Food Poetry Friday: The Day After

I started writing this poem with my first sip of coffee this morning. After eating too much the night before, I am reminded that 49 million Americans had food shortages in 2008, and 17 million Americans had recurring difficulty putting food on their tables this year. I poke fun of my complacency, but hope you will read to the links afterwards.

The Day After
by Julie Reinhardt

Today I wake up with the clear-eyed vision
of sleep and digested food,
A cup of coffee under my (loosened) belt
After the night-before stuffing,
Where I was basted with the feeling of abundance
Glazed over with thankfulness
Injected with the sense of family and love
I am starkly aware of my
City-fied sense of harvest
and my mild modern notice of winter edging in
That hardly means more than grapefruit from Texas, pineapple from Hawaii
Rather than the tightening of belts, of shortage, lack
I take a stand
For those stomachs around the world, bloated by hunger
And skip the hordes in protest of the gluttony of the next holiday
“Take that!” I say, (flipping the pancakes)
Even though I’ve never shopped the day after, detesting crowds
I can once again feel satisfied,
Brimming full with my good deed to those in need
And, connected to that ancestral winter
I go back
To sleep

Here are a few organizations fighting the good fight against hunger around the world:

Heifer International
Your local food bank (Greater King County listed here. Google your county to find yours)
Northwest Harvest
United Nations Food Programme
The Hunger Project

Other things you can do to learn and act:

• Read an interesting article in the Seattle Times today
• Read what Ariana Huffington wrote about the "silent tsunami of hunger"
• Volunteer or find a non-profit job at Idealist.org
• Read through Idealist's list of over 3000 organizations dedicated to erradicating hunger and donate time or money.
• Grow food in your own garden or at a local P-Patch and donate your harvest through Solid Ground to give fresh fruits and veggies to hungry and "food insecure" families.