Food Banks and Bank Food-by Texans for Peace

[w8liftinglady]

http://www.texansforpeace.org/

Food Banks and Bank Food

"No citizen should be so wealthy as to buy another, and none so poor as to be forced to sell himself" -- Jean-Jacques Rousseau (The Social Contract)




The proverb "If you give a man a fish, he will be hungry tomorrow. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime" seems like a reasonable proposition if taken on its face. Afterall, it implies self-reliance as a virtue and societal goal. Who can argue that persons would be better off if each had the ability to supply all of his or her own needs.

At the same time, we live in a nation where each person is expected to contribute in some way to the common good and to help "secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity." But, something has gone terrible wrong.

The economic system that has evolved in the U.S. has become a free-for-all stacked against in favor of idle wealth and against those who work for a living. A financial class has come to rule our economy, politics and communications and connives to enrich themselves at the expense of others ….making us all poorer as a result. Many people have simply become canapés for Bankers to munch on.

Back to the proverb: The banker would extend it, "…then you can sell the fisherman the bait, hooks and fishing gear and charge him for access to your private lake." "Even better - don't teach him to fish and require him to purchase all of his food from you at global marketplace rates." With parting advice, they would suggest, "Pay him the lowest wages possible while charging inflated rates for housing, energy, clothing and medicine." In such a way you will ensure his continued dependency upon you and guarantee recurring revenues.

Food Banks

Such is the nature of the modern laissez-faire economy where, on one hand, we produce mountains of food - enough to feed half the world - yet Americans go hungry every day. Even the $1 "value" menu at local fast food chains isn't enough to offset the nearly-empty pockets of some families. Appeals by food banks are evidence enough.

A 2009 Feeding America survey found that 99% of food pantries reported an increase in demand for emergency food assistance during the past year. "Despite the fact that the nation's food banks delivered approximately 2.63 billion pounds of food between July 2008 and June 2009 - an increase of 21.4% over the prior year - many are struggling to meet the increase in client demand," reads the report.

Across the United States, more than 35 million families (14.6% of U.S. households) experience food insecurity and millions of children go hungry each day. According to the Bread for the World Institute, at least 3.5% of households experience severe hunger. Some people in these households frequently skip meals or eat too little, often going without food for a whole day. An estimated 9.6 million people, including 3 million children, live in these homes.




U.S. poverty rates in 2010 have risen to levels not seen since the 1960's - before the programs of the "Great Society", before Reaganomics and "supply-side" theories, before the financial swindling, the dismantling of industry, the treachery and collapse of trade unions, NAFTA and endless overseas wars. With the rollback of social spending in recent decades, it's as if all of the worker gains for the past 50 years has been wiped out - except for the tremendous growth in profits of the investor class.

In relatively prosperous Texas - home to many of the world's richest people and corporations - local food banks raise the alarm of running out of food.

"We're seeing people unemployed or underemployed and they're having to make tough choices like rather or not they should pay the rent that month or go without food," Becky Landes, the vice president of program services at Northwest Assistance Ministries in Houston. According to a 2010 study by the Houston Food Bank, approximately 137,000 individuals are fed by the food bank organization each week.

"We're having to cut back on the amounts we're ordering because we have a budget crunch," said the Rev. Jay Cole, Crossroads' (Dallas) executive director. That means nearly half as many bags of groceries for the 7,500 people who come to the charity each month for food...... MORE Page 2>






“' You,' doesn't mean someone else and 'Feed the Hungry' wasn't just a suggestion." -- Anon

[w8liftinglady]

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Food Banks and Bank Food....(continued from Page 1)

"We've been turning people away, which just breaks our hearts," Cole said. Most area food pantries stock their shelves through the North Texas Food Bank. The food bank had to cut the amount of food it could provide to agencies by 13 percent despite increased demand.
"The number of people that go to one of our food pantries would fill Cowboys Stadium two times," says Jan Pruitt of the North Texas Food Bank. At the Cedar Hill Food Pantry, Gene Sims has been scrambling to feed the 1,300 people - half of them children - who rely on the charity for groceries each month.




The San Antonio Food Bank says that it is seeing a "huge" increase in first-time families coming to them for help. During this year's food drive, they hope to collect one million pounds of food. Local food pantries aren't able to purchase food from the Food Bank because is running low on food. "The shelves are bare," says Alamo College Catholic Student Center recruiter Audrey Grams. "We have money in our account, but there isn't food to buy."

The West Texas Food Bank (Odessa, El Paso, Alpine) says for the first time in over a decade they cannot afford to purchase turkeys to hand out for thanksgiving meals. "In the past USDA has made turkeys available to us, that is something that did not happen this year," said Wade Kuehler, Board President of the West Texas Food Bank. Without free turkeys from the USDA, Kuehler says the Food Bank is left to purchase thousands of turkeys themselves. "We're looking at about $.99 a lb. and we made a decision that we couldn't afford to spend our limited resources to bring in turkeys for one day."

Even as restaurants in Austin are filled with prosperous patrons, a shortage of food has the volunteers who run the Shepherd's Heart Food Pantry in Taylor asking the community for more donations. The food pantry is sponsored by the Taylor Area Ministerial Alliance but purchases food from the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas. During the past few months, however, the food bank has not had as much food to share. " inventory is reduced and so all the pantries that order from them are experiencing a shortage," says JoLynne Williams, Shepherd's Heart manager. Williams says the pantry was not able to order enough food for November to fill the approximately 325 bags of groceries the pantry distributes weekly. In September, the pantry cut its hours on Wednesday and Friday because of the food shortage and to accommodate workers' schedules.

Yet, grocery stores shelves are fully stocked and U.S. farmers are reporting record crop surpluses.

"Even as the broader economy falters amid signs of a weakening recovery, the nation's agriculture sector is going strong, bolstered in part by a surge in exports, according to federal estimates of farm trade and income," crows the New York Times. estimates show that American farmers will ship $107.5 billion in agricultural products abroad in the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30. That is the second-highest amount ever, behind the record $115.3 billion in exports logged in 2008, when commodity prices soared as the global demand for agricultural products was helped by fast-growing economies in the developing world.

BANK FOOD

The investor-class, led by global bankers, is thrilled. They see future profits where others see hunger. Their vaults are filled with lucre and they encourage people to "buy more gold" (even to eat it, as had become popular among the rich). We are still a wealthy nation, despite the economic downturn.

Americans are some of the most productive people on earth and have made U.S. corporations - and the investor class of this nation - rich enough to live like kings. The United States - with 27.8% of the world's largest corporations - is a financial giant, followed by Japan and then China. Since 1980 the U.S. economy has expanded greatly and American corporations have become global in scope, often gobbling up their competitors.




And yet, this isn't enough for the insatiable appetite of bankers. They use their corporate media spread falsehoods about the economy while leveraging political power to fill their coffers even more with financial "bailouts" and tax cuts. They confuse the working poor and ignorant about the economic system and why we have hunger.

The problem isn't 1. The supply of food and 2. Overall U.S. economic health. It also won't be won't be solved by taking a few more canned goods down to the food pantry or increasing government programs that subsidize food (although please by all means, DO donate to your food pantry today!).

The primary reason why American families can't afford to purchase the inexpensive food that fills America's warehouse is that they have too little income. Their wages are too low. The record profits of corporations is testament to the toil of those same families who are seeking help at food banks.

The real problem is that the too much of wealth of these corporations has come out of the pockets of working men and women. The rising income inequality of this country is due to a minority of Americans who would rather "get theirs" than pay livable wages to their fellows.
Americans go hungry every day because they have become food for banks to consume.
The U.S. Census Bureau statistics show that while U.S. wealth (GDP) per capita has increased 67% since 1980, while median household income only increased 15% during that same period. During 2009, median household income actually fell to $49,777. This was down from $50,122 in 2008, and $50,233 in 2007.

"Trickle down" economics didn't. Instead it created such inequality that the wealthiest 25% of households now hold 87% ($54.2 trillion in 2009) of all wealth the United States (forget "income" and focus on "assets" for a change). At the same time, the poorest quarter of Americans pay higher tax rates than they did before WWII, after which they were asked to bear the burden of paying for war debt. Those in the highest tax brackets learned how to game the system, profit from government, while getting "tax cuts".

A tiny minority of these same Americans are the ones charging such high rents that their fellow citizens have to choose between paying their utilities or buying food. The super wealthy own the credit card companies and banks and charge usurious interest rates on people who must finance their car to get to work, their child's education or to pay medical bills. They dine at sumptuous banquets while the man on the street begs for bread. They manage to spend billions of dollars each election cycle and purchase lobbyists to gain federal contracts while the shelves of local food pantries are bare.

Hunger in American won't be solved without restructuring our economic system: Providing ways in which men and women can earn the wages needed to provide the basic necessities for their families, Creating an economy that rewards the worker as much as the investor, and Taxing the wage earner less, and the asset owner more. Economic change is essential. It will help fulfill the American ideal of a nation that promotes the general Welfare of The People.

FREEDOM IS MORE THAN A PAPER PROMISE

Right after the Great Depression - when millions of Americans found themselves without food, homes or jobs - President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the nation and proposed Four Freedoms people "everywhere in the world" ought to enjoy:

1. Freedom of speech and expression
2. Freedom of worship
3. Freedom from want
4. Freedom from fear

Norman Rockwell's famous depiction of "Freedom from Want", aptly illustrates the image for today - a full Thanksgiving buffet. It's part of an ideal that continues to draw people to this rich land of milk and honey. However, we aren't living up to the ideal when so many need handouts to survive while plutocrats and oligarchs focus on stock dividends.

We need more human development as part of the general welfare of this nation. Empty words and promises don't suffice for those who starve. To paraphrase M.K. Gandhi, It matters little to the hungry child whether they live in a dictatorship or a "democracy" and now is the time to fix the system of government and commerce that has led to the sitution of poverty in the midst of enormous wealth.

We must restructure our economy to bring human needs to the forefront while creating an economy that provides better wages and economic development, particularly for small businesses. An increase in wages and reduction in interest rates and overtaxing of the poor is essential to setting things right. The time is now, during the economic downturn, to take power away from those who have led us into this morass and return it to "The People".

Otherwise we'll continue to need food banks throughout the U.S. A. - and Americans will remain a food for bankers.

Peace and Justice,


Charlie Jackson

[tammywammy]

2. We just did a food collection for Mission Arlington at work

It was just our program, but we were able to collect over $300 plus a lot of food.

I heard on the news the other morning that the North Texas Food Bank can feed 4 people for $1.

[w8liftinglady]

3. I am SO proud of you guys.Mission Arlington has been a life-saver for many

[tammywammy]

7. We should start doing it more

I mean I'm probably the lowest paid person, but with all the sales that were on for Thanksgiving I was able to get quite a bit of food for not much money.

edited to add: Really I should start doing it more. I cannot afford much, but it's something for someone that really needs it.

[DCKit]

4. Ah, those jokers, still taking the "Christ" out of "Christianity".

Gotta admire the effort.

[Horse with no Name]

5. Excellent. K&R.

Hope you are doing well!

[DCKit]

6. "kill all the fish, and we own the market" - Corporate 'Murka n/t