Being Thankful

"Waffle"

As we enter the week of Thanksgiving here in the United States, it is a good time to pause and consider gratitude for the plenty in our lives.  Around the world millions face hunger as a daily reality.  The US Department of Agriculture estimates that 46 million Americans in 2012 face food insecurity.  Almost 15% of Americans and 1 in 5 American children go to bed hungry.

In my work with school teachers and school resource center workers, I hear heartbreaking stories of children who basically have no or little food the entire weekend they are away from school.  Some schools now send home backpacks with nutritious foods.

I am grateful my godsons Leon and Wes (AKA Waffle) -the handsome fellow in this picture- are well fed and cared for by loving parents.  Not all children are so lucky.

So, this week my recipes are focused on gratitude and useful, delicious ways to extend food that might otherwise be thrown away.