Evidently in Abbotsford hunger takes the last summer long weekend off. What else explains the “meal gap” from lunch Saturday August 4th through lunch Tuesday August 7th, a gap of 72 long hungry hours – if hunger was not taking a Holiday that is?

Usually lunch is available Sundays and Mondays, but with hunger on Holiday the fellowship of the organizations that had taken responsibility for serving lunch on those days joined hunger on Holiday.

Imagine my surprise at finding Hunger on Holiday, as my personal experience with homelessness was that hunger was a pretty constant companion, a gnawing worry.

A simple phone call was all that was needed to set in motion the provision of lunch on Monday, that and a willingness to ask some people to volunteer some time to set up and serve lunch.

Which is what made Hunger Sunday so frustrating – another simple call and Sunday 41 for the year could have been covered with those simple, but hunger appeasing bagged lunches.

I suppose that if the sacrifice to serve lunch on this holiday weekend was to much, I should not expect the effort to give warning so those who understand the meaning of commitment could step in and serve lunch.

Hunger, need, suffering and our host of other social ills take no Holidays.

That is not to say that those who give to their community and the less fortunate in that community do not deserve holidays. It is just that being responsible adults requires making provision for those depending on us for sustenance to be served and not left hanging – and hungry.