We’ve been hearing a lot these last few years about the growing inequities in our society, the widening gap between rich and poor, and the struggles of those who live in poverty to achieve a decent standard of living. We’ve also been hearing about “food insecurity” a new term that’s emerged recently to describe those large numbers of people in our society and across the world who aren’t sure where their next meal is going to come from or whether they’ll have enough food to make it through the end of the month.

We see evidence of food insecurity here at Grace. The constant stream of visitors to our food pantry is evidence of the difficulties people have to acquire adequate food. Typically, the number of visitors spikes in the last days of the month as people who subsist on disability, or social security, or SNAP—food stamps—find their resources inadequate for the month. It’s especially heartbreaking and ironic to see a line of people waiting for the pantry doors to open on Saturday morning while a few steps away thousands of people are gawking at the bounty of the Dane County Farmer’s Market. But that’s life in 21^st century America. Continue reading →