Editorial: Give food now, then give later, too

It’s difficult to imagine that people here in McLeod County can be hungry. But it happens every day.

Marietta Neumann, executive director of the McLeod Emergency Food Shelf, told us demand for the food available at her agency’s sites in Glencoe and Hutchinson has never been greater. That’s hard to fathom in a nation with so much abundance and in a county where poverty seems to be much less of a problem than elsewhere.

The weeks before Christmas are a time when we hear from many charities, including the food shelf. But as we have said here before, hunger knows no season. The food shelf needs your help now, and it will need it again in the spring and next summer. You can count on that.

Many folks are doing their part to support the food shelf. Shoppers at a local grocery store recently contributed more than $5,000 to the food shelf. This Saturday, local Girl Scouts will support the food shelf with a Kids Shopping Day, when children will be invited to St. Anastasia Catholic Church to shop for a craft. But the kids won’t need money. A nonperishable food item, which will be donated to the food shelf, will be enough to get them that craft. The event runs from 2:30 to 4 p.m.

We also recently heard about a local company owner who agreed to match his employees’ donations to charities, up to $50 for each donation. Many gave to the food shelf.

Hunger results from insidious problems
For many, giving to the food shelf has become a holiday tradition.

But for too many people, visiting the food shelf is a reality that should never become a tradition. Sometimes it’s a family living from paycheck to paycheck, and then a health care bill or other unexpected expense takes the last dollar that was meant for groceries. Sometimes a family breakup sends people to the food shelf. Sometimes it’s the loss of a job. Neumann says most clients never thought they would have to turn to the food shelf for help.

Second Harvest Heartland, which provides food to food shelves and other organizations in 59 counties in Minnesota and Wisconsin, offers these sobering statistics about hunger in Minnesota:

— More than 1.8 million visits were made to the food shelves in 2006, up from 1.7 million in 2005.

— Fifty percent of households who use food shelves have at least one child younger than 18.

— An estimated one in 10 children in Minnesota lives in poverty and one in three qualify for free and reduced-price lunches based on low-income guidelines.

— In the United States, two of five older adults will fall below the poverty line for one year at some point between ages 60 and 90.

— The fastest-growing group of food shelf clients is the working poor — 47 percent of households using food shelves in the Second Harvest Heartland service area reported that paid employment is their major source of income.

The food shelf needs help now. It will need it again in a few months. If you are considering making a donation of food or money, please call one of the locations at left. And then please consider doing it all over again in the spring, if not sooner.

McLeod Emergency Food Shelf locations

Hutchinson: 105 Second Ave. S.W., (320) 587-4796

Glencoe: 808 12th St. E., (320) 864-2088