I’m not a big fan of resolutions.

This time of year, everybody’s making them.

You know the ones I’m talking about.

Losing weight. Eating better. Exercising more. They go on and on and on.

In the past, despite all my good intentions, I found that this time of year, they just didn’t work out.

For sure, in the short time between my retirement in December 2019 and the outbreak of COVID, I resolved to join a local gym and exercise more.

Well, let’s just say the bottom fell out of all that when the gyms shut down with so many other places.

During my self-imposed pandemic quarantine there was a lot of time to think about a lot of things.

One of those things was making resolutions. Given the curve ball thrown at the world from somewhere in China, I think, I resolved to never, ever make another resolution.

Instead, I decided to try goals. They’re easier. They’re more specific and able to be reached in smaller increments. And faster rewards breed success.

It seems to have worked. I lost weight over time, sometimes a pound a week and other times 10 pounds in a month. I still have my eye on the prize - keeping that weight off - one week at a time.

It got me thinking.

This year, I thought maybe we should try the same logic in the communities where we live.

Take dealing with food insecurity, for example.

Last week, in a three-day project, reporters combined their efforts to bring attention to the burgeoning issue throughout the region.

It certainly caught my eye.

I was shocked to learn that the poverty level at Panther Valley Elementary School is a whopping 81%, rising from 57% in just six years. If I’m right, that means about 510 students are eligible for free or reduced price lunches. That’s a lot of hungry kids and probably a lot of families struggling with groceries.

With population trends in the district rising, more hungry kids are on the way.

Over at the West End Food Pantry in Eldred Township, Monroe County, a spokesman there said the pantry handled more than 1 million pounds of food, the equivalent of two empty Boeing 747 airliners.

More than 23,000 people were served. About one third of them were older adults, struggling to cope with rising food bills when increases in utilities, taxes, gasoline and other necessities of life outpace Social Security payments that average nationally about $1,500 a month.

Costs are a factor in Jim Thorpe, too, where organizers at Ebenezer Evangelical Congregational Church say the escalating cost of food is driving up the numbers of people they serve at their food pantry.

Staples of everyday life - things like breakfast cereal and canned corn - are in high demand but short in supply.

And supplies can often be a problem for the four food pantries that serve Tamaqua and the surrounding areas.

Growing needs and rising prices certainly make keeping the pantries stocked a bit difficult. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index said food costs increased 3.2%, and the only way they’re heading is up.

The federal Department of Agriculture says that in 2022, one in eight households - roughly 12.8% - depended on food pantries, up from 10.8% in 2020.

All this considered, the region is in a tough spot when it comes to feeding its neighbors and residents.

One of the best things people can do to help is set a goal assisting the pantries in their efforts.

Small, specific things - each of them a personal goal - can help.

• Maybe someone can volunteer at the distribution events, or when food supplies arrive to help unload and organize items.

• Organize a neighborhood collection of money or food to be forwarded to a local pantry.

• Offer transportation to and from the events, especially to elderly recipients in the coming cold days ahead.

The possibilities are limited only by someone’s imagination.

Think out of the box.

Whatever anyone can do regularly and dependably on their own - weekly, daily or monthly - can combat area hunger. It doesn’t have to be a big undertaking. One small thing can lead to another small goal that individuals and organizations can find rewarding.

Planning, coordinating and combining goals can help any number of community issues, one small step after another.

And in this case, fill the bellies of a bunch of hungry youngsters.

ED SOCHA/TNEDITOR@TNONLINE.COM

Ed Socha is a retired newspaper editor with more than 40 years experience in community journalism. Reach him at tneditor@tnonline.com.

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.