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Source: The Eagle, Bryan, TexasAug.文件倉 15--Members of one out of every four households in Brazos County are unsure of where or how they will get their next meal, according to the nation's largest hunger-relief nonprofit group, Feeding America.The Brazos Valley Food Bank, which works daily to bridge that gap, hosted its 20th annual Feast of Caring at the Brazos Center on Wednesday to raise funds and awareness of hunger in the community.Theresa Mangapora, executive director of the food bank, said the event began as a way to alert the community to the hunger issue and to let it know that there's a simple solution."The idea of the event is very simple. It's beans and rice, a little bit of sausage, a little bit of salad," Mangapora said. "A lot of people would think that's a very provincial, a very modest meal, and that's on purpose so that it's a reminder of what would be a feast to someone who struggles to put food on the table."Every year the meal is free, but donations are accepted. Mangapora said $45,000 was raised during last year's event, and this year the nonprofit organization was hoping to break the $47,000 mark.Mangapora said people often misconceive what hunger means for families and individuals in America, likening it to famine in Third World countries where people may go days or weeks without eating."That is not domestic hunger," she said. "Domestic hunger is skipping meals, small portions, not having access to the healthy food and struggling daily to make choices. Do I pay the light bill? Do I pay my rent? Do I pay my car payment? Or do I eat? Al存倉 of those other things have consequences, big consequences, if you don't pay them. You can be homeless, you can have no car, no transportation. You can, as an individual, a human being, skip meals and still live. But I feel like that is not the ideal of what we want for Americans, it's not the ideal of what we want for folks in the Brazos Valley."Bryan Police Chief Eric Buske and College Station Police Chief Jeff Capps stood among the crowd chatting after volunteering to serve food."I think being a part of this just shows that the police department is part of the community," Buske said. "There's nothing more basic than feeding people who need to eat. The food bank does a great job of that and we just like showing our support."Daniel and Candice Vines and their children, ages 9, 8, 4, 2 and 9 months, drove from Edge to attend the lunch as a family."Helping the food bank is such an easy way to help people in the way they need it most," Daniel Vines said. "It's hard to really appreciate having food on our table every night because we haven't gone through it."A large family with several young children, Candice Vines said she wants to teach her family to always "be mindful" of others."We may always have enough food, but not everyone does," she said. "If we teach them to be helpful now, they'll grow up to be helpful later in life."To donate or learn more about the Brazos Valley Food Bank, visit .bvfb.org/events.html.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The Eagle (Bryan, Texas) Visit The Eagle (Bryan, Texas) at .theeagle.com Distributed by MCT Information Services自存倉