Up until a few years ago, the closest I'd ever been to a homeless person was seeing them on T.V. Don't get me wrong, I'd seen pan handlers, but never had I been exposed to witness what people will do when they have nothing.
I grew up in a very small town with little to no homeless people. It wasn't until I moved to New York, and later to Sonoma County that I was able to see people digging through garbage cans to try and find anything that may have been tossed in that could help satisfy their hunger pains. I'd never seen people sleeping on the streets, or trying to find shelter in the cold and rain. I've never taken what I have for granted, but it was a wake up call, nonetheless.
I once saw a man in Georgia cross the street in ratty clothes and carrying a tattered card board sign, pull out a set of car keys, and climb into a Porsche. Because of this, I've never been one to give change, and instead, have chosen to give food. I've been known to buy entire meals to give to those sitting on the streets, and always offer my leftovers when walking back to my car after dinner out, but I always leave them feeling as if it wasn't enough.
I'm not naive to the fact that some are on the streets because of addiction or other problems, but some are there purely because of chance. When I was a senior in high school, my family home burned down. We were fortunate enough to live in a small community, and were a relatively well known family. My father managed one of the only drug stores in town, my mother worked for the local school district, and my brothers and I had been in the same town all our lives. When news traveled that we were suddenly homeless, the community embraced us, and we never had to know the pain of sleeping on the streets, or wondering how we were going to eat. Many people aren't as lucky.
It's with this, that I've come to the conclusion to create a cookbook created by hungry people (you), for hungry people, with 100% of the proceeds going to a charity to help feed the homeless. This blog is going to chronicle what I'm doing to make this hopeful dream into a helpful reality, but my first step, needs the help of you and everyone you know. That melt in your mouth chicken your friends always demand, the famous guacamole your sister is known for, your mom's delicious spinach mango smoothie, even grandma's peach cobbler...whatever you eat or drink, I want the recipe (as long as it hasn't previously been published).
Please follow and share this blog, and if you, or someone you know would like to help, please email the recipe to homelesscookbook@gmail.com. Please include your name, and where you're from, if you'd like that included in the book. The more people who share, the more people we could potentially help. And remember, helping feed those on the streets could be as easy as writing down your favorite recipe.
No comments:
Post a Comment