Feeding the Hungry

  Top stories in 2010 read like a who’s who of bad news. The saying, “do you want the good news or the bad news first”, didn’t seem to apply last year. And yet, there was good news, we just didn’t hear much about it. One of the “good news” stories of last year concerned the many agriculture groups donating their time, as well as their product to help feed the needy. This past year western farmers and ranchers donated over 118 million pounds of food to food banks and non-profit organizations who work year round to feed the ever growing number of people who struggle daily to put food on their table. Farmers Ending Hunger, one of the many groups who help supply food to the hungry, started in Oregon after learning that that state lead the nation in hunger. One very important news worthy note most people don’t realize is that so many of these farmers have planted crops and raised food directly for hunger relief. This wasn’t food donated as an afterthought or left behind after harvesting. Hopefully, 2011 will see the number of hungry go down, but even if it doesn’t these generous farmers and ranchers will still be there, giving of themselves and the food they produce.