For the Foreseeable Future

We served 100 people on Dec. 29th.

The first clue was the number of boxes that were stored in the walk-in freezer; they barely fit in my station wagon. (The good people of St. Pius closely monitor the need.) The second hint was the number of cars and bicycles in the crowded parking lot.

Over the years the number of customers for a free Sunday hot meal at the Redwood City community center has ranged between 50 and 80. Lately it's risen toward the high end of the scale. Today we counted 100. One of our volunteers ran out to buy more roast chicken, which she carved at the picnic table. I baked an extra tray of chicken and rice, while someone brought more salad. Everything was consumed, and all the brown-bag lunches prepared by St. Pius were snapped up.

The likely reason for the increased traffic to Sandwiches on Sunday is the recent cut in food stamp allotments. As one who strongly prefers private charity programs to the incredible waste, fraud, and abuse of government transfer programs, I'll have to put my money and time where my mouth is, and it's likely I'll be doing so for the foreseeable future. © 2013 Stephen Yuen