Little Children Are Hungry 365 Days a Year
July 28, 2009
I went to Bosco Food Kitchen yesterday to help in our feeding ministry, because I know how busy it gets in the summer with school out. When I got there, I saw a long line of hungry children, elders, day laborers and out-of-work adults waiting for a meal.
Our Bosco Cook Mary Gayle was busily dishing up plates of spaghetti and peas, so I poured cups of grape juice to give the many hungry people on this blistering hot day. One little boy stood on tippy toes to get his plate, all smiles. “Thank you,” he called out. I know he was happy to get his favorite, “sketti!”
A young man, whose head is scarred from numerous surgeries, got his juice, while I carried his plate to the table. Reginald was born with several handicaps, and despite surgery, he can’t use his right arm. Since his family moved back to Selma, he has been coming daily, while his mother works.
“I had to buy more hamburger today,” Mary told me. “Since school is out there are so many hungry children I can’t seem to fill them up. Sometimes I have to say no to seconds. I hate to tell a hungry child no. They need food to grow strong!”
One of the hungry children, Makayla, was carrying her two-year-old niece. Two neighbor kids were tagging along. “I call her my Bosco baby,” Mary said, with obvious affection. “Makayla has been bringing children to Bosco ever since she was a little girl.”
We busily fixed plates without stop, serving healthy helpings of spaghetti, peas and half-slices of bread to over 150 hungry children and adults in the first hour alone. By the time the last person in line was fed, we had filled another 150 plates.
Each person seems to have a story of hardship and struggle. Mary has heard many of them over the years. Well after noon, Mrs. Sadie Mosely arrived with her three grandchildren. They had walked over a mile in the scorching heat, like they do every day, from their small cement block apartment across two sets of train tracks.
“They come faithfully every day. I know it’s a struggle for Mrs. Mosely because she just had heart surgery. But she doesn’t want the children to miss a meal,” Mary said.
Mrs. Mosely’s grandchildren sat down quietly, while I helped take their plates to the table. The children ate hungrily, while Mrs. Mosely told me that her three-year-old granddaughter asks every morning if they’re going to ‘that good food place.’ “Bosco keeps our family going—especially when school is out,” she said. Mrs. Mosely struggles to raise her grandchildren after losing her daughter in a house fire two years ago.
When I listen to grandmothers tell me the vital importance of Bosco to their families, I am even more committed finding the funds we need to buy food to feed some of Selma’s poorest families. I know Mary Gayle works hard to find the best prices and stretch each pound of hamburger and bag of noodles, but our grocery bills still keep going up, especially during busy summer days.
Like Mary, I hate to say no to a hungry child. I am counting on you to help me fill the plates—and give seconds—to hungry children and their grandparents who need good food to stay healthy and strong. Every day it costs $285 to buy hamburger needed to feed over 300 people. Each month, I need to raise $5,850 to fill empty plates and fill empty bags with essential food for those in need at our rural food pantries.
We continue to see more hungry people at Bosco every month as our community suffers critical layoffs and cutbacks, giving us one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation. Filling those plates with nutritious food every day, 365 days a year, is a huge challenge, especially during these tough times.
In neighboring counties we serve, our outreach ministers can scarcely keep up with the cries of the hungry poor. Every day, they get more calls for food bags. We hand out over 450 food bags each month to families and elders living in isolated communities.
So many elders and children like Mrs. Mosely and her grandchildren depend on the Missions for daily bread. I don’t want to disappoint them, but I can’t do it without you. Your compassionate response can feed hundreds of hungry children this summer.
I keep you in my daily prayers as I ask God to bless and keep you. With your help, the poor and the homeless won't be forgotten and without hope. Psalm 9:18
Sincerely in Christ,
Rev. Richard Myhalyk, S.S.E.
