Contributed Report

BIRMINGHAM, AL – Around the holidays or after natural disasters it is almost second nature. Canned food collections, community dinners and churches donating meals for the less fortunate are all occurrences that we expect to follow. However, the uncertainty of where the next meal comes from does not end for many families once Christmas passes or the storm clouds clear.

In the belief that our charitable duties cease only when the demand for them no longer exists, Congressman Artur Davis and a coalition of Birmingham based charities have taken on the task of feeding the Black Belt’s needy. So far in 2005, Congressman Davis’ hunger initiative has provided $287,000 of food to approximately 2,500 Black Belt families. This year’s donations which should total some $400,000 at the year’s end, comes on the heels of $225,000 in food donations made in 2004.

The hunger initiative sparked from Davis’ public appearances across the state and around the country.

After speaking about the challenges facing the population in the Black Belt, individuals and organizations would approach him asking how they could help in the most direct way. Since starting the initiative in January 2004, Congressman Davis has offered food deliveries in all 10 of his district’s Black Belt counties. Partners in the hunger initiative have included the Christian Service Mission, Oak Mountain Ministries, Feed the Children, Society for St. Andrews, as well as Tyson Poultry.

“You see the faces, young and old, and can’t help but ask yourself, ‘what more can I do?'”, said Congressman Davis. “Too many of us develop a layer of indifference, which causes us to look past the daily struggles people in our community experience merely trying to feed themselves and their children”.

“Some might feel that government should be focused on some endeavor more grand than delivering food, but if a society cannot satisfy the most basic needs of all its citizens, how can we ever expect our country to maintain the standard of greatness associated with the name America”, concluded Davis.