Food for Thought

Poll Update: Well, we didn’t meet the challenge grant, but our initial donation of $500 will help alleviate hunger in the San Francisco Bay Area = Good Stuff!

I’ve been thinking about food a lot lately. Mainly I’m thinking about the children who rely on free meals at school to eat. I personally know kids who receive both breakfast and lunch at school and during the holiday break, they eat less and sometimes go hungry.

I think it is criminal that we have hungry children in a country as bountiful as the United States. And yet, there is a record 49 million Americans living in poverty, with 46 million Americans relying on food stamps.

Help Provide Nutritious Meals

All Americans should have access to affordable, fresh food. So this month’s Donate My Dollars poll is focused on helping provide nutritious food for children and families in need.

The GoErinGo! Fund will give $500 to the San Francisco Food Bank and if we receive 500 “Yes” votes by Feb. 1, I’ll give an additional $500.

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SF Food Bank

The San Francisco Food Bank (SFFB) supplies food to local soup kitchens and pantries in San Francisco and Marin counties. The organization works with 450 neighborhood providers and distributes 45 million pounds of food annually. For every $1 we donate, the food bank provides $6 worth of food.

Here’s how the SF Food Bank is helping meet the need of hungry children and families:

• 225,000 people are fed each year
• 100,000 meals worth of food distributed every day
• 30,000 families given access to wholesome foods at SFFB pantries each week
• 11,000 children given fresh, healthy snacks in school rooms
• 450 nonprofit partners receive food for their meal programs
• 230 farmer’s market-style pantries help people prepare healthy meals in their own homes

Cutting Funds for Food

Starting in 2011, Congress cut the national food program by 40%, from 200 million to $120 million. The cutbacks translated into stricter disbursement of the funds and San Francisco was left off the list in both 2011 and 2012 despite the community’s growing need in this challenging economy. Luckily, the shortfall was made up by state stimulus money, yet this money cannot be counted on to continue.

Interested in helping our children receive nutritious food?

Nationally: Contact your local food bank to see how you can help. Here’s a listing of food banks across the country: Feeding America

Locally: In San Francisco and Marin, contact the SF Food Bank to:

- Make a Tax-deductible Donation — I did! Check out their online giving, monthly giving, workplace giving options

- Volunteer – I did! The Food Bank works with 25,000 volunteers each year. A few years back, I volunteered helping pack food in crates to distribute to local pantries. They have all type of volunteer opportunities and welcome kids too!

- Advocacy: Get informed and read about the issues surrounding hunger in America, including better school meals and food stamp reform.

Interested in learning more about pressing social issues? Check out these global Hot Orgs:

• Buying Women: Bride Prices in Africa
• A Good Night’s Sleep in Sri Lanka

Tags: Food banks, funding cuts, hunger, San Franicsco Food Bank

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 9th, 2013 and is filed under Donate My Dollars.