This is a sponsored post, but please: read it anyway.
Yesterday, while I was at the doctor’s office with my mom, I logged into my various social networks through my phone. On Facebook, my friend Raya who works with a local district office, asked if anyone knew of any food banks in our county because she had a resident with hungry kids and had tapped out the local food bank, but her SNAP (food stamp) benefits wouldn’t kick in for at least another week.
Apparently, here in Philadelphia area there’s a bit of a food bank crisis because of the current economy. I know things have gotten better for my family, but they haven’t for everyone else. According to this article at Philly.com, local food banks have seen a 65% increase in people needing their services.
We’ve been very, very close to not knowing where our next meal was coming from (although, blessedly, it’s been a couple years since that happened to my family) and there were many weeks of subsisting on ramen noodles for us in 2009 and 2010. My heart goes out to any family in similar circumstances.
It’s a big problem, unfortunately. Feeding America states, “In the United States, more than one out of five children lives in a household with food insecurity, which means they do not always know where they will find their next meal. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 16.7 million children under 18 in the United States live in this condition – unable to consistently access nutritious and adequate amounts of food necessary for a healthy life. In 2009, the top five states with the highest rate of food insecure children under 18 are the District of Columbia, Oregon, Arizona, Arkansas, & Texas. 20% or more of the child population in 40 states and D.C. lived in food insecure households in 2009.”
Luckily, when my friend Raya posted about this particular family in our area struggling, many local folks stepped up and last night a week’s worth of groceries were delivered to the family so they could have dinner (and breakfast, and lunch the next day and the next). But that’s just one family in one town; how many others need help?
Sometimes I understand that technology has become far too much a part of my life. I pick up my cell phone all too often to check in online, and I’ve had folks ask me with concern if I’m addicted to the internet. In fact, this spurred me into spending most of the weekend offline.
But I’m so grateful that I picked up my phone yesterday and checked Facebook, and was a small part of a group of people that helped this family. I also plan to start purchasing $15-$20 worth of items while on each grocery shopping trip to donate so that I can help boost the inventory at our local food bank.
What about you? Can you afford to donate some groceries to your local food bank? If you can, please do.
I’m so thankful to the folks at Otterbox, whose products help me keep my iPhone safe and protected. I’m also thankful to them for having sponsored this blog post – and gave me the freedom to write about what I wanted to write about while sharing about their awesome products. I was compensated for this post, and that gave me the ability to help the family I shared about here. Sometimes things really work out. Thanks, Otterbox. I love my bright purple iPhone cover.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
I also use the “coupon deals” that give you free or close to free grocery and personal care items and donate those. A lot of those things we don’t eat or use, but I like the thrill of the deal. Win, win. Don’t forget pet food!
I average three grocery bags a week.
We always do cash to our Community Food Bank unless there’s a food drive through my kid’s school or something. They can do far more with the cash, although I have no idea if that varies regionally.
Buying groceries directly to donate is a generous impulse. But do you know that your food bank may be able to stretch those dollars much further than individuals can? I know our local food banks have a buying agreement with several local grocery stores and large distributors, who sell the food banks food and supplies at v. low prices. At least in our area, $100 donated to them buys about 1,000 pounds of food! Check with yours. :)
Thank you for this post! So many people donate during the holidays, but then forget about the food banks for the rest of the year. I appreciate the reminder.
I love my purple Otterbox too :) And I love finding those connections in life. Those meant-to-be moments. We take our whole family to the food bank to deliver donations. Important to set the example for the kids by putting intentions into action.
One can always call the local Catholic Church for assistance as well. Catholic Charities provide assistance throughout the country and the world.
Rather than donating food, there are some advantages to donating an equivalent money. It’s tax-deductible (here in Canada, at least), and it allows charities to put the money where it’s most needed and often get better deals for their money by buying in bulk. Just a thought!
As others have noted, donating money directly to the food bank is a great idea because they can get more food for their dollar than we can. That said, I really like that your group was able to immediately deliver a week’s worth of healthy food to the family. When your money is so tight that you don’t know where the next dinner is coming from, hearing that you have to trot over here & over there & fill out forms isn’t something that fills you with hope.
We have been blessed to learn how to live on less, so the times when we had nothing to eat have come and gone. I think the shortage in the local food banks, even here in NJ, has been created because most people think that they need to donate actual items to really make a difference or that they need to donate copious amounts of money. A food bank can by half a pallet of food, which can feed about 30 families for usually 10 dollars. 10 dollars! You can help feed 30 families in your community for only 10 bucks. So, if someone really wants to be more of a blessing to the food banks, give the few dollars that you can, when you can. Be the pebble that starts the ripple in the lake.
I really like the idea of picking up a few extra things while out shopping, especially if you are shopping with kids in tow. I can see it being a fun activity for kids to do during the normal boring shopping trip and a way to teach them a lesson about giving back and even money management.
i like otterbox and donating to food banks. twinsies!
I think I told you this, but my kids’ school asks each child to bring a can a week for the local food pantry. It goes a LONG way and I find myself clipping coupons for peanut butter and tuna. Those are often requested by the pantry.
It’s good to be in a position to give but I also think it’s really important to direct those who are in need to places like food banks because often there’s support that comes along with that which cannot be provided by well meaning neighbors with a bag of groceries.
I’d suggest checking in with @hardlynormal on twitter… he can sort of expound as he’s on the front line of the homeless/very poor line.
It’s good to give. It really is.