A Gift to Remember

Next Saturday, a train will wend its way through Ventura County bearing a freight of hope for the hungry.

Food Share--an organization whose local branch started 22 years ago in a two-car garage--now feeds 38,000 people each month. During the holidays, the number of people dining courtesy of the food bank climbs to 43,000 a month. For that reason alone, it would be worth showing up, cans or packages in hand, to meet Amtrak’s Holiday Hunger Train at 12:30 p.m. in Camarillo or 12:45 p.m. in Oxnard. Food Share will channel your contributions directly to your neighbors in need, as it does throughout the year.

A can of beef stew, a package of spaghetti, a jar of peanut butter: They’re gifts that most of us would see as gags. But thousands of impoverished Ventura County residents wouldn’t even think of laughing; that can of tuna or box of oatmeal could well provide the day’s main meal for a toddler or for a senior, and there’s nothing funny about it.

Bring two cans or packages of nonperishable food to the Holiday Hunger Train and you’ll receive even more than the gratification of sharing with the less fortunate. Your gift will also entitle you to a free child’s Amtrak ticket for use from January through March, as well as a chance to win a trip to San Diego’s SeaWorld.

And bring the kids. There will be music and holiday goodies, and Santa will put in an appearance at all 11 stations between San Diego and Santa Barbara.

More important, though: A simple act of charity might just be the Christmas gift your children remember long after their Tekno dog emits its last computer-simulated bark.