To the editor:

Every Friday that I volunteer at Just Food’s check out desk, I see the world.

A man originally from Nepal greets me with a broad smile and a simple “namaste” — meaning “I salute the God within you” — as he stuffs a container filled with freshly made soup into his backpack. The next person I serve could be the woman who speaks only Russian and yet wears a patriotic red, white, and blue headscarf.

Moms with kids in tow, single folks, hospice workers, graduate students, they’re all here.

Volunteer at our local food bank and you’ll see this for yourself. And you’ll notice something else: the lines keep getting longer.

The recent budget bill in Congress will slash federal food assistance programs. This will mean that a greater burden will fall on food banks like Just Food to feed our hungry neighbors here in Douglas County.

It’s overwhelming. That’s the word that describes what I am feeling these days. I am tempted to throw up my hands, do nothing.

Yet a voice from the 2019 Disney animated film “Frozen 2” whispers into my ear, “Do the Next Right Thing.”

Whatever the next right thing is for you, know that when you do it, that you are not alone. Together, we are linking arms and pushing back against the forces of greed and unbridled power that are taking over our nation. The next right thing can be as simple as giving away soup.

Peter Luckey,

Lawrence