As I was growing up, there seemed to be a million movies that involved characters getting lost in the desert, roaming about, trying desperately to find food and water. Some of the movies were comedies – some were adventure films. But they were all just movies and not real life.

In today’s world, however, something similar exists for real all across this country. They are called “food deserts.” Food deserts are large geographic areas where people don’t have access to stores with fresh and affordable food. This isn’t a problem for most of us with cars. But for the disadvantaged among us, it’s a real problem.

Imagine for a moment that you needed formula for your baby, but the closest store was more than two miles away. Now imagine that you don’t have transportation. How would you get there? Perhaps you have a bus line close by. Would it drop you (and the baby) off at the front door? Or would you have to take two or three buses to get there? Would you have to pay a taxi? Ask a friend? Walk?

Let’s take it a step further. Maybe you have a doctor’s appointment for a chronic health problem. Or a job interview. What if you had been unemployed for six months and finally landed a job, but didn’t have transportation to get there? How long do you think you’d keep that job?

Last year, the Renton Community Foundation held a series of community roundtables to assess the need for human services in the greater Renton area. A common theme we heard was the “lack” of transportation. It crosses all boundaries: the hungry, the homeless, at-risk kids.

You might ask, “What’s wrong with this picture?” How can we get people back to work in this country if they don’t have a way to get there? How can we guarantee that kids go to school with a full stomach if their parents can’t get to the store to buy food? How can we expect struggling kids to get off the streets if they can’t get to their counseling appointments?

Here is one simple solution. We’re calling it the Car Tab – Bus Pass Program.

For the next 18 months, King County Metro is promoting riding the bus. They will send you eight free bus passes when you renew your car tabs, hoping you will use the passes to actually ride the bus. But you must request them first (one set per household). Tucked in the envelope with your new car tabs will be a yellow notice. You can have the bus passes sent directly to you, OR you can donate them to a “pool” for regional nonprofits. To access this pool, however, the nonprofits have to pay 20 percent of the cost.

A better solution is to have the bus passes sent directly to you. Then, if you don’t plan to use them, you can do one of two things. 1) Give them directly to a local nonprofit, OR 2) send them to the Renton Community Foundation. We will immediately distribute them to local organizations that will put them to good use.

Take action! Help us get people out of the “food” desert – or any other kind of desert – and to where they need to go. Give them a bus pass. If you do, you’ll be giving the gift of transportation to someone who may desperately need it.

Lynn Bohart is executive director of the Renton Community Foundation. She can be reached via email at lbohart@rentonfoundation.org.