I'm passionate about a lot of things. My family. My friends. My faith. My home. My work. But lately, those in need have been on my mind a lot. Especially those whose financial needs are so great, they struggle to feed their families. And yes, I know that this time of year, food banks, food pantries and the needy are covered more and more in the media - it seems to be "trendy" to highlight those in need around the holidays....but really, those in need have those needs year-round, not just when it's "hip" to highlight them in the newspaper.
This recent article highlighted the fact that food pantries are facing greater-than-ever demand, due to the economy and the times. Need is nothing new....but the ranks of those in need are growing.
Many of you know that I save gobs with coupons by learning from cool friends, reading money-saving blogs and doing this every week. As a result, our grocery bills have continued to go down, but our pantry, refrigerators and freezers are full-to-bursting. Especially with seasonal sales on all kinds of pantry items, we've been able to stock up like never before. And when you can get items for pennies, it's even easier to donate to those in need. I've been thrilled to donate bags and bags to our local food pantry through our church's mission to aid them. These past few weeks, I've been focusing on Thanksgiving meal and holiday-baking related items (or whatever comes up as a super bargain when pairing coupons with sales....it's also been staples like broths, soups and other easy to prepare things).
It brings me great joy to help out with this simple need: helping a mission provide food for someone's table. One item in today's grocery deal haul was pancake mix. How many times have you made pancakes for your family on a Saturday-morning...while everyone is still clad in jammies....such fun times together! Or maybe you've enjoyed breakfast-for-dinner on a night that nobody wanted to cook, or you just wanted to enjoy a cozy meal on a dark, cold night? I'm thankful that I can help provide a pancake dinner (on a dime!) to someone who might not otherwise be able to do such a thing.
I've donated to the community in all kinds of ways, but this holiday season, those without enough to eat are in my heart and on my mind (and certainly in my prayers!) As I work creatively each week with my grocery budget to feed my own family, I'm also looking for as many ways as possible to feed those who don't have enough.
What's your passion? What's in your heart and on your mind? What ways are you seeking to serve this holiday season?
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