bring to the food shelves is more than they would have had without your efforts, and is critical at a time when more families than ever before are relying on their services and resources.

We have been hearing back from a lot of you that neighborhood responses have been low, or lower than usual. We, too, have experienced low months. Because this is still relatively new, we are still learning - right alongside you through our experiences in our own neighborhoods.

- We have learned that our neighbors need monthly reminders. When we began, we were working with the theory that, through repetition, households would start to habitually put food out on their front steps on the designated pick up day. We all know that households are busy places, and that friendly reminders help families remember to purchase the food, and then to leave it out on the right day and time.

- We have learned that reminders given out too far in advance are not as effective as those given one or two days before the pick up, and that seeing the word "tomorrow" on a reminder seems to have more impact than seeing the actual date printed out.

- We have learned that neighbors respond to what we, as a family, put into the effort of reminding them. Our most successful months have been those where we have left a bag with a reminder note on front door handles, or a can of food wrapped with the reminder note on the front step. (Listed below are several ideas that families have used to remind their neighbors.) In the months where we have not done anything to remind our neighbors, the number of homes that have participated have been very low. In the months where we take the time to come up with and deliver a meaningful reminder, or use a combination of reminders (i.e., e-mail reminder, yard sign, postcard), we have had far more homes leave food for the pick up. Of course, this in not a perfect rule...some of you have expressed frustration over taking time and energy to remind your neighbors in creative ways, and not seen the results you were hoping for. We just encourage you to stick with it until you find a system that is meaningful to your neighborhood. We would also love to have conversation with you about how we can better support what you are doing.

- We have learned that there is endless potential and creativity for how to remind and compel our neighbors and that idea-sharing and networking is the best way to help everyone involved. We will do our part by adding resources and ideas to the website, and we ask you to share your ideas, and to share what did work and what did not so we can all learn from each other's experiences.

This is a new way of approaching an age-old problem. We are so grateful for and humbled by your willingness to join us in the mission to see our community fed and cared for, and your willingness to learn with us and figure out the best possible ways to carry out the mission of "engaging and mobilizing the people of our community to feed the people of Dakota County."

Reminder ideas
(if you have any questions about where to find templates or supplies, please feel free to contact us)
Canned food wrapped in a reminder
Bag with reminder note attached, left on door handles day before pick up
Stickers for people to mark their calendars
Yard signs (re-usable)
E-mail reminders
Magnets with pick up dates printed on them
Postcards with the word "tomorrow"

Please share with us what YOU have learned...

We were playing at a park one summer evening with my parents, my niece and nephew, and my own three kids. All five kids were up on the "bridge" that connected the two halves of the playground, and we became aware, after a few minutes, that there was a scuffle of sorts. After a moment, our kids all tumbled down the ladder and came running over to share the high drama that is inherently part of playground life. They were all talking at once.

"--wouldn't let her pass--"
"--pushed me against the railing--"
"--just wanna go home--"

"Whoa, guys!" my mom said. "Slow down, and talk one at a time. Now, what happened?"

As the story unfolded we learned that one boy had been blocking the bridge so our kids couldn't get passed, and when my niece tried to move past him, he shoved her against the railing, and she was afraid she was going to tip over the edge. Looking up at the bridge railing, it was apparent she couldn't have been in real danger of falling, and so the conversation shifted a bit to how they could have handled it.

My husband crouched down next to the kids and said, "Kids, it is not okay that Rachel was treated that way. And when someone is treating you or someone else in a way that is not okay, find your strong voice. And use it. Say, 'You can't treat her like that.' Say, 'Stop it.' Say, 'Cut that out.' Use your strong voice to speak up for what's right."

Since then, we've talked often with the kids about using their strong voice. And they have. Just two days ago, we were at the McDonald's Playland and there was a situation up in the climbing tubes where our 2-year-old Henry was being intimidated. Four-year-old Sam told me confidently, "Don't worry, Mom, I'll handle it." And then like a man going out to address the pain in the world, Sam the Hero marched right into that pink tube with all the confidence his little frame could carry and found the much-older boy who had hassled Henry. When Sam came back down, he said. "It's all taken care of."

I was curious. "What did you say, Sam?"

"I said, 'The way you're talking is scaring my little brother, so please stop doing it right now.'"

Tears came into my eyes--not because of that situation then and there, but because of all it meant for Sam's future that he knew the value of using his voice and he had the confidence to do it.

I want my kids to know that our voices should be--must be--loud when we fight for the marginalized in our world; that it is worth struggle and intense effort to feed our hungry neighbors and put roofs over the heads of the homeless. That there is no space for inaction when we're confronted with inequity; injustice; prejudice. That when we let go of the silly, the less meaningful, the trivial, then we have space for the great big stuff that grows boys into men and girls into women and this whole world into a place of far, far more hope.

Imagine if we all used our "strong voice" as if it were our own children without food; our own brother or sister feeling isolated in this community; our own mother or father trying to survive on a fixed income in an increasingly overpriced society. Let's use our strong voices for what we can teach to our children, and for what we can share with the world.

Recently, I had the opportunity to hear a renown speaker and author present brain development in small children. It really validated the saying that "the young brain is a sponge". While this is grossly oversimplified, basically, between the ages of 0 and 3, the brain is forming connections between its 100 billion brain cells at a crazy and exponential rate. Because of this period of incomprehensible growth, or "wiring", in the young brain, a 3-year old child has twice as many connections as an adult, and is at least twice as busy. This is also, in part, to a "pruning" process that starts taking place in the brain around the age of 11 to rid the brain of connections that are not being used, thus reducing the number in the adult brain. The way the wiring works is that experiences cause the cells to fire (thus forming a connection with another cell). Repeated experiences cause increased wiring in certain parts of the brain, and through repitition, connections can become permanent. A prime example of this is when a child learns their name. Because they are continually exposed to the experience of hearing their name, those connections become permanent and allow the child to remember and habitually respond to their name. For this very reason, this time of life is ideal for teaching a child a foreign language. It is a unique stage where language skills can be permanently and efficiently wired in the midst of such a high rate of growth.

So, to bring relevance to Project FoodStock, here is the questions all of this brings to my mind: Wouldn't this time also be a prime time for wiring the language of love, compassion, and active caring in the brains of our child? Wouldn't exposure to the experiences of serving, caring, and providing for the needs of others also form permanent connections in the brain that the child could then continue to call on for the rest of their lives? Does it matter if the child is old enough to be fully aware of the significance of their experiences, or just that their brains are being given the opportunity to wire - to connect on a level that will lead to permenance? Along, with these thoughts is the notion, the warning if you will, that, as with muscles, we need to continue to excersize those parts of the brain so that they do not fall victim to the pruning process later in life.

Below are some things for us to consider as we raise our precious young to capitalize on this miraculous and beautiful window of opportunity in our children's development:

• Engage in meaningful, honest conversation with our children from the beginning about the needs of others and the significance of caring
• Identify, engage in, and if necessary create age-appropriate opportunities for other-centered activities
• Engage in service activities as a family unit
• Model service to others in the the home
• Engage in ongoing activites that provide repitition
• Make service activities fun
• Challenge your family to consider "what you can do with what you have, where you are".
• Include young children in the creative process of thinking what "serving others" looks like for your family
• Share your ideas and experiences with other families with young children

Imagine the potential for impact on the world if we are raising up a generation of children that consider active caring to be not an option or an "extra", but a way of life!

Peace and joy, Amee

Wow, the emails have been pouring in the past couple weeks from people who have just sent letters to their neighbors to initiate a food shelf pick-up; people who have just completed their first pick-up; and some who are asking questions and gathering information to take the first step. It is a rich experience to be on the receiving end of these letters and be inspired by so many big hearts.

It's also neat to hear how people are taking ownership of their own neighborhood food shelf pick-ups. One family had pencils with snowflakes made with the words "Thanks for feeding the hungry" to leave at the front door of all those who contribute food this month. A couple families have left a can of food with a Project FoodStock label attached at the front door of all those in their neighborhoods. The labels are printed with pick-up times and dates, and neighbors are invited to leave them on their pantry shelf as a reminder to leave food out for the food shelf pick-up.

One family in Lakeville has invited all the children in their neighborhood to help with their monthly pick-up. This month, seventeen kids assisted, hopped in two vehicles, and all helped deliver the food to the food shelf! Another mom shares about her three-year-old's response to the food shelf pick-up... "Every time we saw a bag [of food on a front step] it was like opening a present!"

We are getting regular reports of 100...150...200 pounds of food being delivered to food shelves all across Dakota County. People of all ages and stages of life are growing the definition of what it means to be a caring neighbor.

There seems to be a certain mentality around a "food drive," doesn't there? Or giving food to "the food shelf"? It's a good thing, and I think we'd all readily acknowledge that, but until a couple years ago, I rarely felt like I was involving myself in something significant when I gave food to a food shelf. Donating food was more like a to-do item; or a couple extra lines on the grocery list. Maybe it's because of how we as a society latch on to institutionalized language. We use words like "the hungry," and somehow it becomes a faceless group who fit neatly under a label. We donate food to the "food shelf," and a sub-conscious shift happens where we're purchasing items for an institution instead of human beings.

As I have had the privilege of witnessing people donating food all over Dakota County, though, I now see it differently. I now see the significance.

I have learned that a can of corn means far more than a vegetable side-dish; I have learned that a box of Cheerios carries far more value than a few bowls of cereal. I now understand that those food donations represent some truths; those food donations are speaking volumes about community, action, care, and love. When you give food items, you are saying, "I value the lives of those in our community." You are saying, "I care about the health, nourishment, comfort, and wellness of others." You are saying, "I don't have to know someone well--or even at all--in order to care about them and support them and offer them care." You are saying, "I care about the kind of community in which I live, and so I will use my actions to grow a community that will not marginalize those without food." You are saying, "In a community, we help each other."

When you give food to those in need of food, you are saying, "I care about you. I care that you are well, and that you have what you need. I care that you are a part of this community; you belong here, and I value your life." Significant indeed.

Hello! We are always looking for more ways to keep our kids involved beyond the monthly food pick up. If you have any suggestions, please share them!

One thing that I will add to the pot of ideas is having kids come up with their own grocery list. Every other week, each of my kids creates a list of 5 things that they would like to buy at the grocery store to donate to the food shelf. They use their "guess and go" spelling now, and when they were younger and I helped them with the list, we used that time to think about what words started with, etc. so it touched on developing writing skills as well! They take their lists to the store with a pen, and while I am going up and down the isles doing my shopping for our family, they fulfill the items on their lists. It has been exciting to see their lists evolve. They give great thought to nutrition, quantity and product shelf-life. Doing this has also been a great opportunity for powerful conversation with our kids. It is amazing to see the ownership they take for the food they are donating, right down to bagging their own items, carrying the bags that contain their items, and deliving it to the food shelf.