No to feeding a family?
A couple days ago I went to Whole Foods and the lady at the checkout counter asked if I wanted to spend five dollars to feed a family of four during the holidays. For some reason I automatically said: No, thank you. So to be clear… I said yes to a seven dollar salad and a three dollar bar of dark chocolate for myself and no to feeding an entire family of four for a measly five bucks.
What was I thinking? It kept bugging me. The same night they ran the story on the news about how the Denver Rescue Mission usually has thousands of turkeys by now and at that point had zero. I think there will be a lot of people hurting over these next couple months. It made me realize I have never spent one moment of my life wondering if I would have money for food.
So starting today I have decided that every time I hit Whole Foods over the next month or so I am going to say yes to that question. Yeah it could add up but so does shopping at Whole Foods in general. Maybe it will keep me away from the chocolate.
kelsalynn Said,
November 14, 2010 @ 8:54 am
Great point and great post! Good for you!! 2 months ago my hubby and I decided to give $100 each month to a charity. Last month it was the AZ Humane Society but we haven’t decided where this month yet. We realized we have so much and like you said, we’ve never had a day where we’ve worried about food or a roof over our head, etc.
(PS: I think this is my 1st comment but I’ve been reading your blog for a little while…)
Jeff Said,
November 14, 2010 @ 3:48 pm
It’s really hard because if you donated to every charity, soon you’d need one of those free turkeys yourself…
I saw the same news special about the turkeys.. I think it’d be really cool if at work I could get a turkey drive together and donate like 100 of them.. I’m not sure how to keep them all cold…. maybe we could just do cash…
Karen Ramirez Said,
November 14, 2010 @ 7:07 pm
@kelsalynn – Thanks! What a great thing for you and your husband to do! BTW – I checked out your blog too and you have acquired a new reader!
@jeff – I hear ya. There are so many charities out there you have to be selective and make sure you know where your money is really going. If someone is worried that giving a few dollars to charity might make it difficult to feed their family then obviously it might be better to save it. But then again if that is the case I would not recommend shopping at Whole Foods. Hehehe.
That is actually where the sponsorship of a child through the right org is a great thing. The recipient families of the program I go through are required to work and the children must go to school in order to receive any benefits. So you can be sure it isn’t just a handout. It actually provides a family with an opportunity to better their own lives.
Karen Ramirez Said,
November 14, 2010 @ 7:07 pm
Also great idea about the turkey drive!