Pam Dobbs is shopping for food. Lots of food. Enough to feed quite a few families struggling to get by in Wiggins, Mississippi.
"It's been a big help," she says. "It's part of out mission, it's part of our ministry!"
Pam is shopping on behalf of her church and she's doing it in Mobile... at the Bay Area Food Bank. Her dollars go a long way here.
"You know there's good months, good weeks and bad weeks, and during those hard times it's a blessing to those people to be able to comeand know there's available food for them."
And if donations are up, and the food bank is also having a good month, she's likely to find what she needs... maybe even some ...
Ham!
That's right, HAM. You know, smoked and baked to a crispy brown. But at the Bay Area Food Bank, HAM stands for something else during the month of september. It means Hunger Action Month!
"The Bay Area Food Bank has decided to do a campaign called 30 Ways in 30 Days!", says Meredith Simmerman of the food bank.
"What does that mean?" I ask.
"It means that everyday someone can do something to help prevent hunger in your community."
And that's where HAM plays a roll. Through the month of September, the Bay Area Food Bank is doing something different each day to bring attention to their needs and the needs of the hungry. For example, this Wednesday, bring a can of food aboard any WAVE Transit bus and get that ride for free! It's all on their website. And it's easy to see why a Hunger Action Month campaign is needed.
"I mean, I'm looking through here and I'm seeing a lot of empty space in front of us and behind us," I tell Meredith, as we look up through the shelves."I mean, there should be food up here, right?"
"It should!" she agrees. "It should be stacked up to the very top!"
Meredith tells me that the ideas for Hunger Action Month are not limited to what's on their website. She and the staff here are hoping adults and kids and community groups will come up with ways to collect food for the food bank or just make people aware there are those among us who struggle to put food on the table.
"We have boxes and barrels that we can supply for you that say 'Bay Area Food Bank... people can bring cans, or just make a monterey donation."
And here's another delicious slice of HAM. During the month of september, the Bay Area Food Bank will be selling cool reusable grocery bags you can purchase to help support the food bank! Now THAT'S some good HAM!
Ummm-mmmm!
In Theodore, Here's Darwin, NBC 15 News.
TO LEARN MORE, VISIT THIS WEBSITE: www.bayareafoodbank.org
