We appreciate the local efforts of Ken Luckmann, Tom Row and the Oak Ridge Sister City Support Organization in hosting a delegation from Obninsk, Russia, which spent quite a few days in the Oak Ridge and Knoxville area last week to learn more about how East Tennesseans feed people in need.

How appropriate that prior to this year’s Thanksgiving holiday, we would all be reminded of those who hunger and are in need — not only in our own community but around the globe.

The visiting delegates included Oleg Kolesnikov, founder and owner of the discount store chain Rodnoy LLC; Darya Kostina, general director, Prod Industria LLC; Father Aleksey Polyakov of St. Boris and Gleb Laity; and Yelena Kornilova, director, Municipal Enterprise’s Municipal Veteran’s Club. St. Petersburg State University programmer Natalya Osmakova accompanied the group as a facilitator.

The Russian visitors arrived in the area Nov. 10 and stayed through Sunday. The intent of the delegation’s visit was to adapt the “Second Harvest Food Bank: Hunger Relief Concept” project to Obninsk (one of Oak Ridge’s “sister cities”) and other Russian cities that would benefit from the development of this kind of program.

During the visit, staff from Second Harvest, which distributes donated food and grocery products to low-income people who might otherwise go hungry, covered the initial concept of the food bank and also delved into detailed discussion of the development of sources of foods, facilities needed to store and preserve the food, delivery systems needed, etc.

“Their problems are similar to what we have here,” Row told The Oak Ridger on Thursday. “Russian senior citizens have a very minimal retirement income … after they pay for rent and medications, they have very little money left for food.

“Dealing with the food problem of their senior citizens is something we’re really trying to address.”

In addition to the work of the Oak Ridge Sister City Support Organization, the local clergy, Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge and numerous others should be commended for making the Russians’ visit both memorable and enjoyable.

Even as we continue to support the efforts of the Second Harvest Food Bank in our own community this holiday season (and throughout the year), we wish Obninsk’s community leaders all the best in improving the lives of those in need in another part of our world.