Korean Conflict Veteran Buys A whole bunch of Meals for Native Famine Reduction – CBS Pittsburgh

By jimadmin On Dec 7, 2020

By Marika Gerken, CNN

(CNN) – What started as an average Monday morning at a grocery store in Raeford, North Carolina last month turned into something extraordinary when a 91-year-old Korean War veteran walked in and went straight to the customer service desk.

The man, who wanted to remain anonymous, walked into a Food Lion store and wrote a check for $ 1,500 for the store’s Holidays Without Hunger program. He also wrote a $ 500 check for 100 prepackaged food boxes – also part of the program – that contain groceries for a family of four that will be donated to local food banks.

It was the largest single donation by a person in the 17-year history of the program.

“I was completely surprised when he handed it to me and it took me a few seconds to gather my thoughts,” branch manager Charles Campbell told CNN. “I finally asked him what his motivation was for this generous gift.”

The veteran told Campbell that he spent two years as a prisoner of war in the Korean War and was rarely fed. That led him to a dangerous weight of 90 pounds. The man said he knew what it was like not to know where the next meal is coming from or when.

The generous donation comes as more than 54 million Americans face food insecurity, according to the country’s largest hunger relief organization, Feeding America. That’s 17 million more than before the coronavirus outbreak.

When Campbell asked the veteran if he would like to speak to any of the media representatives at the store’s corporate headquarters, the man said, “I’m not doing this for publicity or recognition. I just don’t want people to be hungry. “