tribute

[dichroic]

A death was mentioned on my local news this morning that was probably not on yours, unless you live in Arizona. I don't think many people know the man's name (I didn't) so I want to add my small mite to his recognition. John van Hengel founded St. Mary's food bank here, the very first food bank in the world. Later, he went on to found America's Second Harvest, the US food-bank network, and to consult on food banks in other countries. Food banks, you probably know, collect food that would otherwise be thrown out by restaurants and groceries - basically, the modern equivalent of the practice of gleaning. (Actually, in the early days they did gather fruit left on trees and grain unharvested in fields - I don't know if they still do.) They feed people for almost no cost, by preventing waste.

It's a brilliant idea, but it's obvious a huge amount of work was required to make it functional, and I wanted to pay tribute to both the brilliance and the toil.