By Robin Elton •
March 31, 2009
Food banks across the country are seeing longer lines and new faces. Demand and need are up, but corporate and individual donations are waning as Americans become nervous about their financial future. Meanwhile, food prices have yet to fall.
April 1, 2009 has been declared April Food Day by organizers Pigtown*Design and Easy and Elegant Life; a call to action on behalf of the nation’s hungry. A plea to donate what you can, in any amount you can; even if it’s only a dollar.
By Lucille Chi •
January 12, 2009
Recently, talking about the food crisis globally on our sister site Feel Good Style, I also thought about these same issues domestically, here in the United States, and rediscovered Feeding America (previously known as Second Harvest). Feeding America is a national supporter of local food-banks and kitchens, and they do all this through the use of grants. In their call for help they state that 35 million in the US don’t know where the next meal is coming from, stating that “one in eight Americans is struggling with hunger. Our goal is to fill their bowls with food, and their hearts and minds with hope.”
Not only is this cause to donate, but I am also reminded of how helping at a soup kitchen is one of those things that just feels really good. Their willingness to engage civil society to help care about starving citizens, shows how anyone can make changes to help the starving locally. Perhaps you own a farm, or a big garden and can donate something fresh? Or become a corporate sponsor? Feeding America states that “as a charity with national reach, we can engage the public and raise awareness of this critical issue on a national and local level.”
By Derek Markham •
November 28, 2008
When giving gifts for the holidays, we try to follow a couple of guidelines.
Homemade or hand-made items always outrank mass-produced. If we have to buy something that is mass-produced, we go to an independent business, not a chain, because spending our cash locally makes a difference in our communities. We try to think of others who aren’t as fortunate as us, so organizations that teach and help people to sustain themselves get our vote.
I’d like to share my list of 6 gifts that make a difference. Maybe you’ll see something that calls to you as a gift for that someone that has everything.
Heifer International
Heifer’s mission is to end hunger and poverty while caring for the earth. For more than 60 years, Heifer International has provided livestock and environmentally sound agricultural training to improve the lives of those who struggle daily for reliable sources of food and income. And since 1944, we have helped 48 million people through training in livestock development and livestock gifts that multiply.
You can give the gift of honeybees, a goat, a llama, or a flock of ducks to a family or community in need. These gifts aren’t charity, they’re an investment in people and villages all over the world.
By Robin Shreeves •
October 10, 2008
I read today that Second Harvest Heartland is having trouble keeping up with local demand for food. What I found interesting was one of the reasons. The decline in food donations is “in part, because there’s less waste from companies that produce and supply food.”
I wonder if there is less waste because companies are trying to be more responsible with their production methods. Or perhaps it’s because in today’s economy, they are being more efficient to keep costs down. Either way, it’s causing a dearth of food at the food bank. I did a little research, and it seems that food banks across the U.S. are in extra need. Donations are down while need is up.
In Ohio, the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank reported in August that for the first half of the year, food distributions increased 14%.
In Tacoma, Washington “food banks report that they are responding to increased visits from individuals needing food and are serving many families that have never used a food bank before.”
It’s summer, and you are sitting outside on the Great Lawn of Central Park, listening to a concert in New York City. You are surrounded by friends, you are enjoying a delicious picnic, and the music is great. The only way to improve this event would be to devise a smarter way for you and the thousands of other people at the concert to dispose of the plastic cups they are using to drink beer, soda, and water.
Enter Emery Goossens and Evan Eichorn, two New York Univeristy college students.
