EDITORIAL: ‘A helping hand is the sign of spirit’
There is no point delving into clichés about Christmas’s true meaning, or the spirit of the festive season, when as a newspaper you can report on stories that show it palpably.
People in this area have donated enough food to Waveney Foodbank to meet the needs of 600 people in a crisis situation this month, and 400 people in the two weeks of Christmas.
It is heartwarming and it is upsetting at the same time.
The fact that people have been so generous and that volunteers are spending hours helping to feed these people reassures us about our spirit.
Yet the thought of 600 people in our community in need of food is distressing. Let’s not forget that some of these will be children.
This is not the week for the politics, the blame games and the arguments over the statistics behind it all.
What is clear is that a significant number of people have found themselves in a real pickle and are in need of food. It is that simple.
In response, people in this area have bought food and donated it to volunteers who have worked tirelessly to give people that most basic of needs - enough to eat.
You don’t need to be told to count your blessings at Christmas when the evidence that we should is all around us.