Helping Those in Need

As we've been hearing for months (or is it years?) the economy sucks. People are losing their jobs, their homes and their dignity. This, coupled with the ridiculously high prices of food staples like milk and grain, has caused millions of people in America (as well as all over the world) to go hungry or starve. I find it deplorable that Iowa, a state that has tens of thousands of acres of farm land, has a hunger rate higher than the national average. We can't count on the government to fix this problem in the short term- if we waited for them scores of people would starve to death before Washington (or even the local governments) could figure anything out. I know there are a few of you out there who, like Art and I, have a vegetable garden. I urge you all to take a look at this website:

http://www.gardenwriters.org/gwa.php?p=par/index.html

It's a program called "Plant a Row for the Hungry" where you donate extra fruits and vegetables from your garden to local organizations to help those in need. Since it was started in 1995, PAR participants have donated over 14 million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to hungry people all over America. You can also contact your local food bank, soup kitchens or shelters for more information or to see how you can help.
Some other useful websites (in you're interested):
www.grogood.com (for more information on how to help feed the hungry)
http://feedingamerica.org (where you can find more information as well as your local food bank)