As the Fourth of July approaches, most of us are readying ourselves for some sort of celebration. And well we should! There is little more worthy of our national joy and pride than commemorating our freedoms.
Corporate and national celebrations for this occasion generally involve fireworks and music. Smaller family gatherings or get-togethers in the neighborhood almost always involve food …always plentiful and sometimes to excess.
Always? Well, maybe most often. Most often? Well, yes, if you and your family, neighbors and friends don’t happen to be among the hungry. But as we at NFESH know, too many Americans are just that. They won’t be attending picnics or spending the days following the Fourth trying to figure out what to do with the leftovers. They will be spending next Wednesday doing what they do every day of the year – making do, to use the vernacular. Stretching their imaginations and what’s in the cupboard just to get by.
Boy, that’s a downer, you might be thinking as you read this. And you might be wondering why we want to ruin such an upbeat holiday that all Americans share with such a downbeat message. Truth is, we don’t. But we do want to use the opportunity to draw your attention to four words in the previous sentence: “that all Americans share.”
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all shared freedom from hunger. It would be, it can be, if we will all share in the work of eradicating it. We have enough left over. Let’s do it together and when we have…let’s celebrate!
Until then, all of us at NFESH wish you a very Happy Fourth of July!