As the story of the coronavirus pandemic continues to unfold before us, certain lessons have come to the fore. Things that we already know to be true but that we don’t always pay attention to – for one reason or another. One such lesson to be remembered of is that we are all connected. Recently we’ve received a global crash course in viruses and how they spread. So, on a very real and basic level, it is very apparent that we are all connected. I breathe out, you breathe in. But there’s a subtlety and a depth to this connection as well. It’s the idea that society is no healthier than its sickest people, no richer than the poorest among them. This level of connection says that if you’re not OK, then on some level I am not OK either. Suffering manifests in many ways, and we read it in each other. The energy expands and is felt like ripples across a still water surface.
Food Bank Lines Growing Longer
As photos of food bank lines across America have begun making headlines, these ripples continue to spread. It became so clear, so fast, how tenuous our collective hold is on normalcy…the basics. For those who are working to put food on the table and a roof over their heads, it should go without saying that their basic needs are covered. But that’s just not so. It took just a paycheck or two to unravel countless lives. We are all connected. So many people are not OK right now, and the ‘US’ isn’t OK either.
Food banks across the nation from coast to coast are feeling the overwhelm. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc not only on our health but on our social structures too, almost 17 million people have applied for unemployment benefits since the crisis began. (1) As that number continues to reach ever skyward, the national unemployment rate is hovering at around 13%. This, as you might expect, brings thousands upon thousands of hungry families to the food bank in search of a helping hand. And the images are heartbreaking.
Your Local Food Bank Needs You
Heartbreaking too is the realization that while food banks struggle to keep up with the demand, food is literally rotting in fields because restaurants and schools are closed. With these huge customers out of the picture, for the time being, farmers have nowhere to send their dairy and produce. They are forced to destroy it, even as millions of their fellow Americans are in need. For the moment there’s no infrastructure in place to get the food from the fields to the food pantries in need. But that’s changing thanks to organizations like the American Farm Bureau and Feeding America, who are working on ways to bridge the gap and make the most of these precious resources.
This is a difficult and scary time for so many people, but we’re all in this together. This all may seem insurmountable, but if we all do what we can to support each other, it will be made easier. The ripple effect can spread hope and trust in each other too. If you can volunteer at your local food bank, or make a donation of your own, it all helps. It all counts. It’s all a demonstration of that innate connection we all share, and a nod to our understanding of it.
