Hi everyone,
As you know, I do this substack out of love for my readers ;->
My ‘second career’ has been helping out a few days a week at a local food pantry, Helping Hands Rescue Mission. They provide a few hundred families each week with some essential foodstuffs.
If anything, surprisingly, demand for food assistance has increased now that Covid has passed. Bloomberg just recently had this article: Lines Stretch Down the Block at Food Banks as Costs Go Up and Pandemic Aid Expires.
Food banks across the country [have] been flooded with requests for help since food-stamp recipients were hit with a double blow: the expiration of a temporary boost in benefits put in place during the pandemic and onerous grocery prices, which are running 24% above pre-Covid levels.
The food pantry is raising funds to renovate their community kitchen that was severely damaged when the sprinklers went off. They would like to resume serving hot meals to the community. They are about halfway to their fundraising goal.
I do not charge for the substack, though I would hope that if you find this useful or amusing (or infuriating) you might consider a donation to help rebuild the pantry. Please consider clicking through and donating - $5 or $5 billion, every dollar helps.
HHRM Community Kitchen Giving Page
I am grateful to those of you who actually sought to pay for my blatherings; I, of course, have not accepted them and would greatly prefer if you made a tax-deductible donation to this cause.
Thanks for being patient readers.
Great to see your community support, Brian. Sorry to hear about the flood. Kicked in to help. The food crisis is growing across all communities. Such important work. Best,
Mike