Everyone should have enough food to eat.
This pandemic is making that harder.
No one should go hungry – ever. This pandemic means that even more people are at risk for going hungry, and food banks need our help.
Tikkun olam means “making the world a better place” or “repairing the world” and thinking about this was an important part of my B’nei Mitzvah classes and experience. For my tikkun olam project, I was going to volunteer at a food bank to learn more. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do that because of Covid-19, so instead I did some research on food banks, why we need them, what they need, and how to help them.
Food banks are important because they help some people who have been unlucky get back on their feet, so that they don’t need food banks at all. I think most food banks don’t succeed in that goal. The London Ontario food bank, founded in 1986, was supposed to be temporary, but it has been open for 34 years.
During this pandemic, things are getting even worse. Toronto’s Daily Bread Food Bank says use has risen by 122%. That’s 10,000 more families who are going to them for the food that they need.
The Daily Bread Food Bank also has the uplifting news that a lot more people have been donating, but it isn’t enough to help all the people dealing with food insecurity right now.
If you are able, I encourage you to donate to your local food bank, where they often need things like pasta and sauce, canned or frozen fish and meat, canned foods (beans or soup), and also canned vegetables and fruits. Financial donations are very welcome and are sometimes the best idea, so that the food banks can choose what they need.
Ready to donate? Please go here: http://support.dailybread.ca/site/TR/Events/General?team_id=15784&pg=team&fr_id=1694
Most people agree that the best donation is money. Most Food banks have deals with supermarkets which allow them to get more food for less money.
Money is also a good idea right now because you can do it without having to go outside, and risking the people who need to go to food banks.
Why should you donate?
You should donate because everyone needs to eat, and that includes unlucky people. Nobody should go hungry ever, but especially during this pandemic. People who can’t afford to eat should receive help. So go right now, donate and come back to finish reading this.
How can you donate?
The best way to donate right now is by giving money online at websites. You can go to my fundraising site, here. It donates money to the Daily Bread Food Bank. You can also go them directly here:
• https://donate.dailybread.ca which is the daily bread website, or
• https://www.foodbankscanada.ca which is Canada’s food bank donation website.
If you haven’t donated by now, what are you waiting for? If you have one spare dollar, donate it to the people who don't have one spare dollar, if you and three other people donate your one spare dollar you could give a person a meal, if you have more, donate more. Now go and donate. If you got to this point and haven’t decided to donate, then either you don’t have enough money, which is perfectly fine, or you have decided not to donate, which isn’t.