According to experts, hunger is the “painful” or uneasy sensation that results from not having enough food.” With help from Poughkeepsie city funding, individual and group contributions, donations of food in-kind, and a stalwart group of community caregivers, 2007 marks the twenty-fifth year that hungry people in and around Poughkeepsie can go someplace to ease the pain – Dutchess Outreach’s Lunch Box.

On that first day in 1982, bologna sandwiches were available in the dining room of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church for the dozen or so people that wandered in. Yesterday, a mixed plate of hot food was served to almost tow hundred people, at the Lunch Box’s current home in the Family Partnership Center (FPC).

The menu and other things may have changed, but one thing remains certain – the commitment of the people in the area to see no one goes hungry. Almost every day, a miracle – or, rather, a series of little miracles – happens at the Lunch Box. People from all walks of life – faith groups of all kinds, businesses from healthcare to hardware, college students, retirees, youth programs, school teams, summer caps, judges, coaches, teachers, and farmers – at some point during the year, give to others what they c an. It may be their time, their food, their money, their expertise or other capital; but, above all, they give them selves. They share their humanity.

People cannot stomach the thought of those around us going without food. It is intrinsic – it has to be. In the last fifteen years or so that I have been among the leaders at Dutchess Outreach, we have never done a volunteer recruitment program for the Lunch Box. Ask out Volunteer Administrator, Carol Beck. Her appointment calendar and voice mail are filled with messages like “I hear you have a program that helps people… I want to help. What can I do?” And, while we have some groups (like the much her alded “Tuesday Ladies and Jack”) who have served consistently for more than 20 years, we always have new groups joining in on what we do. As the Lunch Box celebrated its silver anniversary, there’s now even more they can do. If people want to lend a hand we will find a way.

Today, the Lunch Box is the heart of four different Dutchess Outreach anti-hunger efforts, and this year we are developing a fifth. In addition to the mid-day meal service, meals are prepared and packaged for delivery all around Dutchess County to those homebound with HIV/AIDS through the GIFTS program. For the last few years, another thirty meals have been prepared in the Lunch Box kitchen for evening service to young people in the Family Services’ Teen Program at the FPC. We now provide soup and sandwi ches to emergency shelter placements through the DC Coalition for the Homeless on a daily basis, when people are sent to locations where no food service is available. Instead of a cold sandwich on winter nights, they can fortify themselves with something more substantial.

This spring, we began developing an evening meal program that will serve dinner during the last week or each month at the Lunch Box. We hope to develop a regular group of providers, much like we have for Sunday Lunch Box service.

We hope that for everyone who shows up for dinner, it will be at least their second meal of the day. We have always believed that, for many, lunch from Dutchess Outreach may be their sole source on nutrition. As I have reported in the past, based on USDA surveys and our fiaith in people to tell the truth, we can say that number is one in five. I may not have convinced everyone yet, but let Vicky’s voice speak the loudest, “I really appreciate the hot hearty meal I receive at the Lunch Box. It’s sometime s the only meal I get a day. Thanks.”

So when we look back at the last 25 years, what can we say? Have we ended hunger in the neighborhood? The studies say we have stopped severe hunger, which is defined as going without food for 24 hours or more on a regular basis. Have we demonstrated what a concerned group of people united to address a serious social problem can accomplish? Oh, yes! Congratulations everyone! And spread the news. For I must warn you, we cannot rest on these laurels. Despite the obvious need and the community’s affirmat ion of its effectiveness, federal and local public support is declining. The future holds some uncertainty, but I am confident, as long as it’s needed, those who have will share with those who have not. Whether it’s a hot meal, a winter coat, formula for an infant or a roof overhead, I am sure. Thank you, everybody. This is a group effort, you can see, and a big one at that.