Meow, miaow, mauw, nyu, nyao, miao

Went to volunteer at the 'Oregon Food Bank' garden. It was super. I met some really great folks and got to help just that tiny bit in getting food to people who need it. I picked about 2 boxes worth of green beans! and i pulled a bunch of thistle. ouch. there was a little tiny wild rabbit running through the brush as I was on the hunt for the pokey thistle that was soon going to get to the tasty produce crops. not anymore though...it's all gone.

I learned some interesting facts about the state of Oregon, the food bank, and it's low-income population and how many people need their assistance. It's astounding.

• They go through about 1 million pounds of food A WEEK!
  
• Granted they provide food for the entire state of Oregon....that is still a lot of hungry people.
  
• A family of four making minimum wage, 2 working parents = 32k/year. And just for the basics, like...medical, food, heat, rent in a 2 bedroom apt., public transportation...i mean the basics. This doesn't include school clothes or fun spending, it costs 40k/year, so these families are already falling short just for the basics. Interesting to see actual numbers. A lot of us know this already but when you put numbers to it, it seems to be more real.
• 19,000 people volunteer each year.
• First food bank in the country that was built for the sole purpose of being a food bank.
  
• So many other interesting things to learn. Most importantly, everyone should be able to put food on the table and they are making it happen. Kudos to them!

The food bank is an awesome community based non-profit. I plan on being a part of it.

If any of you all want to go with me sometime or go on your own...let me know! And if gardening ain't your thing, there are many other things you could do to help out.