Hunger In Orange County The Secret Shame

For those of us in this county so fortunate to be calorically blessed
Not part of the 400 thousand whose needs food banks try to address
Breakfast for us is merely the break between sleep and the start of a new day
Charged up with the smell of coffee and choices of food boosting our entry into life’s daily fray
For 400 thousand, sadly it is another chance no one wants, to this day in the Hunger Games play
Knowing or fearing the listlessness, hunger cramps and swelling once again will stay
Of the 58 counties in California only one has a linkage to food in its name
The fact here in Orange County thousands go hungry is a sacrilege to the name, truly a shame
Batting 50 percent in baseball by feeding 200 thousand is a ticket guaranteed to enter the Hall of Fame
But we need to do better for those who are forced to play the Hunger Games
Restaurants, supermarkets and homes need to allow Second Harvest to harvest their excess food, volunteers’ time and donors’ aid
Together we can, determined to prevail, into this fight against hunger wade.
Fighting hunger with a food bank like Second Harvest is not as easy as handing over an EBT card
That turns plastic in a swipe into food from milk, meat, beans, rice and produce like chard
No this is food that has to be collected in semi trucks from donor stores, homes and restaurants
Moved to the food bank where it has to be distributed to the 400 thousand to hunger try to staunch
By the hands of willing volunteers moved from large shipping boxes to small crates
No too many canned goods or there is way too much weight
Then stacked on a pallet five crates high forty in all
On a Saturday forty alums from The Farm doing their part to hunger stall
Others would later sort and balanced meal packages create
For soup kitchens and churches to pick up and serve to waiting plates
Fear not that this food so precious ever goes to waste
Even when dated it’s off to pig farms where it meets the porcine taste
In the land of hunger shadows, the Second Harvest is a beacon of hope, a beacon of light
An oasis to the hungry and a magnet for those volunteers who want to make a difference in the hunger fight.  

© May 19. 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire

Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
Rhymes for All the Memorable Times