Second Harvest with The Farm Trumps Hunger Games

Kerner warned us in 1968 of two nations now taking root, one black and one white
Having been warned, it may be hard to believe there is growing the specter of two new nations, one visible and the other largely out of sight
Color or creed does not select to which nation one belongs
But if one is in the invisible nation something for them is very wrong
When it comes to food production, we are the masters—there is not a quantity we cannot produce
For far too many of us, it is not the challenge of the next meal but rather the struggle to calories reduce
Supermarket shelves that stretch for miles, the all you can eat buffets and the burgers of massive size
Food ads urging one to eat more and restaurants rule the airways touting the portion control demise
For this nation it is perceived to be not scarcity, but that obesity and type II diabetes is the growing scourge
More so than ever as too many of us seem to have lost the exercise urge
The other invisible nation lurks in the caloric shadows casting only on humans gaunt
While the other nation of the gourmet, gourmand and glutton their overflowing plates unknowingly taunt
For the invisible nation, hunger is not a game for those forced to play
No winners, only losers as one’s body, dreams, minds and hopes slowly ebb away
Too many of our fellow citizens in the shadows of this nation of plenty do not have enough to eat
A full meal is like manna from heaven, a treasured and uncertain treat
Lack of food for children hinders their emotional growth, stunts their physical and mental size
For those protesting the rise of food stamps this fact of life should come as no surprise
To the chemist, water may be the universal solvent for materials but providing food breaks down all hostility and division
Drives the caloric enemy against health, hopes, spirits and dreams into a sated submission
Hidden from view in a county where yachts, Beemers, and million dollar homes abound
Hunger stalks unseen even in the wealthiest of all towns
In Orange County Second Harvest on one hand can with both pride and disappointment exclaim
“We help feed 200 thousand but 200 thousand more we cannot.” For those cursed or blessed with seconds, that is a crying shame

Food does not grow on homeless benches, homeless shelters, or in city parks

It must be donated, sorted and repacked if a drive to reduce hunger will hit its mark
Second Harvest is a Mecca for food for the hungry to be given
Unloaded, sorted, repacked and then to food banks like SOS or soup kitchens to be driven
So appropriate that an elite university with a nickname of The Farm
Would harvest its alums to help meet the growing hunger alarm
Forty alums some with children still in high school volunteered to answer the hunger call
In three hours of moving tons of food with an effort that did not lag or remotely stall
The Alumni Association calls it Beyond the Farm, a chance to give back
Better yet a chance to join in the fight against the scourge of hunger attack
This poet was pleased to see the yellow bags collected last week in the Letter Carriers’ Food Drive
Being unloaded by the volunteers from The Farm to help those under the shadows of hunger to survive

If you want to make a difference at the ground floor in the basic necessities needed to live

You don't have to be Stanford grad to go to www.feedoc.org — to see how your time to this major problem you can give!

 © May 16 , 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
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