Food Bank Friday! April 24, 2009!

[ColbertWatcher]

Food Bank Friday! April 24, 2009!

Needs your immediate attention ...

The people at the http://friendsofpineridgereservation.org/projects/">Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota are asking for donations. Please check out their link to see how you can help.

In people of Emmonak, Alaska (as well as other rural Alaskan villages) are planning a summer food bank drive, in the mean time, please consider helping now any way that you can. Here is their shopping list for donations.

North Dakota seems to be slowly coming out of their mess finally.

Nevertheless, does anyone have any links or information about how to help out? Does anyone know what is needed?

If you are in the area, or know how best to help, please post in reply and we can start up a new thread to get it more attention.

Why is this posted every week?

I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but there's a whole bunch of stories in the news about http://news.google.com/news?pz=1&ned=us&hl=en&q=%22food+bank%22">food banks (Google news search).

Take your pick, there's plenty of stories from all over the country.

Also, if anyone has any information about people who may need help in North Dakota, please post in reply!

Some donation ideas

* donate money DUer peace13 reminds us that if a food bank accepts money, they can get food in bulk. Also consider donating office supplies to the organization that runs the food bank (old computers, phones, fax machines, paper, etc)

* "adopt" a food bank item and replenish it whenever it runs low (posted by DUer girl gone mad)

* donate birthday or holiday "kits" (DUer Rabrrrrrr)

* support Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) http://www.chiron-communications.com/farms.html

* donate to Second Harvest http://www.feedingamerica.org/?show_nce=1

* Find and donate "free after rebate" items offered by many stores http://www.salescircular.com/

* DUer peacebird found her household with a few extra dollars every month after paying off a car note, so now they donate that amount to food bank every month. (Way to go peacebird!)

Support your local cooperative extension service

* From the extension links in this section, donate all the items to complete one of the recipes (print out and donate copies of the recipe, too!)

* Donate recipe books (or other publications on nutrition) from your local cooperative extension service (Most states cooperative extensions services have all kinds of things available)

Also, after a quick google search for "cooperative extension service recipe," here are three of the top links:

* The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Recipe Central http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/recipe.shtml#basic">Basic Foods From Fridge, Freezer and Cupboard, including a single-page http://lancaster.unl.edu/FOOD/BasicFoodsforCupboard.pdf">list of ingredients (pdf) for all the recipes on the UNL site

* Cornell University Cooperative Extension-New York City's complete (http://nyc.cce.cornell.edu/nutrition/recipes/2008/NH%20Recipe%20Collection.pdf">Nutirion and Health Program Recipe Collection) (pdf)

* University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture's Cooperative Extension Service Departments Family and Consumer Sciences Programming
Recipes recipes for people with diabetes

DUer 1776Forever posted a link for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension in another thread.

More information about the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (Main website and Food, Nutrition and Health links)

The Cooperative Extension System is a nationwide, non-credit educational network. Each U.S. state and territory has a state office at its land-grant university and a network of local or regional offices. These offices are staffed by one or more experts who provide useful, practical, and research-based information to agricultural producers, small business owners, youth, consumers, and others in rural areas and communities of all sizes.

CSREES is the federal partner in the Cooperative Extension System. It provides federal funding to the system and, through program leadership, helps the system identify and address current issues and problems.

Food bank checklist

* Print out the flier below and make copies for your friends, family or co-workers to take with you when you go grocery shopping.

* surreptitiously leave copies at the grocery store!

(You don't have to pick up everything on the list, just remember to pick up something.)

If you're unable to donate at this time, but may need assistance yourself, please check out these ideas from your fellow DUers ...

* DUer readmoreoften has some great advice for where to find inexpensive food in your area

* DUer ProgrezivIndie compiled several links on one webpage (for help finding a job, medical care, food, etc) and what to do to keep your food edible after a disaster!

* DUer Missy Vixen found a webpage to help people receive free or low-cost medication!

* Please support candidates and policies that guarantee livable wages.

[ColbertWatcher]

1. Countdown kick? n/t

[AtomicKitten]

2. Thanks for posting this. Food banks need a lot of help. n/t

[ColbertWatcher]

5. I was shocked at the sheer number of new articles that showed up ...

... when I googled "food bank."

Usually there's less than half a dozen new news pieces.

[njlib]

3. Valuable information

Thank you for posting!

There's only one food bank in my county that accepts pet food as well. I donated when I got my Christmas bonus, some for the people and some for the pets. A few weeks ago, got a flyer in my mailbox that the local Methodist church was looking for donations. I stopped in with a few bags and included pet food, which made them look at me kind of funny. I went back with a few more bags two days later, one of the women remembered me and said "You know, people were so happy to see pet food". That little church pantry is currently feeding 70 families!

I've got 2 dogs and 5 cats and would hate to have to give them up if I couldn't afford to feed them. Please also remember that if people are having a hard time feeding themselves, they're also having a hard time feeding their pets!

Thanks.

[ColbertWatcher]

4. How very cool.

I hope the church accepting donations will change the flyers they send out to include pet food.

[njlib]

6. I've lived her for 8 1/2 years

and this was the first time I ever got anything in my mailbox from any of the local churches, which is just another sign of how bad things are.

Our little local paper had a front page story back in November about a little boy who was spearheading a pet food drive and that's where I read that there's only one food bank in our county that also accepts pet food. This kid was 8 or 9 years old and he's doing a lot on his own, with his parent's support, and inspired other people to do something. When I brought the second batch of stuff to the church, I started to mention the article and the woman cut me off and said "Oh, that little boy... I read about him, too".

The good thing is that I didn't spontaneously combust upon walking into the church, which was a BIG relief to me, so I'll keep watching for coupons & sales. It's all just so depressing...

[ColbertWatcher]

7. The best thing we can do to keep ourselves from falling apart is to do something.

Like what you're doing and what the young boy did and the volunteer at the church is doing.

[njlib]

8. I agree 100%

Everything really needs to get back on track so that more people will be in a position to be able to do something. I'm collecting unemployment right now, so that limits my ability to help as much as I'd like. My biggest fear is getting to the point where I'm going to need that help and then have to give up my animals! I'd be totally lost without them, especially now that we've been hanging out together all day for over 2 months. I started nursing school at night while I was employed and right now, I'm glad to have the time to study and keep my grades up...and keep them all company during the day. Although, I'm starting to develop their sleeping habits, which is NOT good! :)