Two Cups of Tea at Hope’s Cafe
Before we moved to Montana we lived near a Food City grocery store. Having moved back we find ourselves living near that same store again. Before we moved, that grocery was “run of the mill,” nothing fancy or out of the ordinary. It has since been drastically remodeled. The array of goods is stunning. And, of course, as any really top notch grocery would, a Starbucks graces the entry.
Perhaps as you read this, you sense some feeling of discomfort I have. When I walk into that Food City, or any similar grocery, I am struck by the variety and abundance of food. How can a nation with so much food have so many hungry people? In 2022, 44.2 million people lived in households where there was insufficient food. That was up from 33.8 million in 2021. In 2022, those households included 13 million children experiencing food insecurity, a 45% increase from the previous year, statistics from the Department of Agriculture demonstrate.
As we enter the holidays, we are reminded to consider our blessings, to increase our awareness of how much we have to be thankful for, and to share our bounty. Since 2012 when Giving Tuesday was established, we have had an additional avenue to do just that. Henry Timms and Asha Curran of the 92nd street Y in New York, initiated Giving Tuesday while both were employed by the Y’s Belfer Center for Innovation and Social Impact. Giving Tuesday follows Black Friday and Cyber Monday in an effort to counteract so much consumerism. The event is now promoted in many other countries.
Wikipedia site reports that as an organization, “Giving Tuesday promotes the concept of ‘generosity not as a benevolence that the haves show to the have-nots but rather an expression of mutuality, solidarity, and reciprocity.’
“GivingTuesday has a global presence through 75 country movements spanning the world, each representing their own cultures and needs, while remaining united in their determination to mobilize their countries around generosity and shared humanity.”
Donations have increased yearly from 28 million in 2013 to 2.7 billion in 2021. Monetary gifts are not the only way to honor the day though. Volunteering and simply offering acts of kindness are encouraged as well.
Giving Tuesday this year is December 3. Let this serve as a reminder to us, in a world that can be so discouraging, that good still exists and that we have opportunities to be agents of that good.
“Kind words and good deeds are eternal. You never know where their influence will end.” H. Jackson Brown Jr.
The invitation is open to share “two cups of tea” anytime at Hope’s Café, or anywhere you share companionship and conversation.
May we be bearers of hope, the “wait staff” of Hope’s Café for each other and all those we encounter. Shalom, Kate
Hope's Cafe 
What a perfect blog post which goes along with my devotional message today on the word Ubuntu. This idea tells us we are only who we are thanks to other people. BTW, I think you may have been the person who introduced me to the term
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