Until recently, fighting hunger wasan idea I was exposed to twice a year through food drives around the holidays. Mymom would send me to school with a few cans of peas and that was my contributionto the fight against hunger.

Thanks to a community service club at myschool, I now know just how far a few cans can go. The first time I went to ourlocal food bank last fall, I was with a group of 20 club members who made thejourney to the other side of the city to help make a difference. We saw a shortfilm and were shown how to package the goods. Then, we were put towork.

For two hours, I searched through thousands of cans, throwing awayold ones and passing the good ones to a person who boxed them. We sorted andboxed over 2,000 pounds of food for families in need.

In a matter of twohours, I contributed to the feeding of a thousand people. The feeling I got thatfirst time was so wonderful that I have returned several times. Taking a few cansto school around the holidays is great, but there is so much more I can do. Thefood bank seems like a great place to start, and you know what? I don't have towait for holiday food drives, because cans are always accepted at the food bank.