Project FoodStock

Amazing Partners

2010-04-16T14:44:00.006-05:00

During the month of February, PFS did a dollar-for-pound match for food that River of Joy Lutheran Church collected for the food shelf. 935 pounds of food were collected and delivered to the 360 Communities food shelf on March 1. Coincidentally, that day marked the beginning of a month-long food match program at 360 Communities, and so the donated food was doubled!

Meanwhile, for the dollar match, PFS wrote a $935 check for River of Joy to re-invest in support of food shelves. River of Joy decided to use a portion of that money to challenge another church to sponsor a meal at Loaves and Fishes (a $350 cost), and so two meals were sponsored there as a result.

River of Joy used another portion of the money to issue a dollar-for-pound challenge to Spring Lake Area Learning Center, an alternative school in Lydia, MN. The students there rose to the challenge and then some: they had t-shirts made, printed pamphlets, and then used their Saturday to canvas grocery stores in local communities to collect food. Some students brought empty boxes to their workplaces to ask for food donations, and many students contributed food themselves.

In the end, Spring Lake ALC collected 744 pounds of food. If you were tracking the math, $935 PFS dollars were transformed into 2,614 pounds of food, plus two meals at Loaves and Fishes! We are amazed by our creative partners--River of Joy's characteristic ingenuity in giving, Spring Lake ALC's commitment to and passion for service... We are privileged to serve alongside you.

PFS looks forward to partnering with two other churches this summer in pound-for-dollar matches, and we can't wait to see what results!

2008-12-17T15:09:00.001-06:00

When we were growing up, our parents instituted a weekly "Dollar Night"--a night where our family of five partook of a meal that cost under a dollar. The purpose was two-fold: first, to donate to a food shelf the margin between the cost of a normal dinner and the cost of a Dollar Night dinner; and second, to give us an ongoing, consistent awareness of the existence of hunger and those for whom it is a daily reality.

While I had little appreciation for Dollar Night as a child (I grew to hate split-pea soup and open-face cheese melts), I now have deep gratitude for the experience--for how it has undoubtedly contributed to my commitment to feed others, how even as a kid it somehow connected me to people who were hungry.

I was reminded of Dollar Nights last week when someone was telling me about a similar concept: eating a quarter cup of cooked rice for dinner once a week to maintain an awareness of the bulk of our global population for whom that portion is a whole day's sustenance.

Perhaps your initial reaction mirrors my own: "But my kids will be so hungry. I couldn't do that to them." But the more I considered it, the more I realized, "I owe this to my children--this opportunity to grow as human beings in compassion and empathy and generosity and global consideration; to pass on to them a legacy of seeing beyond themselves and thinking bigger than our family and helping where help is needed."

And so, the dawn of the New Year will mark the beginning of regular "rice nights" in the Caswell household. Will you join us in this commitment?

The Season of Giving

2008-11-17T11:47:00.002-06:00

We have approached the holiday season with such speed, I have yet to pack away our summer clothes. Already, I am feeling the onset of the seasonal tension caused by an over-filled calendar and under-funded budget. It seems as though, this year, it is beginning earlier than usual, but I am attributing that to the jolt I got when I saw Burnsville Center Santa waving merrily from his big green chair the week following Halloween. Really.

Last year, I had a conversation with an acquaintance who was feeling the same annual tension. Together we bemoaned the chaos and the commercialism and the crowds. As part of this conversation, we also talked about how hard it was when every organization was looking for some kind of donation or support. How we felt like we were sending some donation in to school with the kids every day for "some cause or the other." How workplaces relentlessly campaign their pet causes, and how the church events, alone, could claim all of your time and drain your pocketbook. I was an equal part of this conversation, complaining about the seasonal onslaught of various organizations looking to...what? Provide local families with warm and sufficient meals for the chilly holiday season? Ensure that young children in economically struggling families still got to experience the joy of seeing a wrapped package under the tree? Help the millions of children around the world have gifts - minor compared to those I will put under my tree - to open on Christmas Day? Clothe the homeless who face the freezing weather of the season without the respite of a warm home, a blanketed bed, a full meal? The realization along with the realities of the broken world we live in is too humbling for words.

Of course these groups should be doing everything they can to lift up the plight of those in need. And of course they should vigorously promote the various ways that any of us who have the resources to share can become involved. It is now clear to me that I would and should be disappointed if anyone charged with the mission of running these helping organizations did anything less than that. And with this revelation, as a family, we decided that the many opportunities that will come to our attention over the next couple of months will not become hassles or even annoyances, but resources for our research as a family...to decide which of these many options we want to focus on collectively intentionally.

Instead of responding to requests for donations haphazardly and thoughtlessly, we are going to focus our resources so they go deeper instead of wider, and to focus our conversations as a family so the go deeper instead of...nothing at all, but me shoving a bag of Toys for Tots into my children's arms as they go out the door, yelling after them to make sure and get it to where it is supposed to go at school.

Some things we have put in place were greatly influenced by Liz and Chad and their children, who recently decided, after a family meeting and via election by ballot, how they wanted to apply a chunk of money they had designated for charitable spending. We were so excited by their excitement, and by even their 3-year old's mature understanding of why he voted to support the organization he did.

Collect and consider information on various organization and causes before randomly responding.
Have family conversation around the information and use the Internet to supplement research
Establish and communicate a budget for seasonal giving to the family.
Decide as a family if you are looking for an opportunity to donate money, or want to be involved in purchasing items to be donated.
Decide as a family if and how you want to donate time and energy to volunteering with an organization, and sign up sooner than later so you have more choices on your preferred time slots
Decide as a family if you want to identify a single organization to support, or 2 or 3 or more.
Consider making one intentional shopping trip to support the smaller requests that come up from organizations who look for donations of food and toys (i.e., buy enough non-perishable food items to fill a brown bag at the beginning of the season and pull one or 2 items from there as various holiday food-collection events come up.)
Create tradition around these conversations and decisions to make them fun and memorable for kids (i.e., voting by ballot, each child has to present their favorite cause or organization, etc.)

Have fun, and let us know if you come up with any other ideas or traditions to add to the list above. We are excited because, already, we have experienced more joy in our giving than we ever have before. This is how I want to experience the season of giving.

2008-10-24T09:03:00.005-05:00

Hello Friends!

We wanted to share (with permission) the following letter because it spoke to the true mission of Project FoodStock with such a wonderful simplicity:

Dear Amee and Elizabeth,
My name is Sarah Johnson. I work part time at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church but primarily I am a pre-school teacher. My daughter, Mandy Dain, and I are Co-Chairs for this year’s Prince of Peace Women's Retreat at Camp Wapo in Amery, Wi.

Here is a brief description of my journey to you:
Almost four weeks ago, two women (Pat Jarvi and K.Z. Koboski) who work at the Mission Outpost, here at church, led our staff chapel. During their worship time they shared that it is not always possible to keep the food shelf at Mission Outpost filled.

I went home and was discussing this with my husband. I was outraged! It seemed like with a congregation of 10,000, we should be able to keep the food shelf stocked. I was felt as though our members were not doing their part when it occurred to me that our little family was not doing our part either. There was a multitude of reasons that flooded into my brain of why we could not help - money has been so tight for us. I have been working two jobs and really do not have the time and energy to take this on, and yet something kept pressing on my heart. After a serious discussion, Brant and I decided that we would incorporate food donations into our life style. Each time we went to the grocery store for ourselves, we would pick up 1 item to be donated to the food shelf. We could assimilate that expense into our tiny budget, just a single item. Then words of doubt crept into my head, "one item will not make any difference." I thought about all the single things that make an impact: 1 vote, 1 prayer, 1 smile. I knew that in our own small way, we would make a difference. We have been doing this consistently for about a month now, and it has become a family passion for us. My 11 year old son is enthusiastic about making suggestions of what item we should buy for the food shelf "this time." I am not always as organized as I would like to be and find myself going to Super Target to pick up a few things a couple of times a week. Each time, we also buy 1 item for the food shelf. That is what we pledged to ourselves to do - buy one item for the food shelf every time we went to the store. We have not found this to be a burden at all, but instead we have been blessed beyond measure. Buying regularly for the food shelf has brought our family closer together. My husband and I are so proud of our son and his willingness to help others. Without being aware of it, we had presented a model for him to follow.

This seems like a good place to put a "happy ending," doesn't it? However, my story continues:

Last night, my family and I attended a benefit concert to raise food donations for local food shelves. The concert was hosted by River of Joy Lutheran Church. Pastor Steve had shared during staff chapel that River of Joy would be hosting this concert. Music was donated by the talented Heatherlyn Hamilton-Chronis. During the concert there were presentations from different agencies that support food shelf donations: Community Action Council, Feed My Starving Children, Thrivent Lutheran, and...Project Food Stock. My heart was lit on fire!
I immediately realized that I could implement a regular food shelf donation pick up within my pre-school classroom. I could introduce your concept via my monthly newsletter. Families could bring in food items during the month and at the end of each month I could bring everything in to a food shelf. What better way to involve 4 year olds into giving back to their community?!

This too, seems like it would be a good place to put a "happy ending," doesn't it?
However, my story continues:

I am at this moment in my church office, working on this year's Women's Retreat. As always, I am a bit unorganized and have been praying "Lord, lead me; Lord, lead me." I will share with you now, that indeed He has. I have been led to you.

Our Women's Retreat theme is: Relax, Reflect, Recharge, Rejoice! How I never dreamt that a year ago when I came up with the theme, that it would fit so perfectly into the mission of Project Food Stock. I believe that we are called to Reflect on all that we have and all we can do. We can Reflect on why there are so many with so little. We can Reflect on what kind of impact just one woman can make. We can Reflect on what kind of impact 125 women, their families, and all of their friends, neighbors and co-workers can make. We are a powerful entity and I believe God is calling us to make a difference. In doing so, we will truly Recharge and be able to Rejoice!

Community as it should be

2008-08-19T21:20:00.004-05:00

This past Friday, River of Joy Lutheran Church held a hunger concert in Prior Lake. Community came together to hear amazing musical performances from Heatherlyn and Micah Witham and Ben Rosenbush...and to feed their hungry neighbors through food and monetary donations. As a result, 40,000 people in our global community will eat. Hundreds more in our immediate community will benefit from the 750 pounds of food that were donated.

What a perfect picture of how it should be: people coming together as a community to care for their own.

Soulstice and the larger Berean Baptist community are beginning something simple in concept and huge in impact: connecting those with needs to those with resources of all kinds. The new effort is called "Give Yourself Away '08," and kicks off with a Robbie Seay Band concert on Sunday, September 14 at Berean. All you need to get in the door? Something you can give away. Anything. Food. Grocery gift cards. Diapers. Anything to care for our neighbors--those right here in our community.

You can register other things you can give away--or needs you have--on their website at giveyourselfaway08.com. Take the time to read their story and their vision. And then wander into your attic or peruse your pantry or consider that envelope of cash in the dresser drawer, and consider if maybe there's something, something, that you can give away to contribute to this picture of community as it should be: neighbors helping neighbors. People caring for people, meeting each other's needs and lifting one another up.

Great idea!

2008-08-13T07:46:00.002-05:00

Hello Friends!

This post is contributed by Beth and Nels Danburg :

Summer Status on Food Donations in a small neighborhood in Burnsville

Hi! This is a quick note from Beth and Nels Danburg in Burnsville, MN. Both my son and I were getting discouraged this past spring when we would try and collect food and would get few or no results. However, this summer has been a different story but it does involve some creativity. In June we bought small plastic peanut butter jars and typical brown lunch bags. We put the peanut butter in the bags with a message "Share your favorite treat that goes with PB sandwiches. Summer means lots of lunches needed for out-of-school kids". We received 100% participation and every house gave us a fairly LARGE sized bag of food along with our peanut butter. We were only hoping for an additional item to be in our small brown bags! In July, we attached a message of "Quench our Thirst" to packets of Kool-Aid and we again received a large collection of juices, waters, etc.

We also pass out "Thank you" tokens each time a house participates. Such tokens are usually bought at the dollar store--post-it pads, magnet clips, etc.

SO, in sum, a little energy and creativity does go a long way.

Beth Danburg & Nels Danburg
Burnsville, MN

We warmly invite you to share your ideas so we can pass them on. If you have something to share, please e-mail us at engage@projectfoodstock.org.

Change

2008-07-22T16:55:00.003-05:00

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?

What we have learned so far...

2008-03-06T12:43:00.005-06:00

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...

Our "Strong Voice"

2008-02-27T21:57:00.006-06:00

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.

2008-01-29T09:04:00.000-06:00

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

Taking Ownership

2007-12-05T21:18:00.000-06:00

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.

The Significance...

2007-11-12T15:31:00.000-06:00

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.

Fun with Kids

2007-10-23T08:07:00.000-05:00

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.

Katrina's Story

2007-10-17T15:12:00.000-05:00

I want to share a story about a woman who understands what community is:

Katrina is a single mom who has always been self-sufficient, and has worked from home as a data entry professional for three years. Working from home has enabled her to be at home with her son, three-year-old Jimmy, and simultaneously avoid the financial strain of daycare costs. It is her personal priority to help her family, and so Katrina chooses to take care of her four-year-old niece while her sister works.

Katrina found herself in financial straits when she had an accident on the Fourth of July, followed by emergency surgery. She was forced to take a temporary leave from her job as a result of the surgery, and as finances waned, Katrina needed help.

Katrina is in need of temporary support from the food shelf in order to feed her son and herself. As she heals from her surgery, she will begin physical therapy, and will start to regain strength and the ability to perform her job once again. Within a few weeks, she expects she will be back on her feet, working full-time, and caring for both her son and her niece. Significantly, she has also determined that she herself will become a food shelf volunteer.

Katrina's accident and surgery are a sad misfortune; the rest of the story seems to me to be a perfect picture of how a caring community functions: 1.) a member of the community has a need; 2.) that need is met with dignity and sensitivity, and then 3.) the cycle comes full circle as she who has experienced the care of community commits to contribute to it herself by caring for others.

None of us ever know where the next year, the next month, even the next week will find us in that cycle. Any one of us may one day find ourselves in need of the assistance of a food shelf, and if we do, God bless those who are committed to caring and providing for us. When we're on the other side of the circle, let us be--each and every one of us--those who are giving, caring, providing, and sharing, so that the circle not be broken.