Photo courtesy of Alameda County Community Food Bank

Hunger isn’t jolly, decked with holly or tied up with pretty ribbons. But it’s as surely a part of this holiday season as tinsel trimmed trees and spinning dreidels.

Last week, instead of ignoring the hunger epidemic, I joined many pairs of willing hands to do something about it at the Alameda County Community Food Bank. I attended a volunteer orientation, sorted cans, bagged pears and was stunned by the enormity of the operation—and the exploding need. A 44,000 square foot sorting room and 77,000 square feet of storage combine to accommodate almost 3 acres of food items—of which more than half is farm-fresh produce.

The demand for food assistance is now so great that the turnover time for all the edibles in this gigantic facility is less than 1 month. Distributing through its 275 partner agencies, 49,000 hungry people—43% are children and 19% seniors—get nutritious food from the food bank’s efforts every week. That’s a staggering 1 of every 6 Alameda County residents.

Volunteer coordinator, Sheila Burks, an inspiring dynamo in a constant blur of motion, delivers an impassioned orientation and leads a tour of the facilities.

“Everything you touch here will positively benefit someone you’ve never met,” says Burks, rallying the assembled volunteers who range from retired people with time on their hands and a desire to do good to those who need to work off their speeding tickets through community service hours. Every year, 6,000 groups and 9,000 individuals generously give their time to sort cans and boxes, bag fruit and vegetables, pack cartons of food, as well as answer the emergency food helpline (which gets more than 3,500 calls a month) and assist with office work.

Photo courtesy of Alameda County Community Food Bank

“Hunger doesn’t take a holiday,” says Burks. “And now there is a new face to hunger, people who never thought they would need to call us. A teacher who got laid off and can’t feed his kids, a massage therapist who broke her arm and can’t work, families who find they need a little help at the end of the month to make it to their next check.”

As she shows us around the huge warehouse, I meet some of the volunteers pitching in on this Wednesday afternoon. A group of 5th graders from St. Martin de Porres Catholic School in Oakland are eagerly bagging pears. They tell me “it’s fun” and “it’s good to help people” while school principal Maurice Harper, Jr. confides that, “Many of our school’s families benefit directly from food assistance. So involving students in a hands-on way empowers them.”

A majority of the food bank’s volunteers come as part of a group: company sponsored employee associations, Girl and Boy Scouts troops, religious organizations—one cohort in their 70’s and 80’s arrives faithfully every 2 weeks to fill backpacks for the Children’s BackPack Program, which provides low-income school children a bag of food to help their families through the weekend.

Looking distinguished even in their hairnets, Oakland residents, George and Jane Collier, both retired anthropology professors from Stanford University, have been volunteering at the food bank for the past three years. They enjoy the work “because it’s socially important, flexible, good exercise and you get to meet interesting people.” Today the couple is divvying up 50-pound sacks of pinto beans, scooping out 5 pounds of speckled legumes into separate plastic bags. Jane admits that she likes bean duty, compared to certain summertime assignments, such as sorting plums and kiwis, “which can get a little squishy.” As specialists in indigenous cultures of southern Mexico, the couple is worldly, well–traveled and appalled at the state of American society today. “Even the poorest indigenous people in southern Mexico have subsistence farming to grow themselves something to eat,“ says George. “The extreme income inequality in America is not found in other countries and it’s only recently—since Reagan—that we have so many homeless and hungry people.”

I find the repetitive motion of bagging scores of firm, green pears or scooping mounds of speckled beans somehow makes palpable the overwhelming hunger needs in our food-rich state. Six years ago, the Alameda County food bank went through 1,000,000 pounds of fresh produce a year. Now that million pounds, often trucked in directly from farms in 800-pound boxes, is distributed in only one month—a 12-fold increase.

While dropping a few cans of baked beans, creamed corn or cranberry sauce in one of the red and black barrels scattered around the Bay Area may feel like a quick fix, what food banks really need is cash and people-power. Because they are buying foodstuffs in such enormous bulk, they can take the couple of dollars you’d spend on one jar of peanut butter and buy half a dozen jars. The time required to process food donations also eats up a lot of resources. As this article from Slate.com makes clear, “Food dropped off by well-meaning citizens needs to be carefully inspected and sorted. A personal check, by contrast, can be used to order what’s needed without placing extra burdens on the staff.”

Besides distributing food to Alameda County’s neediest citizens since 1985, the Community Food Bank conducts several pro-active initiatives: nutrition education classes, anti-hunger advocacy and an outreach program in five languages to help people through the complicated process of applying for our under-utilized food stamp program—now called CalFresh.

After I layered a carton with cans of tuna, chili and soup, topped by boxes of cereal and rice, its 10 pounds felt formidable, like a force that might be able to keep the hunger at bay, for one family, even for a few days. I found it heartening to engage in some physical action against the exponentially increasing hunger in our community. Not surprisingly, a recent study showed that volunteering enriches your feeling of purpose, lowers your stress and actually improves your health:

Sheila Burks says, “My faith is renewed every day. I’m inspired by the volunteers. It’s phenomenally powerful to see people share their time and energy to restore the peace of mind and dignity of strangers.”

A reminder from the food bank: hunger doesn’t end when the holidays are over, the need will still be there in early 2012, even though the focus may not be.

The food bank’s website gives details on volunteering opportunities, how to donate money, organize a food drive or join the advocacy team to promote policy change.

Helpline to get same-day emergency food –- (800) 870-FOOD (3663) or 510-635-3663. Hours of operation: Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Father and son Eric and Sprocket Downing in the 2010 Supermarket Street Sweep. Photo by Koshi.

I've only been a resident of the Bay Area since 2006, but it's felt like home the moment I ditched my New York City zip code for the "Best Coast." One of the reasons I moved out here is because it's a mecca for folks who love the great outdoors, and as a lifelong cyclist, I can't imagine another place I'd rather live and play.

Ironically enough, it wasn't until I left New York that I heard about Cranksgiving. This is an annual food drive that's been going strong since 1999. It was originally organized by a group of NYC bike messengers and follows the "alley cat" format of street racing. Alleycats emulate a typical bike messenger's day. There is a "manifest" that lists the "checkpoints" -- rather like the multiple stops messengers make on their delivery route. During a typical alleycat, an individual stationed at the checkpoint will sign the manifest as proof that the participant came by. With Cranksgiving, the supermarkets serve as the checkpoints, and racers buy a list of groceries that goes directly to food pantries and other non-profit organizations.

Cranksgiving has spread around the country, and there are now over 30 benefit races at last count. San Francisco didn't have one in 2006, so I and a group of bike-fanatic friends launched the Supermarket Street Sweep (yes, the name is a riff on the old game show) to help the San Francisco Food Bank. The Sweep also adheres to the alleycat street race style, but there are two categories: Speed and Cargo. For the Speed category, cyclists race to supermarkets as fast as they can to buy all of the items on their list.

And in a hilly city like San Francisco, that's no easy feat. Contestants who'd like to be winning contenders are not only fit, but also possess excellent navigational skills and the ability to plot the best route just like a regular bicycle messenger. And it doesn't hurt to be able to charm your way to the front of the checkout line to expedite paying for your groceries ahead of your competitors.

The Cargo category focuses on racers bringing back as much food as humanly possible from five supermarkets around the city. (The route isn't nearly as challenging as the Speed category as the emphasis is on the amount of food competitors are able to bring back.) One notable winner in 2009, Jeremiah Ducate, brought in a whopping 962 lbs. You can watch him pedaling to victory in this video.

While not everyone is a he-man like Jeremiah, it's pretty impressive how much food folks are able to stuff in panniers, baskets and backpacks. The Sweep has raised over 20,000 pounds of food and close to $5000 in cash, which is the equivalent of 37,333 meals. And with families in California struggling in this tough economy to put dinner on the table, every can and box of food matters.

All manner of cyclists come out to support the SF Food Bank: commuters, families, amateur racers from local teams and other cycling enthusiasts. It's great to see the Bay Area community come out every year to support an important local charity while having fun. There's also an after party with a raffle and prize ceremony for the participants. The event is supported by a wonderful list of generous sponsors every year; this year there's several bike frames, trailers and other great prizes to give away to top winners.

Interested in participating in this year's event? Come out to the Claes Oldenberg Cupid's Span sculpture at Embarcadero and Folsom Streets at high noon this Saturday, December 3. No need to pre-register as participants are checked in and given directions that day. Learn more about the rules and list of what to bring on our blog.

The Supermarket Street Sweep
Saturday, December 3
Registration: High Noon at the Cupid's Span sculpture at Folsom and Embarcadero
After party begins at 6PM
Facebook: Supermarket Street Sweep
Twitter: SFStreetSweep
All proceeds benefit the San Francisco Food Bank

Occupy Oakland General Strike on November 2, 2011. Photo: Wendy Goodfriend

Have you moved your money yet? A lot of imperatives have come out of the Occupy movement of late; this one is both concrete and far-ranging, something that anyone can do.

What does it mean? It started with a call to action for people to pull their money and investments out of the big banks, and put them into smaller, locally-owned and locally-responsible credit unions and community banks. It's like voting; the amount in my tiny checking and savings accounts means nothing to MegaBankUSA, but add my numbers to thousands and thousands of others, and suddenly a bank could feel some impact.

That's just one part. Like the concept of eating locally, which started with food miles and then grew into a much larger movement, even revolution, about how and what we eat, the idea of "moving your money" can be applied in so many ways.

And it's not limited to how or where you spend your actual cash. On the style blog Ironing Board Collective, my friend, writer and health coach Sara Seinberg, has posted a great Move Your Money gift guide, with suggestions for everything from art-museum memberships to shared activities and bartered services. Her list, and the fact that right now, like so many of us, I am luckily rich in friends, family, and good intentions, and not-so-rich in disposable income, have got me thinking even more about value this time of year. About surplus. About what we use to get what we need, and how we can support the needs of others--friends, family, your community, your neighborhood and beyond. This holiday season, what do you have that can bring delight and deliciousness to those you love, while keeping your money out of the coffers of the big corporations?

How about chocolate? There are lots of locally-made chocolate treats available to sweeten your holidays. Or you can make your own with this easy chocolate truffle recipe. Dandelion's bean-to-bar chocolate store will be opening in San Francisco next month or early next year; until then, find them at local farmers' markets, including the Mission Community Market and the Noe Valley Farmers' Market.

With the explosion of books, classes, and blogs dedicated to food preservation for fun (or profit), it's easy to spend a little time whipping up a gift batch of something, especially if you turn the simmering or brewing into an all-afternoon stir-and-gossip session. What do you like best to make? It's a little late in the season to make jam, but there's always apple butter, pear butter, slow-roasted quince paste (so tasty with cheese), Meyer lemon marmalade or tangy lemon chutney. WorkshopSF has classes in beer-making, tea-blending, cheese-making, even vintage apron sewing coming up in December; take one yourself, or take a friend along.

Does everyone rave about your ramen, your cranberry bread, your caramel apple pie? Do you want to share your mom's recipes with everyone who loves her? There are dozens of print-on-demand services that let you turn those scribbled-on recipe cards into a surprisingly chic and stylish personal cookbook. Pop-up holiday markets are also a good place to find quirkily perfect host/ess gifts made by your friends and neighbors. On Dec. 9, La Cocina is holding its 3rd Annual Gift Bazaar, featuring unique products developed in La Cocina's incubator kitchen in the Mission.

Or, depending on what you have to spare, you can give money, time, or expertise to organizations who redistribute the wealth across the Bay Area's tables. Did one (or ten) of your Facebook friends and Twitter followers post Mary Risley's hysterically practical YouTube video, Just Put the F*cking Turkey in the Oven? Now, with over 100,000 hits, let's hope she can make the follow-up, Just Give Your F*cking Leftovers to Food Runners.

Risley isn't just a cooking teacher, she's the founder of Food Runners, which moves thousands of pounds of fresh, useful leftover food from restaurants, grocery stores, and catering businesses into the kitchens of shelters, low-income senior and youth programs, and other organizations that serve the needy. Mary talks about Food Runners on this episode of Food & Wine This Week in Northern California.

Carlo Petrini, Slow Food founder/president and Corby Kummer, food writer/interpreter

Twenty years ago Carlo Petrini, founded Slow Food in an effort to resist McDonalds efforts to erect the Golden Arches in one of the most historical areas of Rome. Since then Petrini's work has spawned an international movement aimed at overhauling global food systems that he says are unhealthy and way out of balance. Petrini gave an impassioned lecture at U.C. Berkeley Tuesday night. While he spoke in vivid Italian, food writer Corby Kummer interpreted. Petrini seemed the perfect choice to inagurate the first class of Edible Education 101: The Rise and the Future of the Food Movement. The course is being co-taught by J-school professor, and author, Michael Pollan and Executive Director of People's Grocery in West Oakland, Nikki Henderson. The premise of the class is that food is political. Students and members of the public are given a chance to explore pressing issues such as food access, distribution and nutrition.

UC Berkeley students checking in for Edible Education

Student enrollment for the 13-week course filled up within minutes. The popular classes are also being offered to the public, free of charge and Bon Appétit Management Co. (BAMCO) is sponsoring the webcast on YouTube. In the audience Tuesday night were freshman Bridget Smith and Sarah Branoff. They said they are taking the course because, as undergrads, they don't usually get a chance to take a journalism class at Berkeley. They both like food and baking and have never even heard of Alice Waters. Waters' Chez Panisse Foundation is helping fund the class. David Park is a Venture Capitalist from Foster City. Park, who puts together health and wellness portfolios, says he is always on the lookout for who to hire and who to fund in the food and nutrition arena. Claudia Weisburd, another member of the public, is interested in how the course promises to integrate environmentalists, social justice activists and foodies.

I'm used to seeing these rock stars of the food movement on TV talk shows and not a scuffed up college stage in front of a white screen with no graphics but somehow Petrini kept everyone's attention. The International Slow Food founder talked about how there are two worlds, one where people get too much to eat and another that doesn't get enough to eat. He talked about gastronomy and how recipes are only one small part. Agriculture, anthropology and political economics are all part of gastronomy. What Petrini wants to do is fix the bad parts of the engine of gastronomy. He said right now, around the world, one billion people are suffering from hunger and in the U.S. we are throwing away twenty-two tons of food a day. For many of us with access to food, we have become locked into diets that are making us sick. Petrini says if you understand food politics you can help create change.

Here are some new paradigms he mentioned:

• Strengthen reciprocity -- Community supported agriculture is an example of this. You give money to a farmer and when he, or she, has it, they give you produce they have grown in return. Petrini's Slow Food movement is working to connect local food communities around the world.
• Share community tools. Why should every house have a shovel or a lawnmower?
• Give more value to the people who produce food. Petrini calls farmers the intellectuals of the earth.
• Give more value to food. Don't waste it.

The goal, says Petrini, is a world in which we stop consuming so much but also help those struggling so that they can have more. Petrini told the audience consuming less doesn't mean you will be less happy. "You will be more happy," he said.

Next week's class, which is already filled up, features film and theater director Peter Sellars. He will be discussing Food as Culture: the role of culture and the arts in deepening and strengthening the social and political roots of the food movement.

Nikki Henderson. Photo: People's Grocery

A new class at UC Berkeley is getting a lot of buzz. Edible Education: The Rise and Future of the Food Movement is all about food politics. In an unusual step, Cal is opening up the 13-week course to the general public. Well, the class was open to all. Three hundred free tickets for the first night were snatched up in less than fifteen minutes. Student enrollment filled up just as fast. Edible Education is being organized, and funded, by Alice Water’s Chez Pannise Foundation. Nikki Henderson, the executive director of People’s Grocery in Oakland, along with author and U.C. Berkeley journalism professor Michael Pollan, will co-teach the semester course.

Michael Pollan. Photo: Alia Malley

Think of the sustainable food movement as a dinner party. Edible Education will take a look at the guest list and topics of conversation. How do the slow food movement and food justice fit together? What does corporate food look like? The class will feature immigrant farm workers telling their own stories. Each week will include a guest lecturer.

Here’s the line-up:
• 8/30: The Global Food Movement, Founder Carlo Petrini with Corby Kummer
• 9/6: Building a Successful Movement, Peter Sellars
• 9/13: The Politics of Food, Marion Nestle, Ph.D., M.P.H.
• 9/20: Perspectives on Race, Place & Food, Alegria De La Cruz, Rebecca Flournoy, Yvonne Yen Liu
• 9/27: Nutrition, Health and Diet Related Disease, Patricia Crawford & Robert Lustig
• 10/4: Corporations & the Food Movement, Jack Sinclair, Jib Ellison, Michael Pollan
• 10/11: School Lunch and Edible Schoolyards, Ann Cooper
• 10/18: Global Economies of Food: GMOs, and Feeding the World, Raj Patel
• 10/25: Agriculture and Social Justice, Eric Schlosser, Greg Asbed & Lucas Benitez
• 11/1: What is an Edible Education? Alice Waters
• 11/8: Food and the Environment, Frances Moore Lappé & Gidon Eshel
• 11/22: Van Jones
• 11/29: Place Based Models of Change, Brahm Ahmadi, Hank Herrera

The class is every Tuesday from August 30th through November 29th, 6-7:30pm (doors open at 5:30pm) at the Wheeler Auditorium at UC Berkeley.

Tickets will be available, free of charge, six days before each class.

Bay Area Bites will provide coverage of the course.

Related Articles:
Nikki Henderson: On the frontlines of edible education by Sarah Henry (Berkeleyside)

Gleaning with Farm to Pantry. Photo: The Perennial Plate

The Perennial Plate: Adventurous and Sustainable Eating - Episode 64: California Gleaning
Northern California is a bountiful area. So bountiful that there are often leftovers. This is usually the case with most farms. In order to make way for bad yields, bad weather, and unexpected disasters, (or just to make sure they have enough to satisfy their customers), most farms will end up with more than they can sell. What happens to all that extra produce? In the case of Healdsburg California, an organization called Farm to Pantry picks it, packs it up and delivers it to various locations "in need." It’s selfless, necessary and wonderful. Watch this video to follow the food from harvest to rehab center.

Photo courtesy of New Taste Marketplace.

Amid the pop-ups, underground markets and food truck parties taking place on a daily basis in the Bay Area, New Taste Marketplace stands out with its low-key vibe, terrific vendors and fundraising mission. Held at St. Gregory's Church in Potrero Hill, New Taste Marketplace takes place once a month and features approximately 30 food vendors selling hot dishes to eat on-the-spot and artisan foods to take home. Community members and families sit on the altar and in spots all over the church listening to music and eating everything from Asian-fusion cupcakes to Thai curries and pierogis. "Think of it like an overgrown bake sale," says Elianna Friedman, Market Director.

Customers gain access to New Taste Marketplace by giving a small donation, which goes to The Food Pantry and St. Gregory's to support their efforts to provide food to San Francisco's hungry. Since its inception in November 2010, New Taste has raised over $10,000—money that goes toward a food giveaway that takes place each week at St. Gregory's. "I love that New Taste is held in the exact space as the food pantry on Fridays," says Friedman. "I hope that it adds to the sense of giving and community."

The vendors that you'll find at New Taste are small and mostly only found at other similar markets around the Bay Area. On a recent visit to New Taste, I took home rabbit pate from Dehesa Foods, goat cheese mozzarella from Faerie Goatmother, kimchi from Monchi Foods and wheat pasta from Baia Pasta.

"The same vendors don't come every time, which creates space for new vendors," Friedman commented. "Some vendors outgrow the market, and they move into something more permanent." Markets such as New Taste are serving as incubators for food vendors around the city.

Dandelion Chocolate is a small "bean-to-bar" chocolate company based in the Mission that is about two years old. Alice Nystrom of Dandelion enjoys that the Marketplace gives Dandelion's founders a chance to interface directly with the customer. "We always sell a lot more chocolate when we're able to tell our story," she says. "Customers who come are really curious, they have a lot of questions about our chocolate and our company. They are really eager to see all these small businesses and support them."

Cafe Mereb is one of the few brick-and-mortar businesses that participates in New Taste. It's a family-owned Mediterranean and Eritrean resturant in the Richmond that uses New Taste to market to new customers in a different part of the city, and to test new recipes. Cafe Mereb participates in New Taste every 2 months, and offers Eritrean specialties like a lamb stew called tibsi, a slow-cooked chickpea stew called shurro take-home items such as berbere spices and a ghee-like spiced, clarified butter called tesmi. Elilta Habtetsion participates in the market on behalf of her family's restaurant and sees a lot of value in participating in a market like New Taste. "It's been very positive, and we've seen a few people stop by our cafe. It's great to talk to people one-on-one, and give our restaurant a little more exposure, and we love the venue."

For those curious about how New Taste Marketplace is allowed to exist, while the San Francisco Underground Market was shut down last month by the Health Department, the answer has to do with the fact that the New Taste Marketplace operates under the umbrella of a non-profit organization (The Food Pantry) and is a fundraising event. The "Craven Allowance," the same rule that allows for bake sales, allows New Taste to operate. The Department of Health often drops by New Taste to make sure that vendors are following proper food handling rules.

The next New Taste Marketplace is taking place this Saturday, July 16. New Taste generally takes place once a month.

Information

New Taste Marketplace
Saturday, July 16
Noon - 5pm
St. Gregory's Church
500 De Haro Street (map)
@NewTasteMarket on Twitter
New Taste on Facebook
Interested in volunteering? Contact Elianna Friedman via email: NewTasteMarket@gmail.com

What others are saying:

"The New Taste Marketplace had a nice community feel, like a church bake sale. And it wasn't a massive clusterjam like some other underground markets in the city." - Single Guy Chef

"I had the best Thai curry of my life in a church. Specifically it was the green Thai curry made by the folks behind Nute's Cupcakes that had me over the moon this weekend." - Nicole Grant, The Bold Italic

Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division. Photo by Dick DeMarsico, New York World-Telegram & Sun.

Today would have been Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 82nd 83rd birthday. (updated 1/15/12) To honor the memory of the iconic civil rights leader and Nobel Peace prize winner I am sharing quotes in which he expresses thoughts about hunger, poverty and food-related injustice.

After winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 through his work to end racial segregation and discrimination through civil disobedience and other nonviolent methodology his focus shifted towards opposing the Vietnam War and alleviating poverty.

"The curse of poverty has no justification in our age. It is socially as cruel and blind as the practice of cannibalism at the dawn of civilization, when men ate each other because they had not yet learned to take food from the soil or to consume the abundant animal life around them. The time has come for us to civilize ourselves by the total, direct and immediate abolition of poverty."
Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, 1967.

"I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits."
Acceptance Speech at Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony, December 10, 1964

"Man was born into barbarism when killing his fellow man was a normal condition of existence. He became endowed with a conscience. And he has now reached the day when violence toward another human being must become as abhorrent as eating another's flesh."
Why We Can't Wait, 1963.

"I started thinking about the fact that no matter how long an old Negro woman had been shopping downtown and got a little tired and needed to get a hamburger or a cup of coffee at a lunch counter, she couldn’t get it there."
“The American Dream" delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, July 4, 1965.

"So yes, the dream has been shattered, (Amen) and I have had my nightmarish experiences, but I tell you this morning once more that I haven’t lost the faith. (No, sir) I still have a dream (A dream, Yes, sir) that one day all of God’s children will have food and clothing and material well-being for their bodies, culture and education for their minds, and freedom for their spirits. (Yes)"
“The American Dream" delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, July 4, 1965.

"Let us march on poverty (Let us march) until no American parent has to skip a meal so that their children may eat. (Yes, sir) March on poverty (Let us march) until no starved man walks the streets of our cities and towns (Yes, sir) in search of jobs that do not exist. (Yes, sir) Let us march on poverty (Let us march) until wrinkled stomachs in Mississippi are filled, (That's right) and the idle industries of Appalachia are realized and revitalized, and broken lives in sweltering ghettos are mended and remolded."
Address at the Conclusion of the Selma to Montgomery March, March 25, 1965

"There is another thing closely related to racism that I would like to mention as another challenge. We are challenged to rid our nation and the world of poverty. Like a monstrous octopus, poverty spreads its nagging, prehensile tentacles into hamlets and villages all over our world. Two-thirds of the people of the world go to bed hungry tonight. They are ill-housed; they are ill-nourished; they are shabbily clad. I’ve seen it in Latin America; I’ve seen it in Africa; I’ve seen this poverty in Asia."

"As I noticed these things, something within me cried out, 'Can we in America stand idly by and not be concerned?' And an answer came: 'Oh no!' Because the destiny of the United States is tied up with the destiny of India and every other nation. And I started thinking of the fact that we spend in America millions of dollars a day to store surplus food, and I said to myself, 'I know where we can store that food free of charge—in the wrinkled stomachs of millions of God’s children all over the world who go to bed hungry at night.' And maybe we spend far too much of our national budget establishing military bases around the world rather than bases of genuine concern and understanding."
“Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution" Delivered at the National Cathedral, Washington, D.C., March 31, 1968.

"If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don’t want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. (Yes) And every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize—that isn’t important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards—that’s not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school. (Yes)

I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others. (Yes)
I'd like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody.
I want you to say that day that I tried to be right on the war question. (Amen)
I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry. (Yes)
And I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked. (Yes)
I want you to say on that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison. (Lord)
I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity. (Yes)"

“The Drum Major Instinct" February 4, 1968

RIP Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Related Links:
• The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute: Speeches and Sermons (audio and text)
• Sermons and speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Martin Luther King Jr Speeches (audio and video)
• Wikimedia Commons Photos of Martin Luther King, Jr.