Tonight on ABC7 news, I was pleased to see a story of an up-beat nature for a change. The feature was on Anna Chan, a woman from Clayton who, in her own words has been running a “one-woman fruit harvesting campaign against hunger!” Anna has been collecting the spare fruits and vegetables growing in the gardens of the people in her community, with their permission of course. And the community is more than happy to donate their extra produce to Anna, who has been dubbed “The Lemon Lady”. After Anna goes around collecting the fruits and vegetables she takes them to local food pantries. She also organizes a community garden to grow additional produce for her campaign. The message of her mission is quickly spreading.
Local heroes like Anna are much needed. According to the statistics posted on the website for the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano, children make up 33% of those who need emergency assistance. It’s a travesty when any child goes hungry, but many people don’t realize the epidemic that exists in neighborhoods all over America. The efforts that Anna is making speak volumes about the spirit of goodwill that does exist. It also shows what one person can do: in just a few months Anna has collected over 8000 pounds of produce to help feed the hungry! Feeling inspired yet? There’s a wealth of information about things you can do to get involved on the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano’s website. A simple thing is to gather some of your non-perishables to donate. Food Banks usually put containers outside of grocery stores so people can drop off their non-perishables, making it very easy to give. Anna points out that the food banks also accept produce, so don’t stop at soup cans! You can also follow in Anna’s footsteps and collect your neighbor’s spare fruit and vegetables, or start a community garden to donate food for the hungry. Volunteering at your local food bank or soup kitchen is also an option for those eager to help.
People like Anna “The Lemon Lady” give us hope and restore our faith in humanity. We all need to hear that there are plenty of people fighting the good fight. Those kinds of people never disappeared; unfortunately the flashy stories, the stories that focus on the seedier side of human beings, often drown out the ones about people like Anna. But what a breath of fresh air it was to hear her story! Get involved, spread the word and one by one we can all bring truth to the cliché “that one person can make a difference”. Follow Anna’s blog to get updates on what she and others are doing to stamp out hunger, and join the cause in your community!
The Educational and Technological Monopoly