The word hungry has many meanings. Years ago, it meant would I have enough food to prepare a healthy meal for my family, or would hungry win the day? Back then, despite having full time jobs, my spouse and I were unable to buy food by the end of the month. I remember how we would strategize to not go hungry -- visiting with family and friends near dinnertime in hopes of being asked to share a meal with them. After too many nights struggling to put a meal on the table, I finally got hungry enough to apply for government assistance. To my dismay, we were not approved. But in every dark cloud there is a silver lining, because that experience changed my life.
In 2008, my circumstances had greatly changed, and I had the means and desire to do something to redeem my experience of those hungry days. I founded Minnie's Food Pantry, named in honor of my mother the late Dr. Minnie Hawthorne-Ewing, in my home community of Plano, Texas. Opening a food pantry in one of Texas' most affluent cities was viewed as odd because "there are no hungry people in Plano." But I knew that hunger hides, and with the economy at the beginning of a serious downturn, Minnie's Food Pantry was right where it needed to be.
My approach is simple: feed people with dignity, and don't give them any food you wouldn't eat yourself. We literally roll out the red carpet as we provide healthy, balanced meals to the families we serve. To date, Minnie's Food Pantry has fed over 250,000 people and served over 3 million meals. When I meet families who are hungry, I see an opportunity to not just feed their bodies, but to show them that someone cares and they will make it through the hard times, just as I did.
It shocks me to know that that one out of every five kids living in this country is considered food insecure. That means that more than 15 million children in our nation may be struggling to find their next meal. This happens in a country where we throw billions of pounds of food away every year. And most of this is hidden from view, because the face of hunger is not what you expect. It is no longer the person on the side of the road holding a "Will Work for Food" sign. It is people that you and I love the most -- your co-worker who makes as much money as you do but had an expensive medical setback; grandparents and single mothers; and even more sadly, our veterans who fought so hard for our freedoms.
It's not enough to just "see" a hungry person, we must take action and do something about it. Today, hungry means that I am hungry for change. I am hungry to shine a light on the people that I serve. I am hungry to make people understand that hunger exists in every community. And, I am hungry to motivate others to take a stand and make a difference. Will you join me on this journey? The world is ours to change.
Dr. Cheryl "Action" Jackson
Founder
Minnie's Food Pantry
*Photo Credit Terri Glanger
cactionjackson@me.com