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Editorial: Help Lions fight hunger
Op-Ed · October 16, 2014
We would like to encourage readers to seriously consider helping package food for the not only important but exceptionally meaningful Hoover Hunger Project on Oct. 25.
It always seems that someone is asking for donations of time, talent and/or treasure, but this event, organized by the West Branch Lions Club, also comes with the added significance of happening in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the state funeral of President Herbert Hoover.
That is not a coincidence.
Working with the Hoover Presidential Foundation, the Lions Club chose to organized a food drive of sorts because that was how Hoover first rose to worldwide fame, even though the “fame” was unintentional on his part.
As head of the U.S. Food Administration, Hoover, driven by his Quaker heritage, used his organizational skills and his engineering training to raise millions of dollars to ship food overseas to those starving, mostly in Belgium, during World War I. Those efforts saved millions and earned him the title of “The Great Humanitarian.”
The Lions Club project is purchasing the meals at 25 cents each and will package them on Oct. 25 at the West Branch High School east gymnasium. With the roughly $21,000 raised, they will be able to buy enough food to feed some 87,000 people.
That’s enough to feed everyone in this city every day for more than a month. The Lions Club plans to send half of the food packages to area food banks, the rest will go overseas.
To make this all happen, though, will require a lot of help, up to 150 volunteers. The Lions Club has done most of the hard work. The packaging is pretty easy, though, and can be done by volunteers “from 8 to 88” as the club called for volunteers.
What a tribute to Hoover, and toward the effort to feed the needy, to see plenty of volunteers show up for this food packaging event.
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