VALDOSTA —
Imagine waking up with an empty belly, stomach cramps, and feeling lightheaded — and having no way to make that feeling go away because there is no food in the house to speak of.
Hunger, or more correctly, food insecurity, affects millions of Americans, and thousands of south Georgians. And more often than not, the individuals most affected are the elderly and children, who are disproportionately represented in hunger statistics. It’s estimated that nationwide, nearly 21 percent of all children live in poverty, nearly 9 percent of those 65 and older live in poverty, and food insecurity affects more than 50 million Americans.
Despite the assistance available to families, such as SNAP (formerly the food stamp program), free school lunches, and WIC (Women, Infants, and Children’s program), there are still many meals missed by those living in food insecure households. Second Harvest of South Georgia does its best to help fill in the gaps for children and adults, providing food boxes for families in need, but the need is growing greater with each passing year.
Second Harvest is sponsoring Make a Difference Day Saturday and they are still in need of volunteers. They need individuals who will make a difference in the lives of others who live around them, work around them, wait on them in restaurants, fix their cars, are taught in local classrooms, and who are in need of a helping hand.
If you are interested in making a difference Saturday from 8 a.m. until noon, contact Second Harvest and volunteer your time to help sort, box, clean, stack, and any other task they may assign. You can go online to www.valdostafoodbank.org or call the agency at (229) 244-2678.
What We Think
Make a difference Saturday
- What We Think
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Historic day celebrated
On January 1, 1863, Pres. Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, announcing that all persons held as slaves within the rebellious areas are and henceforth shall be free.
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How this garden grew
A special-needs couple wanted a garden. A teacher not only wanted to teach gardening skills but she also wanted to instill a sense of community purpose within her young students.
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Happy Father’s Day
He beamed with pride on our birth. He understood worry upon our birth. He is the giant by which we would judge all men. He protected us. He provided for us. He often sacrificed time with us to provide for us. He spent time with us.
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Thumbs up
THUMBS UP: To Stevie Young of Valdosta. The owner of Artistic Taxidermy, Young won Best in the World, Turkey, in the 2013 World Taxidermy Championship. His eastern wild turkey display dominated the competition, earning him the distinction of best in the world. Another title for TitleTown!
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Canning preserves food, way of life
When the going gets tough, the tough getting canning. Valdosta-Lowndes County residents have this opportunity.
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PSST!: Round Two!
With tonight’s opening of “The Marvelous Wonderettes,” Peach State Summer Theatre presents its second show of the 2013 season.
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A responsible fix for pets
The photo and story in Sunday’s paper about the dog whose owners had left him tied up with an electrical cord elicited a tremendous response from readers, outraged at the dog’s treatment.
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A band-aid in a crisis?
The announcement Monday by the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities that a crisis stabilization center will be built in Lowndes County is good news for some, not so great for others.
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Slowing down for summer
Twenty-some years ago, it seemed Valdosta and South Georgia slowed down for the summer. School was out. Controversies seemed to dwindle. People seemed to work shorter hours despite the longer days.
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Storms: Of preparation and prayer
If you haven’t already, maybe this morning in church would be a good time to say a prayer of thanks that Tropical Storm Andrea blessed us with some much-needed rain while sparing us the overwhelming catastrophe that weather has wreaked upon the Midwest in recent weeks.
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Historic day celebrated
