(letter to the Editor of the Northern Star newspaper)
March is the season when we consider those in need and contribute to our local area emergency food shelf. Our church asks congregants to bring bags of food to set in the church aisle every Sunday in the month of March. The children bring the bags up to the altar as part of our offerings. It is a joy to watch the little children struggling to carry all the generous contributions up to the front of the church. What a good lesson for them!
I've found a way to get three benefits from this March food drive:
1) Helping others. Our friends and neighbors, sometime unbeknown to us, use the Big Stone Area foodshelf. Some for the first time ever- after many years of hard work and frugal living.
2) Support local business: I purchase my foodshelf donations from Bonnie's Hometown Grocery on mainstreet Clinton. This helps keep a mainstreet business running and benefits all of by keeping our local grocery store healthy so we can buy our food close to home. I purchase food from the weekly specials circular to donate- healthy fruits and vegetables and staple items.
3) Buy Locally Grown Foods: Food grown by local farmers contributes directly to our farm economy. For example, Bonnie's is running a special on Dakota Growers pastas this week (March 16-21). Dakota Growers was formed by North Dakota farmers and makes their noodles in New Hope, Minnesota and Carrington, ND. So I will buy a couple couple cases of this brand of noodles and know that I'm helping keep dollars "local" (compared to foods grown and processed in China- for example). I would also like to add that when I found out that Dakota Grown has whole wheat and organic pastas, Bonnie said she would look into carrying them in the store. Bonnie has always added items to her shelves when we've asked her too.
So I encourage you to give to our local causes, support our local businesses, and support our local farmers all in one generous act.
No comments:
Post a Comment