Of the basic necessities, putting food on the table easily trumps the lot.

And Dorothy Lawson has been on a mission for more than a quarter of a century to ensure the Friday Harbor Food Bank has the resources to fulfill that basic need for anyone on San Juan Island, regardless of their income.

That dedication has not gone unnoticed.

On April 30, Lawson, a founding member of the Food Bank and its president for the past 27 years, was recognized as an American Red Cross “Real Hero” for her tireless efforts on behalf of the Food Bank. She was honored at a regional award ceremony in Anacortes.

Accompanied by friends, family members and colleagues, Lawson credited a long list of supporters and volunteers for enabling the local Food Bank to achieve its mission.

In summing up 20-plus years in the trenches, Lawson said that’s just part of who she is.

“It has become a way of life,” she said.

Lawson was among 10 individuals and two community groups recognized at the 2009 Real Heroes awards banquet of the Fidalgo/San Juan Islands chapter of the Red Cross. Nearly 400 people attended the banquet, including four generations of the Lawson family.

Recipients of the Real Hero award are honored for outstanding contributions to their community and to emergency rescue services.

“By Dorothy’s well-orchestrated program of local support, she and her volunteers become the extended helping hands of the community in this heroic mission to challenge the disaster of hunger in our island community,” the Red Cross noted in honoring Lawson.