This column might be viewed as Pattie standing on her soapbox.

If so, so be it. I don’t do that too often.

But with Thanksgiving knocking at our door this month I’m overwhelmed with the thought of people without sufficient food.

I will do the same thing I always do for Thanksgiving — I shop for days, haul in a turkey and everything I need to make my traditional Thanksgiving meal. I also complain a lot about the high cost of food.

But I quickly follow my complaint with prayers of gratitude. I say thank you God that I can shop for food. I know I am blessed to be able to walk into a supermarket and buy what I need.

I never take that for granted. This year, that is especially true. I always pray for the people in war-torn countries who don’t know where their next meal is coming from.

This year, the absence of food is reaching closer to home. It is literally at our doorstep. Yet so many with full bellies don’t know what others are facing.

Our pastor, Father Jerry, never asks us for money. He says we are a gifting community with a willingness to be generous in our giving.

But a few weeks ago he stood in front of his congregation and told them of the great need of our St. Vincent De Paul food bank. Hundreds of people who come to SVDP for food and financial help are never turned away.

But for the first time, Father Jerry told us, we are running out of food and won’t be able to meet the great need.

He said he was sure the parish would kick in to meet that need. And they did.

We brought in so much food that we filled all the empty food barrels that were soon overflowing.

And we gave generously with money to help those most in need of financial assistance.

But few day later we were startled to learn it was all gone. The food pantry was empty and so was donated money used to help those most in need.

In all the years I’m been with our church and SVDP I never saw that happen.

I wondered how all the food could be gone and wonderer if people were coming here from afar.

Then I learned the ugly truth. People who never thought they would be in a food line found themselves there after the government shutdown, and continuous massive firings made it worse.

There is unprecedented need. We won’t point fingers or blame. But we will state we have to be part of the solution by donating what we can.

When my friend John said he couldn’t drive others to church because the back of his car was filled with “stuff” he didn’t tell us what was in the car. He didn’t want anyone to know he was filling the back of his car with food every week to help feed the needy.

There are so many stories of silent heroes who are sharing all they have.

This week a woman put a notice on social media saying she is cooking massive amounts of food for anyone who wants to come get a cooked meal.

It isn’t just our church and our community that is quietly answering the call to help. I wish more people would be aware of the depth of the problem many face.

People from all over who are aware of the food crisis are announcing their own neighborhood food drives, coming to pick up donated food and taking it to the food banks.

Or, they are doing something novel like the woman who started a charity called lasagnalove.org.

If you need food they will send a tray of homemade lasagna, provided there are volunteers near you. Or, you can volunteer to provide lasagna.

One woman who received the free lasagna was so excited with the homemade meal that she ate it for breakfast.

“We believe that kindness, big or small, is the key to strengthening our community,” said the organizer of the lasagna project.

I started this column by asking if you have enough to eat. If you do, and if you want to feel good about yourself, I hope you will be moved to help with the food crisis in some way.

Even small donations of food can add up if enough people try to help. Two boxes of cereal and a jar of peanut butter would sure be appreciated by any food bank near you.

Of course there are many ways to help others. But I especially want to help those who struggle to buy food, because I know what my mother went through when she had to support two kids without help.

She struggled to buy food, but we kids never knew it. In addition to creating great meals from next to nothing, Mom taught us always to appreciate something as simple as an orange, never to waste food and to always be ready to help others whenever we had the chance.

There is good all around us, and every time we help those in need we are part of spreading that goodness.

In this Thanksgiving season it’s a perfect time to reflect on your many blessings. And perhaps you can find a way to share a blessing with others.

Email Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net