ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Wonderful Way to Launch the Season

Thanksgiving marks the traditional start of the holiday season, and also of a time when people are more likely to think of the less fortunate.

Last weekend, Boy Scouts fanned out across Orange County to collect food. About 20,000 Scouts, parents and volunteers from county National Guard units helped in the annual food drive, an impressive turnout. Equally noteworthy was the bounty: nearly 400,000 pounds of food. A Boy Scouts spokesman said the canned food would be distributed to 280 agencies throughout the county.

The need for assistance is obvious to anyone who drives around the county. Homeless men and women--and too often, children--sleep in parks; the lucky ones have cars to protect them from the cold. At freeway off-ramps and street medians, people display signs offering to work for food.

Even for those with roofs over their heads, hunger can be a problem. In Irvine last weekend, the annual outreach program of Irvine Temporary Housing Inc. distributed holiday food baskets to about 150 families in the city. Local businesses, religious groups and service organizations donated the food, and deserve support for their efforts. The baskets included not just Thanksgiving provisions but enough food to last a week. In Los Alamitos, volunteers from We Care of Los Alamitos also presented food baskets, helping about 140 families.

It is a sign of the times that organizers of the Irvine event had worried they would not have enough food; they were bailed out by last-minute donations. With businesses closing and the survivors facing tough times, it has become more difficult to find companies and individuals with money to give, officials of many charitable organizations said. In some cases, people who in the past would have been donors of money or food now need it themselves.

But in a county known for its affluence, the charitable impulse is nice to see. One man volunteered to help distribute the potatoes and turkeys at Irvine Temporary Housing offices even though one of his arms was in a sling due to shoulder surgery. And his 12-year-old daughter struck the right note when she proclaimed the value of lending a hand in her community and helping “people get back on their feet.”

Many people in Orange County are only one or two paychecks away from going hungry. A job loss or an unexpected medical bill can push people over the edge.

Help is needed year-round, but in this season especially, it is good to share the wealth.