Fight hunger in the United States

At the time of this post, 6,162,118,356 pounds of food have already been wasted this year in the US. That's over 6 billion pounds. And January's not even over yet. All this, while more and more people are food insecure, or hungry or at risk of hunger. This describes urban, rural and suburban folks, children, senior citizens and families, the working and the unemployed. But you can help. Here's how:

Visit America's Second Harvest to learn more about hunger and food distribution in the US. On their site: you can:

* Learn more about hunger in the Unites States. Get the facts. They are sure to motivate you to act.

* Identify a food bank near you. Here you can get services for yourself or for someone in need. Or you can volunteer, or donate food or money.

* Give funds. Every dollar puts 15 meals on the table. Every little bit helps.

* Give food. Learn how to donate excess perishable food from your wedding, party, conference, or other gathering. Get information on how to conduct a food drive.

* Give time. Find volunteer opportunities near you. People are needed every day to sort, distribute and deliver food.

And here are two suggestions for cutting down on waste from my own life.

* Let people (children too) serve their own plates. My grandmother's rule was that we could always have seconds but had to eat whatever we put on our plates. Less waste saves money. If you don't need to save money, do so anyway and donate it to an organization that fights hunger.

* According to my mother, as a child my eyes were always bigger than my stomach when we'd go out to eat at the local cafeteria after church. After several weeks of me ordering food and not eating it, she decided to make me pay for the food I didn't eat out of my allowance. I stopped wasting food.

So when you sit down for your next meal, consider those who are without. Then do something to combat hunger in your community. It's a solvable problem, we just have to work at it. It's the right thing to do.