Like everyone else who has visited the food program, I was absolutely blown away with the patience, love and order of the whole event.  As I scanned the room taking pictures of the children savoring their meal, I noticed a significant number of children taking a few bites of their food and packing the rest away in a Tupperware container they had brought along.  I turned to Porfil, one of the food program helpers and inquired what would become of the saved food.  Porfil told me that most of the children bring the remaining food home to share with their sick parents or younger siblings who are too weak or small to travel to the food program, or even simply to save food for the morning when their stomachs start to growl again.  Hearing this, I was absolutely amazed at the restraint and compassion of these children.  If I were starving, would I be able to only take two bites of the delicious, hot food and save the rest for later or for other people?  I would hope so, but I couldn’t even imagine having horrible hunger pains, having warm delicious food presented before me, and having the self-restraint as a 6 year old to not impulsively gobble it all up.  The demeanor and compassion of these young children shows experience and wisdom beyond their years.

-Caitlin Szymanski, Assistant Director