When I’m out running errands, I often pass by a food bank in a rural area run by some religious group. From the signs posted at the entrance they look like they are only open on certain days and if they have ample food to give away.
On those days people drive up and form a line on the side of the road while waiting for the gate to open at 9 AM. The line usually winds back for half a mile or less from the food bank entrance. This has been the norm for several years.
As I drive down the road toward the food bank I have observed several things as I pass the line. There are usually trucks, cars, even buses filled with adults, kids, grandma, grandpa, and others. It looks like the handouts are given to each person, not each vehicle, which is why the headcount is so large per vehicle. Anyway each vehicle is packed which means a good number of people are needing assistance.
I see most of the vehicles are newer SUVs, trucks, and there were some high dollar luxury vehicles in the mix. Some have expensive after market rims and other items. I always thought I would see a bunch of junkers like my old 1995 Chevy truck, but I never see too many. There are times I’ve seen a motorhome or motorcyle.
The majority of the vehicles have handicap plates or tags hanging from the rearview mirror. What this means I don’t know but some do have empty scooter lifts on their vehicles. (Their scooter must be in the repair shop or someone stole their scooter.)
A lot of people bring lawn chairs to sit outside the vehicle or sit on the vehicle roof or hood until the gate opens and the line starts moving. Most are dressed like ex-WalMart* shoppers. Many are talking on their latest generation cellphones or Obama phones while the kids play games on the old hand-me-down phones and the old folks snooze.
This has been going on for several years and without much change. But I observed something strange last week that changed my heart. The line that morning stretched for miles and miles. I’m talking over the horizon miles. I have never seen such a long line before. I’m sure the food bank must have run out of food and closed the gate long before everyone in line got their handout. It brought a Boehner (tear) to my eye to see so many people willing to wait hours for some food that was probably past it’s expiration date or overripe.
As I passed the food bank, the gate was still locked and people were waiting to enter. I said a prayer for the ones who truly needed assistance (GOD knows) and ask him to bless them.
Folks, something IS happening and we had better get our act together before the SHTF. When the food banks shut down, it’s going to be bad news, particularly in the big urban areas. Lots of people who put their trust in government are going to starve while waiting in FEMA lines for the few MREs stored (among the millions of body bags) in the government warehouses.
Take my advice and stay away from the big cities or you may be on the menu someday.
That would be frightening except I cannot help but think that in a severe crisis many of these people would die in their cars and RV’s, with dead cell phones, on highways blocked with fleeing vehicles, from heat, cold, or after 3 days without water