Kids Against Hunger

I had the privilege this weekend of serving the hungry of Haiti by helping prepare meals for them. Our church sponsored a drive for Kids Against Hunger where about 200 people over 4 hours packaged over 70,000 meals to be shipped to Haiti. It was a great experience that taught me just a little as to what it is like to be hungry. The meal was a rice based concoction of vegetables, soy, minerals and vitamins. They developed these ingredients to make an affordable way to get food to those that need it the most. You can find out more about it here. I am not a dietitian, but it looks like a great meal for the hungry in the world. I did get a chance to taste it, and while I wouldn't want to live on it, it was not bad. The rice was a little bland and pasty, but it is packed with nutrients.

The assembly line process they have down to a science. A group of about 10 people can put out hundreds of meals per hour. I do not know our exact count but it was probably around 200-250 in an hour and a half. We had 4 people dumping ingredients into the bag, 2 people weighing the bags, and 2 people sealing and packing away the bags.

I would encourage you to look at Kids Against Hunger's Website http://www.kidsagainsthunger.org/index.shtml and look for volunteer opportunities or even just donating resources. It is an amazing opportunity.

Food For Thought

Litterally, food for thought. I'm sitting downstairs eating dinner which happens to be chicken tortilla soup, and thinking about things. I have recently realized that I am really into gadgets. This goes back quite a ways for me. I used to LOVE Swiss Army Knives.  Whenever we would go into a sporting goods store it was my favorite section/enclosed box.  In high school I was the first to own a pocket PC.  For those of you that don't know what that was, it was a smart phone without the phone.  Some people called them Palm Pilots.  The iPhone has been my most recent desire, but I have settled for the iPod Touch.  I chose the iTouch, because it comes without the $70+/month contract.

But there is something new on the horizon.  Or should I say something new on the Verizon?  The rub with switching to the iPhone is leaving Verizon and signing up with AT&T.  It would end up costing my wife and I probably around $50/month more than we pay now.  That is a lot of dough!

This phone runs Android, which is Google's operating system.  I use Google's suite of products, so this is very appealing to me.  Most importantly, it has an app for Google Voice, which means a GV account could run seamlessly on a mobile phone with all the features, and the same great cost.

Here's where thinking has to start happening.  There is still a cost difference.  First of all it would be $200 to purchase which is reasonable, but there is more.  Secondly there will be a $30/month charge for a data plan.  This comes with a 2 year contract, so the total EXTRA price for the phone would be around $900.

Where I come from $900 is a good chunk of change for no more functionality than I currently have other than mobile Internet. (aka data plan)  For example, that $30/month could go to support a missionary, buy food for a food bank, or feed a hungry child. 

I have a lot in this world, and live a very comfortable life.  Most people that read this blog (both of them) are also comfortable and not hungry.  I do not say this to condemn spending, I am just journaling some realizations I have come to.  I'm also not saying I will not some day buy a data plan for a mobile phone.  What I will say, is that I need to do a better job of looking at what I spend, determine if it is a need or a want and also determine if by passing on that want I can meet a need of someone less fortunate.