The long, winding line of vehicles could very well be interpreted in many different ways. Perhaps it is a queue of people anxiously waiting to enter a stadium parking lot to see their favorite sports teams in action? The exhaust from the cars’ pipes heat up an already hot summer afternoon. Or maybe they are just waiting to fill up their thirsty fuel tanks at a local petrol station.
No, we are in the middle of a pandemic, with millions of people out of work because very few are shopping, traveling or working. In our land of plenty, also known as America, its out-of-work citizens are desperately trying to put food on their empty dining room tables for their family.
So that long line of vehicles are people waiting for free food baskets sponsored by a local food bank. Back during the Great Depression days, the line would be literally blocks-long of hungry people standing in front of a soup kitchen. You’ve seen those sepia-looking photos of soup kitchen lines during the depression.
Today, however, the line is miles-long of people in their cars, some even luxury brands. California is certainly the world’s center of car-culture.
Here in California nearly 4.3 million people are encountering hunger, or what some call food insecurity. And, of this hungry population of Californians, one in seven children struggle with hunger.
