Holiday season is in. It is Christmas time. The air should be filled with the joyous sound of sleigh bells ringing and children singing merry songs. It's time for Santa Claus, dressed in his suit, with the white beard and big belly and his jolly laugh, to appear. People are supposed to be happy.

However, many Americans are worried sick of sudden job loss. The American economy dealt another brutal blow in November. The loss of a startling 553,000 jobs was announced by the government on Dec. 5. Since the start of the year, American employers have shed 1.8 million jobs, reports ABC News Business Unit.

As if unemployment numbers weren't enough, the story of an infant in Florida really hit the country as a sign we are in desperate economic times: Five-month-old La'Damian Barton almost died Monday from watered-down formula because his mother tried to cut the costs.

Child care and poverty advocates say poor families have always had to make dangerous decisions to cut back. Now, with the economy in trouble, experts say more families are likely to try skipping their own meals before they'll cut back on their children's.

News segments about hunger and starvation make us appreciate the foundations like the Greater Chicago Food Depository, the 268,000-square-foot facility that distributes food to hungry men, women and children throughout Cook County and also houses innovative programs that work to break the cycle of poverty. The food depository distributes donated and purchased food through a network of 600 pantries, soup kitchens, shelters to more than 9,100 adults and children every week. "It's extremely difficult for children to be good students if they are hungry, malnourished or too distracted by the worries about whether and where they will get their next meal," says Mike Mulqueen, who retired from the U.S. Marines as a brigadier general and took the helm of Food Depository from 1991-2006 and is recognized for his valuable contribution to take the depository to the greater level. He added, "We are so pleased to be working alongside the Chicago public schools to not only provide these children nutritious foods but ultimately to help them get a better start academically and a better chance of breaking the cycle of poverty."

Kate Maehr, executive director for the food bank, has significantly expanded the organization's outreach efforts, leading to a more than 50 percent increase in individual revenue. With the leaders' vision, dedication and commitment to the mission to helping people in difficult circumstances, the foundation has been instrumental in taking the Food Depository from a small, grassroots organization to one of Chicago's premier human service organizations. As a result, it has attracted food bank officials from around the country eager to learn how the depository does it. Among its successes are training programs in which welfare moms learn restaurant cooking while feeding hungry children through a chain of Kids Cafes; Pantry University, which teaches hundreds of volunteers to run food pantries efficiently.

The Greater Chicago Food Depository, Chicago's food bank, is a not-for-profit food distribution center providing food for hungry people while striving to end hunger in our community. The depository distributes donated and purchased food through a network of 600 pantries, soup kitchens and shelters to more than 91,000 adults and children every week. In past years, the depository distributed more than 40 million pounds of non-perishable food and fresh produce, dairy products, meat, poultry and fish, the equivalent of more than 84,000 meals every day.

Watching the news broadcast President-elect Barack Obama and his family helping distribute food from the depository's Producemobile at St. Columbanus Pantry on the eve of Thanksgiving and learning that more than 600 individuals and families were provided with all of the ingredients for a Thanksgiving meal made me curious to learn about this foundation. To meet the increasing demand, the food depository has added additional food to its Mobile Pantry and Producemobile distributions.

On a lighter note, the subject of hunger reminds me of the situation I encountered with my then-5-year-old son, Mayur. As he asked, "What's there to eat, Mom," I responded, bread with fresh peas sauteed in olive oil with sweet onions, green chilly pepper and other spices. Refusing to eat peas, he asked if there was something else. Receiving no response, about an hour later, he returned to eat and later agreed that peas were delicious. Seeing him pleased, I asked, "What is the most powerful thing in this world?" "Hunger!" he responded.

With innovative programs like Nourish for Knowledge and partnerships with organizations like the Greater Chicago Food Depository, the Chicago Public Schools are working to provide children with the solid foundation they need for a successful academic career. Lead funding for Nourish for Knowledge is provided by three of the McCormick Tribune Foundation's Communities Program Funds -- Chicago Tribune Charities, Bears Care and Cubs Care. December is the perfect month to recognize the kindness, the spirit of giving. Let's thank all donors big and small who help the Food Depository continue to distribute quality food throughout the holiday season and help win this fight against hunger. They help make holidays tolerable for the people that are going through the tough times this year. No one would want to be in such a dire condition.

Mandakini Hiremath is a Claflin instructor and coordinator of the university's writing center.

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