| Hamalainen Strikes a Sympathetic Chord
Dear Bay Weekly:
I just read Aloysia Hamalainen’s Bay Reflection “Bearing the Lightness of Being” [Feb. 17-23]. What a lovely piece. I have the same relationship with my computer and have been in similar straits carrying around those heavy cannonballs with my own two daughters. Her piece struck a chord with me. And so nicely written. A pleasure to read.
—Ginny Lee, Springfield, Illinois
Harvest for the Hungry
Dear Bay Weekly:
With the economy booming, some can’t understand why there are hungry people. According to the Maryland Food Bank, however, these are still bad times for many poor people. In fact, local food collection agencies say that the demand for food is up while donations are down.
We all think of giving around the holidays, but unfortunately people are hungry every day. So having a food drive this time of year fills a critical need.
More than a million households in Maryland have just received postcards urging the donation of non-perishable foods to be picked up by letter carriers from March 11 to 18. What’ s going on?
It’s simple. Maryland 2000, the state’s millennium commission, has organized one of the biggest food drives to take place in the state: one whole week where Marylanders from across the state are donating healthy, nutritious, non-perishable food to help their neighbors in need.
Harvest for the Hungry 2000 is a unique partnership made up of Maryland 2000, the U.S. Postal Service, the Maryland and Capital Area Food Banks, CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield and the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.
The drive is relying on nearly 11,000 postal workers to collect food directly from households and the state’s 560 post offices to serve as drop-off points. Nearly 1,000 soup kitchens, food banks and shelters supported by 41,000 volunteers will be involved in this effort.
Between March 11 and 18, all residents have to do is place canned and other non-perishable food at their mailboxes or take it to a local post office. The drive is putting an emphasis on the donation of nutritious food such as canned tuna packed in water, canned vegetables and low-salt soups.
When I became chairman of Maryland 2000, I wanted to be sure that we would help people — not just have a big party. Harvest for the Hungry 2000 is one of the most significant efforts of Maryland 2000 and calls on all of us to contribute.
—William Donald Schaefer, Comptroller of Maryland
Copyright 2000
Bay Weekly
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