Good evening, Kossacks. This is the final diary in this weekend's blogathon for Feeding America. I know that everyone here at the Great Orange Satan is well aware of the increasing numbers of poor and homeless in this country. Many of our fellow Americans face "food insecurity", otherwise known as hunger, on a regular basis. One in eight Americans faces hunger every day. I also know that many Kossacks are facing unemployment, underemployment, and other financial difficulties which make it hard to donate to Feeding America. Tonight I want to talk about two ways that you can help the hungry without writing a check. The first is easy. It's a simple challenge. I will donate ten cents for every recommendation and five cents for every comment in this diary. I want to do this as a way of honoring my mom. She is brave, and strong, and hanging on, but her weight is way down. So please stop by and chat on my dime.
The second way to help is to donate time to your local food bank. Follow me below the fold, and I will tell you about the Yes, We CAN program in central New Jersey.
After the 2008 election, the Mercer4Obama group met one final time to plan what to do next. A number of us who had worked in the Obama campaign were interested in some form of community service. With the beginnings of the great recession, it was clear that many more residents of Central NJ were in need of food assistance. Since December of 2008, blue jersey dad, DeviousPie, and I have been taking part in a series of Yes, we CAN food drives at supermarkets and farmers' markets throughout the greater Trenton/Princeton area. The drives support the Crisis Ministry of Princeton and Trenton, which is the largest food bank in central New Jersey.
When we began nearly two years ago, we were collecting cans, boxes, and other non-perishable food items. However, the Crisis Ministry is now able to accept fresh produce as well. This summer, we have also been collecting donations of produce at farmers' markets. We use cash donations to purchase additional fresh fruit and vegetables from the farmers. Since we began collecting food and donations in December of 2008, we have collected:
• 5,366 bags of food
• An equivalent of 91,222 pounds or 45.6 tons
• $5,786 in cash donations
On September 11th, the national day of service, dad and I collected food and cash donations at the Pennington Quality Market, known to us locals as the "PQM". In just a few hours of volunteer time, dad, I, and the other volunteers collected 125 bags of groceries and $170 in cash. Some of the cash was used to purchase additional fresh food from our local farmers' market which is held in the supermarket parking lot.
Here are a few pictures that were taken on September 11th:
For me, a day of service is one of the best ways to honor those who were lost on September 11th, nine years ago.
Volunteering is easy, and it doesn't cost you anything. Most of the people we encounter are lovely and generous, especially those who have experienced hunger themselves. It is one of the most rewarding things that I have ever done.
Many thanks for your support of this blogathon.
If you want to donate money, here is the Feeding America donation page.
If you have time to volunteer, here are some handy tools to find out what assistance is needed:
--Plug your zip code into this search engine to find opportunities in your area to assist hunger organizations.
--Typing in your zip code and state in this search engine will locate food banks in your area.
--Clicking onto to your state on this map will return results for homeless shelters and soup kitchens in your area.
Feeding America Blogathon Diary Schedule (all EDT):
Saturday, Sept 25:
10:00a -- rb137
1:00p -- teacherken
4:00p -- Patriot Daily
7:00p -- srkp23
10:00p -- boatsie
Owls -- Jay in Portland
Sunday, Sept 26
10:00a -- JanF
1:00p -- Aji
4:00p -- Timroff
7:00p -- Chacounne
10:00p -- blue jersey mom