Published September 13, 2018, by Frank Gerjevic. 

When you’re hungry, the long run doesn’t mean much. When your kids are hungry, it means even less.

That’s why United Way of Anchorage has for years been the driving force for the Day of Caring Food Drive. This year’s drive is Friday at the Food Bank of Alaska, 2121 Spar Ave.

We share the food bank’s conviction that no one, especially no child, should suffer hunger in this land of plenty.

Over the last decade, United Way has increased its focus on the long run, such as better education and health care, more housing, financial literacy. The goal is to build a community in which emergency help is always available — while fewer people need that help.

But we also understand that we don’t live in some abstract long run. We live day by day, and if you haven’t got enough to eat, or can’t afford heat, the present is cold and hungry and the future belongs to someone else.

That’s why we operate the 2-1-1 Helpline, to get callers and online visitors to the help they need ASAP.

And that’s why we hope Friday’s food drive runs strong from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. May food bank staffers and volunteers be worked to the max.

Long-range change and meeting immediate needs are not mutually exclusive goals. The family that’s hungry today may need to learn about budgeting, but not today. So on Friday we fill the cupboard to make sure that everyone can feed their kids and themselves. That’s sustenance, and that’s step one in the long run.

Click here for a list of the most-needed items.