An estimated 100 billion pounds of food, enough to totally eliminate hunger, is thrown away annually in the United States. It does not have to be this way - and you can help.

Your support of the AmpleHarvest.org Campaign helps many more food pantries receive fresh produce - improving community health while also helping the environment.—AmpleHarvest.org

In my last post, I wrote about the abundant compassion and caring that we all showed each other, in spite of differences, immediately after 9-11. I also asked if it was really necessary for us to experience a major collective heartbreak to bring us back together. I’m thinking the answer is NO!

There must be a hundred ways—some big and some small–that each of us can find in our everyday life to bring back that sense of connection. The Ample Harvest program is one of these.

Here is the scenario: You have a vegetable garden or maybe some fruit trees in your yard. The harvest is usually more than you and your family can eat, so you give some away to friends and neighbors. But still you have more than you can make use of. So what do you do? Let it go to waste? Of course not!

Instead, you glean the extra produce from your garden, and then bring it over to your local food pantry, community organization, or house of worship that has a food distribution program. These organizations will gladly accept your extra produce (or other supplies like peanut butter, rice or pasta that you pick up at the grocery store) and put it to good use. Where ever you might be in the country, you can find one of these pantries at AmpleHarvest.org.

When it comes to overcoming the divisiveness and hostility that is prevalent now, the AmpleHarvest program shows us one way we can light a candle instead of curse the darkness. There are many more. I am sure you can think up some yourself.

But maybe we have resource that we are not using fully. I read an article a few months ago about a local church that had a harvesting/gleaning campaign. The parishioners noticed that the some of the fruit and vegetables from their gardens often end up on the ground and went to waste. I know the times I had a garden more was produced than I could eat or even give away.

The church asked the parishioners to collect the extra fruits and vegetables from their yards, and they had a sale. The money collected as well as the produce that did not sell was given to a food bank. Perhaps some version of this could be done on a larger basis. The harvesting program could be overseen by either individual cities or organizations. Or individuals and neighborhoods could glean the extra fruits and vegetables from their yards and have it delivered to a local food bank. And maybe the harvesting program could be maintained throughout the year.

What do you think? Can we put to use what is readily available instead of letting it go to waste? Maybe we have more available to us than we realize.

It is only the farmer who faithfully plants seeds in the Spring, who reaps a harvest in Autumn.
- B. C. Forbes

Here are some locations that accept food and cash donations as well as donations of your time and services:

Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County
8014 Marine Way
Irvine, CA 92618
Phone: 949-653-2900
Web Site: http://www.feedoc.org

Community Action Partnership of Orange County Food Bank
12640 Knott Street
Garden Grove, CA 92841
Phone: (714) 897-6670
Web Site: http://www.capoc.org/

GRAPHIC COURTESY BILL BARBER