It is difficult for most Americans, and especially those of us living here, to imagine real hunger.

Not the “let’s go get a burger” kind of hunger, but the kind that would make a mother feed her children a mud pie.

Yet that’s the kind of hunger that existed in Haiti even before this poor country was devastated last month by an earthquake that left hundreds of thousands of people dead. And while the country seems a world away, it’s only 700 miles from Miami – the equivalent of a state away.

There are countless organizations putting together aid for the Haitian people, but perhaps none that have as much as appeal as the Buckets of Hope campaign being coordinated locally by Southside Baptist Church in conjunction with the international and North American Baptist mission boards.

The challenge is to fill a five-gallon bucket with staples that can feed a Haitian family for a week. It’s estimated that the bucket can be put together for $30 and $10 is needed for shipping. If it’s not something you can afford, we urge you to work with co-workers, church members, or neighbors in a collaborative effort to send a week’s worth of hope to Haiti.

For a list of staples, see related story in today’s paper and on our Web site.