This week hunger advocates around New York City are wearing orange to draw attention to the number of empty food pantries across the city. Dozens of e-mails have appeared in my inbox to persude me to update my wardrobe with the autumn hue.
Colors for causes are confusing and remind me of pseduo- gangs rather than social justice. But I’m willing to risk looking like a squashed pumpkin for a week in an effort to get the word out about the NYC hunger crisis.
Actually, the problem of hunger in the United States is severely understated. Every major city in the country has seen a rise in the number of senior citizens and families living below the poverty line.
Newsletters from food redistribution centers are aimed at an audience already familiar with the plight of the working poor. Hundreds of families throughout the five boroughs rely on free school lunches to feed their kids. They line up for vouchers form food pantries every November so they can put a turkey on the table at Thanksgiving.
I’ve seen a spike in the number of clients we serve every Saturday at the Village Temple soup kitchen. In less than an hour we give out over 200 hundred sandwiches and about 300 cups of fresh homemade soup. Fortunately, we’ve never turned anyone away empty handed, but for the past few weeks we’re lucky if we have two apples left over at the end of the day.
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