Submitted by Guy Arseneau, Nov 29, 2006 13:41

Ms. Colon's perspective on hunger would, I believe, change radically if she were to visit St. John's Bread and Life, located in Brooklyn. On a daily basis we feed about 500 people at our in house kitchen and yes, many of them do work here in a volunteer capacity, which in some cases leads to full time employment. Our Mobile Soup Kitchen, which travels five days a week through Brooklyn and Queens served over 90,000 meals in 2005. This is a figure we anticipate exceeding by the end of this year. What Ms. Colon fails to realize that for many of the city's poor the only things they own are their names and their shadows

She would also do well to remember that earlier this year New York City forefeited $739 million in federal food stamps due to government imposed restrictions. In human terms this meant that, on average, 120,000 people in the five boroughs had to find alternative food sources.

NOT FOR P;UBLICATION: SORRY FOR THE TYPOS, CAN THIS VERSION BE INSERTED? THANK YOU

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