Feeding the Homeless

A couple of times a year I help feed the homeless in my city. It's no big deal to them that I do this - there are hundreds of volunteers - but it's a very big deal for me.

It's rewarding and humbling.

In my last posting I wrote about the New Yorker article by Ian Frazier called "Hungry Minds." (May 26th issue.) He writes about holding writing workshops at a soup kitchen in The Church of the Holy Apostles in Manhattan.

This soup kitchen's first day was in 1982 when they served about 35 meals. Now they serve hundreds and hundreds. Every day. It takes hundreds more dedicated volunteers to pull this off.

Some cook, some serve, some keep order. From time to time some politicians stop by to serve - and have a photo op. Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, who live in the area (Chelsea) have volunteered. Frazier, talking about the people who help keep order when (daily) fights break out, says of them,

"They step between the arguers, they remonstrate with them quietly, and soon the shouting dies down. The way they are completely firm and at the same time completely kind should be studied in the U.N."

It also should be studied by some parents.

When asked why they continue to do this day after day one of the pastors said, "Well, we do this because Jesus said to feed the hungry. There's no more to it than that. Jesus told us to take care of the poor and the hungry and those in prison."


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