Dear Editor,
My name is Petal. I am a born and raised Sonoman and an alum of the Presentation School ‘08 in Sonoma and St. Vincent de Paul High School ‘12 in Petaluma. I supported seniors at Sonoma Valley High School in founding Sonoma Valley for Ceasefire in the spring of 2024. I currently work at a local nonprofit that distributes free meals to the hungry in Sonoma Valley. I’d like to share my personal views, making the connection between hunger locally and famine in Gaza.
It is my job to feed hungry people. It has been my pleasure to meet approximately 500 neighbors who are hungry in Sonoma Valley. It is an honor to serve them, to know them by name and to do what I can to meet their needs. Just a couple weeks ago there was a man who told me “without you, I would starve”.
On July 19, 2025, at the beginning of my weekly Arabic lesson, my teacher shared she had just gotten off the phone with her fiancé, who is still in Gaza. He had been searching for over 24 hours to find food. Luckily, he found some, but it cost $150 for 2 kilo of flour and 1/2 kilo of pasta. Meanwhile, she cannot bring herself to eat. “It feels wrong”, she told me, “to eat when they have nothing.” Her family’s story is not uncommon. A Palestinian man named Moh @moh.zraiy reported his story of the first time going to the GHF aid distribution point in Netzarim. His search for food is not met with a friendly smile, like you’d receive here in Sonoma; he must evade bullets and armed robberies to bring an aid package back to his family. They hope it will stretch for one week. There are approximately a million children in Gaza. I’ve seen too many videos of them crying out, some only able to say “I’m hungry”, either because developmentally those are the only words they can say or because physically they are too weak to say more. I will never forget the boy who, when asked what it is he wants to say to the people watching, responded by simply staring into the distance. When asked what it is he wishes for, he turned his face away, no words. And what more is there to say? What could he say that hasn’t already been said? “I’m hungry” is enough.
The question is for us: what do WE have to say in response to a starving child’s “I’m hungry”? The answer is there is nothing left to say. John Brown said it all: “These men are all talk; What is needed is action — action!”
What action can you take, knowing what you now know? I encourage you to reflect deeply and act creatively. But if you need something more specific, I offer my Palestinian American friend’s practice: to think of others with every bite.
For more information or to give direct aid to hungry people please reach out to hungryherehungrythere@proton.me
EJ “Petal” Conlon, Sonoma
Excellent. Very insightful. Petal is a very caring person.
Thank you, Petal, for your very moving and eloquent message about your experience and those of many others. I hope many people will follow your example and am glad to know of this way to give direct aid.
This was very touching and inspiring. Thank you for all that you do here and for others on the other side of the world. Much love and respect!