C-Rations

A couple of weeks ago, we ran into our neighbors at the local bakery. They were buying baguettes and handing out fliers for a charitable effort they were organizing for Haiti. I have a fair number of friends who volunteer for worthy organizations, put on events of various types, and I generally try to participate. This one, though, was on an alarming scale. The goal: a half million meals for Haiti in three days. It seemed too big to succeed, but I figured I would do my part so I could at least hold my head up at the Memorial Day block party.

It was a bit unusual in a genius sort of way. Participants had to make a donation AND volunteer time--90 minutes, to be exact. This ensured that the cost of material would be matched 1:1 to the effort to assemble said materials. To be sure, one could donate money or time independently and the two would be united by the organizers. Like most people, I chose to do both.

I showed up at the site at my appointed hour in some remote industrial park. The place looked like an airplane hanger. Once inside, I was relieved of my $25 donation and ushered to the glove and hairnet station. It is a look that is a great equalizer, trust me. Seconds later, I was assembled into a team of eight people and we were each handed a cardboard box into which meals would be packed. We were led to our very own trestle table and given our instructions. By virtue of where I happened to be standing, my job was to hold a bag under a funnel while four fellow volunteers added soy, dehydrated vegetables, a scoop of vitamin powder, and a dollop of rice to each bag. Then to the weigher who added or subtracted rice, the heat sealer, and finally the packer. We may not have been the fastest team in the building, but we were pretty good. We finished our allotted 1700 meals fifteen minutes early, due in large part to the fact that we had no children on the team. (We did have some seniors, one of whom, as he was prompted again for the rice, admitted he was daydreaming about fishing.) As we exited the building, I was tempted to circle back around for another shift.

Alas, I could not, as we were expecting dinner guests. So, on to Whole Foods, where I spent the equivalent of 1000 meals for Haiti on appetizers, salad, and dessert ingredients. The worst part is that I did not even appreciate the irony at the moment. It is all well and good to participate in charitable drives, and I am glad I did. The hard part in amending one's behavior and learning to think on a global scale every day. I'm still working on that one.

In the meantime, Meals for Haiti exceeded the goal of 500,000 meals. Each meal feeds six--dinner for over three million people. Bon Appetite Haiti.