Baskets

Unlike gift and fruit baskets, food baskets have a very different connotation, a very different purpose. Food baskets are collections of foodstuff for the needy, for the hungry, for the less fortunate, for those that have no idea where their next meal may be coming from.

Annually and around the holiday seasons, religious institution like churches and temples, community centers, corporation, schools and even stores organized food drives from among their members, their employees, their students, their patrons, and the public in general. The collected items are usually nonperishable canned foods, jarred preserves, crackers, cookies, etc. and they are then delivered in baskets, boxes or bags to local shelters and private homes in the poor intercity neighborhoods.

Believe it or not, in midst of our very affluent society in the United States of America there are millions of people who, but for the gifts from generous donors, would not have a meal even during holidays. While we are on the subject of giving and as long as you are in that frame of mind, let us think one step further. We give during the holidays because that is expected and because someone is organizing a food drive but do we not need to eat during the rest to the year?

Take initiative, if your have to, and organize your own food drive, collect all that you can from family, friend, colleagues, neighbors, business and local organizations. People are generous at heart and all they need is some to lead the way. You will find people are very willing to help out those that are less fortunate.

You can also take care of things on a personal level if you don’t want to commit to a full scale endeavor. For example you can agree to make food baskets for a few families in the area on a regular basis. You can also volunteer one day a week for a few hours at the local food pantry to make up food baskets for those in need.

The number of people in our society that don’t have enough food may surprise you. This can happen in families where both parents are working hard. It can also happen for the elderly because so much of their income is spend on medical expenses. Not everyone qualifies for food stamp benefits so they really rely on those food baskets to get them through.