And they actually use it? Amazing

Submitted for your approval. I've already approved.

Really, the questions on the importance on not being a handout, on dealing with feelings of worthlessness and low self-esteem, on the importance of fresh air and exercise, they all coalesce into the answer of this program. People get healthier food for lower cost while working for themselves and others. What's not to love?

Recently, a member of my Sunday School class gave us a plea: the church food bank was getting bare and needed to be filled with basics. She provided a list of the top 10 items needed, all non-perishable; peanut butter and jelly, tuna, canned fruit, dry cereal, shelf-stable juice, boxed meals, all of the items were processed, involved a fair amount of packaging (in a town with minimal recycling), and did not involve much by way of cooking or flavor. I brought in a bag from my weekly shopping, although many things I couldn't get because I shop at the local co-op.

[Expensive, yes; I could have brought more if I spent the same amount of money at Wal-Mart. I have one issue there, though: is it right to supply people with food that was low cost when the cost was kept low by denying those people the wages and benefits necessary to afford their own food? I think not, so I bought at my locally-run store that stresses sustainable production practices.]

Look at that list. High fructose corn syrup is a major ingredient. So are preservatives and oils. The keys to good nutrition are not so much. Cheap and shelf-stable is the object. Obesity and diabetes in the poor, meet your maker.

I know that there are sources of fresh things for these programs. I heard somewhere that excess produce from the community garden (where I have a plot) is donated to the FlintHills Breadbasket, the master organization that in turn supplies the pantries in all the churches around town. I also know that the community garden provides free plots, seeds, and help to people with incomes below a certain level depending on their family size; as a graduate student alone, by the way, I was in the highest income bracket! Still, with the pantries empty, there were unused plots in our garden this year. The space is available, so where are the people? They probably didn't know about it, with the low-key advertising they do (I found it by searching for it online, hoping it existed). It needs a program, like the one above, to reach out specifically to those lacking food security.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could get a program like this set up in communities around the US? The implications for public health are astounding.