Selma Z., a 32-year-old single mother, lives in a one-bedroom apartment with her 8-year-old daughter, Bernice. She earns $325 a week as a part-time public school teacher and pays $790 a month for rent. Selma used to spend $60 a week on groceries; now she spends $40. Forty dollars for food for two people equals a little less than a dollar a meal. She recently got a second job working at a shoe store in the mall, but she worries about leaving her daughter alone at night.

Marion R. is 70 years old, lives on Social Security, and goes to the senior center near her apartment on most days. The senior center offers a lunch for $1.50. If you don't have the $1.50, the center will waive the charge. Some days, Marion stays home because she's too embarrassed to admit that she doesn't have $1.50 to buy lunch.

As many as 1.3 million New Yorkers do not have enough to eat-25 percent are children. Many of these folks qualify for food stamps, but before you get excited about our government's generosity, I have to tell you that the adult food allowance on food stamps is $21 a week. Exactly $1 per meal. How many meals have you eaten this week that cost a dollar?

When a senior citizen eats lunch at a soup kitchen, it's sometimes her only meal of the day. When a child eats lunch at a soup kitchen, it's often his first meal of the day.

With your help, we can make it a really good meal!

Members of the Great Neck community are teaming up with other compassionate people to sponsor four meals this fall at Long Island's largest soup kitchen, which feeds more than 1,500 men, women, and children every week. To pay for each meal, we need 40 donors willing to give $25 or more.

If you've had some blessings in your life and would like to help families in need, please make your check payable to: The Interfaith Nutrition Network. Donations may be mailed to: Dave Golbert, 7 Lee Court West, Great Neck, NY 11024. To donate food or clothing or for additional information about how you can help, call Dave at 917-418-2451 or email: davegolbert@yahoo.com

Let no one go hungry while there is food on our table!