Here's a challenge...

The late Harry Chapin and Walter Payton, although worlds apart, had something in common.

Not only did they both die way to young, the dedicated a good part of their lives to helping feed the hungry.

Chapin did it through his Foundation, which still exists, and donated nearly half of his earnings from concerts to the organizations that help feed the hungry. Payton used his own foundation to do likewise.

You can't help but admire people like Chapin and Payton for putting their money where their mouths are.

Some companies do as well, Kraft Foods is a supporter of the Chicago Food Depository and no doubt other companies do as well.

But what about Pioneer Press? Yes, I know, newspapers are experiencing tough times and the once proud chain has become an a regionalized publication put out by understaffed and overworked journalists who are still dedicated to their craft (it's a close-knit fraternity).

They even use faux journalists to try and be neighborhood columnists, some of whom violate more journalistic ethics than can fit into a blog.

That said and done, Pioneer continues to be cute with it's "Mega Bite" feature. It does little more than preach gluttony and, in my humble opinion, puts residents in many of Chicago suburbs in a bad light. Especially during a time when so many families are struggling to make ends meet.

So here's a challenge -- let's see if we can convince Pioneer to have more than high cholesterol. In a perfect world, Pioneer should see both side of the coins. How about starting some sort of community service program where Pioneer could have a Mega Heart and support those area organizations that help feed needy?

Let's say for every inch of gluttony, Pioneer donates $100 to a food pantry? Let's see, there are approximately 162 inches on a page, so that would be $16,200 a week. That would feed a lot of people. Hell, I'd even go for $10 an inch -- that would be $1,620 a week.

What do you think? Let me know by email via this blog.

That would be a way for Pioneer not to be greedy, but as the Bears said in the Super Bowl Shuffle.. "We're not doing this because we're greedy, the Bears are doing this to feed the needy.."

Hey look, if a Packer fan can take a cue from the Bears, so can Pioneer Press.