For the past several years our ward has sponsored the FEED the NEED 5k run as a way to earn food donations for the community's food pantry. Every year we have a few more runners and a little more food. Last year we gave away over 2,500 pounds of food. That is only enough to feed a few families for a month. The Franklin Food Pantry explained to the assembled crowd that it takes about 6,000 pounds of food per month to feed all the needy in our area. It was humbling to realize that all the food that was donated wasn't nearly enough to meet half of their needs. It felt good to help, though. I usually run, but this year I helped to make sure that the pancake breakfast was put together and that we had enough food to feed the masses. The volunteers from our ward and the branch were fantastic! We had enough pancakes, bacon, eggs, orange juice and milk to satisfy over 150 people. We had set up enough tables for 80 people (that is how many attended last year) and we should have set up for a lot more. The weather was beautiful, but cold, and the runners said that they had made some of their best times today.

If you want to learn more about Feed the Need, a non-profit organization, check out their site: http://www.feedtheneed.org.