Food Banks, in a Squeeze, Tighten Belts

[RamboLiberal]

Source: NY Times

Food banks around the country are reporting critical shortages that have forced them to ration supplies, distribute staples usually reserved for disaster relief and in some instances close.

“It’s one of the most demanding years I’ve seen in my 30 years” in the field, said Catherine D’Amato, president and chief executive of the Greater Boston Food Bank, comparing the situation to the recession of the late 1970s.

Experts attributed the shortages to an unusual combination of factors, including rising demand, a sharp drop in federal supplies of excess farm products, and tighter inventory controls that are leaving supermarkets and other retailers with less food to donate.

“We don’t have nearly what people need, and that’s all there is to it,” said Greg Bryant, director of the food pantry in Sheffield, Vt.

“We’re one step from running out,” Mr. Bryant said.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/30/us/30food.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

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In a thank you letter for your donation today the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank noted because of a federal reductions to "The Emergency Food Assistance Program" (TEFAP) they need to find a way to replace over $500,000 worth of USDA surplus food this year.

Looks like a lot of families will be facing a cold and hungry winter.

Damn, Bush can't be gone soon enough!

[cboy4]

1. See, this is where people should be donating their

money....as opposed to so-called Christian charities like Salvation Army that discriminates, and fires impoverished employees like the ones who sorted clothes but couldn't speak English.

[anitar1]

4. I do not donate to Salvation army. But, I do have

lots of respect for St. Vincent DePaul. I am not a Catholic. St Vinnies does great work in my town. They have built low income apartments , very nice looking buildings , and are building more. Too many things to list here. To me , that is true charity. But our foodbanks are having trouble now.

[LynneSin]

17. Catholic charities should never be lumped into these fundie groups

Despite my disagreeing with their stance with choice & birth control amongst other things, I would have to admit that Catholic Charities, in general, are pretty reliable groups to donate to.

About 2 years ago Delaware was one of the 7 states that got hooked up with low-cost heating oil from Venezuela. The oil went to a Catholic organization in Delaware who made it a point to distribute it to anyone in dire need of heating oil, regardless of religion.

[happyslug]

20. I do support the Salvation Army.

The reason is simple, when my father hit the beach in Normandy on June 6, 1944(the other regiment of his Division had broke out from the beach, but he was in combat by 9:00 am) when he went to the beach both the Red Cross and the Salvation Army had set up Coffee stands for the troops. The Red Cross was charging 10 cents a cup, the Salvation Army was giving it away for free (And all of it was based on US Army Supplies). What did my father need? Something to drink. Who told both organizations to charge 10 Cents a Cup? The US Army. Who dis-obeyed that stupid order? The Salvation Army. This continues to this day in disasters, The Red Cross being a pseudo-federal agency MUST obey any Federal or State Rule imposed on it (It they don't they are afraid of losing Federal and State Funds). The Salvation army has ALWAYS followed it own rules. They do this is disasters and other activities.

Many people have problems with the Salvation Army following its own Rules instead of rules outsiders what to impose on it, but that is its strength and why it is respected. You can NOT always agree with any organization 100% of the time (When you do that is NOT agreement but submission), you have to look at the group as a whole. As a whole the Salvation Army is a good group.

[happyslug]

21. You can convert, it gives you the right ot say "Oh my God, What has the bishop done now?"

When the Bishops do something really stupid (Which, being human, they do on a frequent basis) but they do try to do good (and can be very trying when doing so).

[Breeze54]

2. You should cross post this in GD and GDP!

And anywhere else you can think of...

This is pathetic! :(

[Double T]

3. This is the FUTURE for America UNLESS we elect the correct people to lead.

'correct people' doesn't include ANY of the frontrunners.

[area51]

5. k&r

These are hard times, and this is no booming economy. If you can afford to donate to a local food bank, please consider doing so.

[Eagle_Eye]

6. But the Republicans tell us if people keep more of their own money they are more charitable

Bush insisted on tax cut to allow people to keep more of their own money. It seems those rich republicans keeping their own money do just that - they keep it and do not donate to charity.

Of course I have to give little george a break. After all his illegal war in Iraq is costing a couple of trillion dollars and has caused oil prices to hit 90+ dollars a gallon. Bush 43's attempts to influence world affairs has sent the value of the dollar to record lows. The whole world hates us and food banks are bankrupt.

Thank you bush; we appreciate it!

[tanyev]

15. Oh, they still donate to charities.

Look at how many GOP congressmen have their own charitable foundations. Why, Barbara Bush donated lots of money after Katrina--every penny of it earmarked for Neilsie's crappy educational software that nobody wants. Maybe these hungry people will get lucky and find themselves in a natural disaster so that they have to go to a shelter. That would work out really well for them.

[I Have A Dream]

7. K&R! I saw this yesterday and immediately made a donation.

Thanks for bringing it here.

:(

[Hubert Flottz]

8. It's fallout from the Bush Tax Cuts For The RICH!

When wealthy folks don't pay taxes anymore, they don't need to donate to charitable organizations anymore, for their usual yearly tax dodging. You can see the results, now that the food pantries are bare, of how many of the wealthy, really, donated out of the "Goodness Of Their Hearts."

pResident Ebenezer Surge finally admitted yesterday, that the country is headed for a financial world of crap in 2008. That has to mean, that all his tax cuts and his much touted "economic stimuli" didn't exactly work out like he promised. We the people already kind of knew that.

Bush has "Fixed" the economy like he fixed his oil company.

[BronxBoy]

9. I'm making my second delivery today...

It's bad people.

It's one thing to come hear and read about the screwed up economy and quite another to have a food bank director look you in the eye and tell you she is seeing the number of people coming to the bank increase by a third on a monthly basis. And they don't know how they are going to keep up.

Even if you can only spare a buck for a couple of bags of beans, it will be appreciated.

[graywarrior]

10. In southwest Florida, more and more kids are signing up for the free lunch program at school

People can't afford to live anymore. $9.50 per hour is considered outstanding pay for Sarasota, yet rentals are $1200-$1500 per month.

[Sabriel]

11. People will choose this winter: food or heat?

The food banks in many Wisconsin towns are running short already.

I suspect a lot of children will go to school each day without having eaten...more than in past years.

[TommyO]

12. Thanks for posting this!

I have a pantry full of canned food that I don't need (changed eating habits), it's all good and it will find it's way to a local food bank this weekend.

[Summer93]

13. Billionaires to food banks

This is why *Bush gave tax breaks to the most wealthy so that the trickle down from their wealth would help the strving people here in our country.

Are you seeing stories in M$M about those important people making a small donation? They CAN spare a million for the needy.

No, the stories you see are the poor helping the poor. The people who used to be in the middle class helping the poor.

Trickle is proven not to work.

[rucognizant]

14. We are being Katrina'd

This is my home town!
In sagging wood homes and aged trailers scattered across Washington County, many of Maine’s poorest and oldest shiver too much in the winter, eat far more biscuits and beans than meat and cannot afford the weekly bingo game at the V.F.W. hall.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/24/us/24maine.html?th&emc=th

My friend also 68, called me yesterday very indignant. Now that we have our LIHEAP allottment for the winter, ( not nearly enough to get through) she heard that it's OK, the Governor has designated "shelters" to keep us "SAFE! Houston Astrodome anyone? Both of us are working a LOT harder than any younger people we know, running small businesses, as sole proprietors. SHe runs a self sufficiency, organic farm, with sheep, spins her own yarn and sells knitted and woven products at Farmer's Market through the summer months.
I am an artist with a gallery in my home, working towards illustrating children's books, my life long ambition, set aside in favor of the more lucrative, painting murals
to raise 2 children, as a single Mother. ( AND YES, at one time back in America I made a nice living completely off my artwork no day job as a nurse needed!) THE WORLD CHANGED NOT ON 9/11, but in 1990!!! There was a hostile takeover by 40 year old CEO'S deciding they deserved that 400 % more than the employees, salary. They did NOT hire us because we were too competent, showing up their flaws! They changed all the rules......SO instead of setting aside a 401K for my retirement, I stumbled through my 50's,
on a survival level, highest pay, $9.00 per hour,( on my own, had been $25. per hour) but enduring $100. per hour worth of abuse from an incompetant, crazy, boss. THAT WAS A KINKOS! Loved the job, was good at it, too threatening!
I even went back to college for a year, to learn computer graphic skills ( I'm very goodat that too, contrary to the belief that only the kids are adept!)( Can I take my computer to the shelter? Do they have DSL there?) And I still have $8,000. worth of student loans, accumulating 6.45% interest. ANd there's another place where the rules have been changed................I DON"T have a college degree....but I'm much better educated than most people I encounter with those letters after their name! I have the equivalant of 5 or 6 years of college, but I took many courses for the LEARNING, when I couldn't afford the extra for the credits. During my time at Kinkos and college,I saw how those letters were gotten and it wasn't about learning something, it was about "getting ahead" dog eat dog, cheat, steal, BUT get those letters! IT"S APPALLING!
I have been given 164 gallons of heating oil for the entire winter! ( my tank holds 250.) SO I am to abandon my work space in January, to stop working and live in a shelter until spring?
Bottom line...............though I got my education from my family first, ( 3 centuries of stuff passed down intact through the generations..) Due to economics, (can't afford the property tax in their area, they can't make enough of a living in my area: See we've already been segregated and herded for the last 2 decades.......) My Grandchildren are {supposed to be getting their propagand,ah education thru the tube.."TUBE FED!}
Chavez GAVE ME 100 gallons of oil free last winter........................will he be able to do the same this year with the CIA PAID dogs at his heels???????

[Joe Bacon]

16. But St. Ayn Rand's INVISIBLE HAND® always works!

It can't be true, why Brother Milton Friedman's INVISIBLE HAND® is much more efficient than the government could ever be! Your Corporate Controlled Conservative Press says so time and time again, so its got to be true! According to all those presstitutes, all we have to go is CLAP HARDER and Tinkerbelle will wave her invisible hand and stock all the food banks till they overflow.

This is what happens when your Corporate Controlled Conservative Press is detached from the masses and floats in it's LAISSEZ FAIRYLAND®!

[whistle]

18. According to the Richard Salsman series on Ayn Rand Economics

...the invisible hand has been made quite visible in Rand's novel "Atlas Shrugged" and it is all about the "me".

<snip>
Economics in Atlas Shrugged

For over two centuries, Mr. Salsman argues, economists have failed to identify the root of capitalism's productiveness: the creative, uncoerced mind. Modern economics now sees physical labor as the source of value, entrepreneurs as superfluous, consumers as prime movers and statism as curative. These perceptive lectures explain how, in Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand ingeniously concretizes and dramatizes proper economic principles.

Contrasting modern economics with the economics in Atlas Shrugged, Mr. Salsman examines such issues as the primacy of production, the pyramid of ability, the "long run," the role of money, the nature of competition and the organization of Atlantis. In Atlas Shrugged, Mr. Salsman concludes, Ayn Rand conveys both what is true and exciting about economics—a feat unmatched even by pro-capitalist economists.

<link> http://www.aynrandbookstore2.com/prodinfo.asp?number=DS51D

It is entertaining, even motivational, but total bullshit. Just as society stagnates and dies without the "creative, uncoerced mind", so it is that these greed-motivated, self-serving, rugged individualists blessed with their own sparks of creativity which Rand describes in all of her fictional accounts can't exist and never have existed without a society that has the capacity to support and nurture their run-away egos. Ayn Rand's own personal life was a prime example of someone who preached the philosophy of "do as I say, not as I do".

A long time close associate of Ayn Rand was Nathaniel Branden who wrote a piece titled "The Benefits and Hazards of the Philosophy of Ayn Rand: A Personal Statement" in which he focuses on the destructive moralism of Ayn Rand herself as well as many of Rand's followers. Below is an abstract and link to that piece:

<snip>
by Nathaniel Branden, Ph.D.

Abstract: For eighteen years I was a close associate of novelist-philosopher Ayn Rand whose books, notably The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, inspired a philosophical movement known as objectivism. This philosophy places its central emphasis on reason, individualism, enlightened self-interest, political freedom -- and a heroic vision of life's possibilities. Following an explosive parting of the ways with Ayn Rand in 1968, I have been asked many times about the nature of our differences. This article is my first public answer to that question. Although agreeing with many of the values of the objectivist philosophy and vision, I discuss the consequences of the absence of an adequate psychology to support this intellectual structure -- focusing in particular on the destructive moralism of Rand and many of her followers, a moralism that subtly encourages repression, self-alienation, and guilt. I offer an explanation of the immense appeal of Ayn Rand's philosophy, particularly to the young, and suggest some cautionary observations concerning its adaptation to one's own life.

<MORE>

http://rous.redbarn.org/objectivism/Writing/NathanielBranden/BenefitsAndHazards.html

[Postman]

19. $100,000 budget shortfall may cut NJ Farmers Against Hunger program...

http://www.nj.com/news/times/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1196399846296320.xml&coll=5

The private nonprofit program, New Jersey Farmers Against Hunger, will cease operations as early as tomorrow because it has not received $100,000 in funds it had expected from the state this year, said Judy Grignon, the program's coordinator.


For needy families, especially in cities like Trenton where access to supermarkets is limited, fresh New Jersey produce may as well have been an imported delicacy out of the reach of the poor before New Jersey Farmers Against Hunger got going.

"A child could grow up in New Jersey and never taste fresh fruits or vegetables," Mount said

[TheLeftyMom]

22. Nothing to see here, folks. The economy is great!

Shit. The economy is great for the RICH and that's it. I'm not getting a raise this year and I bet most of the rest of us aren't either. While everything goes up in price. No wonder food banks are struggling, the price of almost all food is going up.

It makes me want to jump on the buy local/organic trend.

[brer cat]

23. A case of Ensure would be a thoughtful donation.

Many elderly and ill need to obtain nutrients and calories in liquid form. Contact local hospitals & nursing homes to see if they will let you buy a case at their wholesale price to donate to a food bank. My sister's hospital charges $10.50 per case vs. $30+ at retail.