Filling the Hungry with Good Things

It's the season of big meals, baking traditions, candy and treats. Overeating, overconsumption of sugar, "over-" almost everything. At least for some of us. We are aware of the needs of community pantries and programs that provide meals for our brothers and sisters who are in need. Please continue to support those organizations in your community. Mary sings in the Magnificat that her child will fill the hungry with good things but send the rich away empty (Luke 1:53, Advent 4B).

But there are other brothers and sisters whose needs may go unnoticed, not only at this time of year but all year long. It isn't that these brothers and sisters are far away from food. In fact, this group is intimately involved in the food industry. They are the servers, dishwashers, cooks and others who often go unnoticed while the rest of us are dining out and enjoying our food. Did you know that the food service industry posts the highest rates of drug and alcohol abuse as well as very high rates of divorce and broken relationships? And food service workers often come from the most vulnerable segments of society: single parents, teens, immigrants, minorities, ex-felons.

Who is doing something? Big Table. Born in Spokane, Washington in 2009, Big Table is building a community of care for workers in the restaurant and hospitality industries. They have great ideas:

• the UNEXPECTED 20, 
• Dinners for 48 (where the food service workers are the guests!)
• the (current) Holiday Blitz. 

Click on the link above (the highlighted text, not the logo) to find out more. And as you enjoy table fellowship in restaurants and at catered parties during this season, remember all the workers who are making your fellowship possible.

Thanks, Big Table!