Feeding the hungry

“For I was hungry and you gave me food …”
“Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you? …”
“Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.”
— Matthew 25: 35, 37, 40

In the most basic sense of the word, I fed the hungry last week.

Allow me to elaborate. On any given day at the Boys and Girls Club, it is not unlikely to have a half dozen or so kids come up and ask me if I have a dollar, a dime, a quarter, or some arbitrary amount of change so that the panhandler can buy a snack or a drink from the pop machine. Typically I say, “I don’t have any money,” which is sometimes followed up by, “Well when do you get paid?” To which I usually smugly reply, “I don’t get paid.” I should add that the club gets free snacks to give to the kids who don’t have enough money to buy their own snack. I usually recommend the kid try to chase down one of these if they are asking me for money.

I should also add that, unfortunately, there appear to be a few kleptomaniacs that frequent the club. Therefore dollars left in backpacks (or free in a cubby) do not last long. This was the case on Thursday when the younger kids came back downstairs from being in the game room and computer room. One young girl, who is always generous buying snacks for other kids or sharing her change, didn’t get to have her snack earlier due to participating in SMART Moves. Not unlike many other dollars, hers had mysteriously disappeared.

She came up to me and explained how she was so hungry. Though I tried my usual answer of, “Have you gotten a free snack?” there were none left. Her usual kindness and generosity moved me to go to my purse, retrieve one dollar bill and one dime. (This happens to be the same little girl who gave me many birthday gifts.) I proceeded to explain that I would buy her the snack of her choice, as a much belated birthday gift to her. She chose a bag of Cheetos that she eagerly grabbed and ate (and, I feel I must mention, she shared with her friend).

I like to think that somehow in this small act of kindness toward a seven-year-old, I have essentially fed Christ.