Barb writes:

One day, several years ago, I was heading off to a Quaker meeting. I had tucked $5 in my pocket to buy some cookies to take with me to share at the meeting. Somewhere between my home and the bus stop, I forgot to stop and buy them so I kept the money in my pocket.

I arrived downtown shortly before my connecting bus was to leave. I walked around the corner to the next bus stop and found a lady there yelling after a couple who were walking away, “If you want something to eat – go eat at a soup kitchen.” She then went on in a loud voice to several people standing at the bus stop, “You can’t give people like that money – they’ll just spend it on drugs.”

I, who was part of her audience, asked, “What was it they had said?” The lady answered by telling me that there were soup kitchens for people like that. I said that there weren’t any open this early on a Sunday morning and asked again, “What was it they said?” She responded in a louder voice, which was a contrast to my quiet one, “That people like that just use drugs and we should not help them. By helping them,” she said, “we are part of the problem.”

Again, I asked, “What was it they said?” In all, I asked this question five times before she looked at me and answered that, “They said they were hungry” to which I responded, “It seems to me that hungry people should eat.”

With that, I decided that I would go after the couple who were only a couple of blocks away. I caught up and then fell into pace walking beside them. She looked at me, held up her hands and showed a bill and some coins and with a quiet voice herself said, “I need $2.63 more for a meal – can you help please, we are hungry.”

I smiled, thinking to my five dollars and said, “I can help you with that.” We went to the fast food restaurant on the corner (the only place that was open in the area) and bought two meals. Once that was done, I said good bye and good luck and headed back to the bus stop even though I was sure I had missed the bus by that time.

But, I hadn’t. Right as I got back to the bus stop, the bus arrived. It pulled away from the curb as I was walking down the isle looking for a seat. I found myself standing for a moment though and looking out the window as I saw the couple sitting by the bus stop on the other side of the road eating their breakfast. I felt it in heart, I think – the idea that “eating is a beautiful thing.” I could see how hungry they were by how they were eating.

The image of the couple eating stayed with me throughout the day. When I got home, the image was so strong that I wanted to paint it.

This canvas was donated to the Together Against Poverty Society or TAPS for fundraising. 20% of sales of the reproductions will be donated to TAPS to fund their ongoing programs.