food bank

I’d just like to share a little story of something that happened to me today that slightly restored my faith in people. 

I volunteer at a food bank every Wednesday night.  We hand out bags of food and supplies to people who are in dire need.  Normally, we get by with enough to feed everyone.  Sometimes it’s hard.  A lot of people forget about the starving people in our own nation, so we don’t have enough.  Things are getting better for us; we’re more out there in the community and they reach out.

I got there a half hour early because of my own mental slip (or because of the to-be-early-is-to-be-on-time philosophy ground into me from four years of marching band), so I sat in the parking lot and watched as people lined up at the door.  At six thirty we opened our doors, and everyone shuffled in and took a seat, as usual.  As we started handing out bags, a woman came over to me and asked where she could put a donation.  I told her that I would bring it in for her.  Expecting a bag of dented cans, I walked out to her SUV to carry them in.

What I saw surprised me.

The back seat had three large bags filled with items.  There were an additional four boxes in the trunk.  All new, fresh goods.  Items that we needed.  It was as if she had just gone to Giant and gotten a typical two-week order.  And she was just handing it over to us for us to give out.  There was easily two hundred dollars worth of food in those boxes. 

A few other volunteers and myself carried them in and she drove away with a smile.

I drove away tonight with a smile too.