Should John Steinbeck be alive today he would not like this: that seventy years after the publication of his masterpiece (August 1939), The Grapes of Wrath, places like California - among other states - have not eradicated hunger, and in fact it is a long way from it.
I think that his novel - which is a story of human unity and love as well as the need for cooperative rather than individualistic ideals during hard times - fits well with the general theme of NFTT, a collective effort in raising funds and garnering awareness for the plight of the soldier, thousands of miles from home and family, slogging it hard under dire conditions. This is why you should donate to this worthy cause, if you can. Any amount will be greatly appreciated.
I came across Steinbeck in high school. I had the good fortune of being taught literature by a wonderful teacher whose love of "engagé" American, Russian and French novelists instilled in me a lifelong respect for the plight of humanity.
The book tells the story of the Joad family and illustrates the hardship and oppression suffered by migrant laborers during the Great Depression. It is an explicitly political novel that champions collectivist action by the working classes over individualism and self-interest of the moneyed rulers (shades of modern bankers?) It thoroughly condemns the corporate and banking elites for underhanded (read fraudulent) policies while maximizing profits thus forcing farmers into destitution and even some to starvation.
The novel begins with the description of the dispossessed, migrant family's departure from their windy and dusty land, and their painfully slow economic disintegration (which, btw, was also partly due to bad farming practices). There is great insight into the thousands of Oklahoma, Colorado, Texas Panhandle (and if I remember well, Kansas) families who were evicted by unscrupulous landowners and uprooted from their "dust bowl". They were forced to search westward in the often inhospitable "paradise" of California for jobs and survival with thousands of others. I'm sure most of you have read the book so I'm not going to do a review but rather briefly attempt to juxtapose then and now.
Today, despite California's remarkable agricultural abundance and America's unprecedented prosperity, close to 5 million Californians are hungry or live in fear of hunger and many, many more across the whole of the United States (theses stats, btw, are from 2006, so you can bet that it has gotten a lot worse). For many, the only recourse will be found in menial (and un-unionized) jobs with barely livable wages and for those who can't, their best defense - and sometimes the only one against hunger - can only be found in various food banks and federal food programs. And here's the rub: this recession has sent more and more people to food banks looking for help but at the same time, individuals and corporations have cut back on charitable giving. Some food banks have little to give. Shelves are depleted.
In California, a state with 36.5 million residents, food banks serve about 5 million people per month, said Jessica Bartholow of the California Association of Food Banks.
California has the second highest rate of poverty in the nation of any state, only surpassed by New York and the District of Columbia. Los Angeles, Monterey, and San Francisco Counties have poverty rates around 20%, which place them in the range of the ten highest poverty counties in the nation. Jesus, having reread "Cannery Row" lately you'd think in seventy years things would improve a bit!
The majority of food banks say they are having trouble meeting demand because of a 59 percent drop in goods provided by the federal government, forcing them to buy more food while prices are rising. Manufacturing efficiencies also have decreased the amount of surplus and defective products typically donated by companies, food bank employees say.
A horrifying look at hunger is to be found at his site which shows that money spent on programs to lose weight is triple the amount needed to alleviate hunger altogether.
Indeed, Steinbeck would reel at those figures. Food for thought, eh?
Now a word (or two) from our sponsor:
Our goal for Netroots For The Troops 2009 is $50,000.00 (cash or in-kind donations).
PLEASE DONATE HERE
We realize that you would like to donate something tangible to go inside the packages that will be mailed to the troops. Unfortunately, accepting in-kind donations from individuals is not practical in terms of storage and handling of the items. The Pittsburgh Convention Center is a union shop so we have more stringent rules that need to be followed. Instead, we will only be accepting corporate donations or cash from YOU to purchase items for the care packages this year.
Here’s how YOU can help:
- Please contact TexDem or VeloVixen if you know someone who might be helpful in securing the corporate in-kind donations. To help you think of companies who could donate products, see below* for a list of potential items. Put your thinking caps on and let us hear from you. It takes time to get through the corporate processes so we need to hear from you ASAP!
- We are accepting cash from individuals and
beg ask that you DONATE HERE to contribute to this worthy cause. Your donation will enable us to purchase the things that we are unable to obtain through corporate donations, and will help to pay the costs of shipping them to our troops. This year your donations will be tax deductible, thanks to Netroots Nation and their partner Netroots Arts and Education Initiative, a California 501(c)3 corporation.
- Sign up for a diary! Our goal is to post two diaries per day until NN09. That’s a lot of diaries! Don’t worry---we’ve made it easy for you. We’ve got a template set up, and all you need to do is add a small introduction telling us why you are donating, sharing a story of someone you know who has served or is serving, or any other thing you want to share that might help motivate others to donate. Please contact Donnamarie if you are interested in posting a diary.
- Do you know a service member who would like to receive a care package? Email a request to: NFTT.request@gmail.com before July 31, 2009.
Please include all of the following information. Unfortunately we will not be able to process any incomplete requests:
Rank:
Last name:
First name:
APO Address Line 1:
APO Address Line 2:
APO Address Zip:
- Write letters to be included in the packages! Our own jlms qkw is collecting the letters and will print them out and bring them to Pittsburgh. Just email your letter to her jlms_qkw@yahoo.com. Look for more information from jlms qkw soon. If you need some ideas, rbutters wrote an excellent diary with tips on how to write letters to troops and why it’s so important to them.
- Help us assemble the packages in Pittsburgh. It's fun! More information will be forthcoming for those of you who are going to be in Pittsburgh and would like to help there.
- Please consider joining the NFTT FaceBook Group. Invite your FaceBook and non-FaceBook friends.
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*The following list contains some of the things we would like to include in the packages. Please let us know if you know someone who might be helpful in securing these corporate in-kind donations. (Please DO NOT send these items yourself! We have no way to accept them. Instead, your cash donation is the very best way to help make this happen on the ground in Pittsburgh.)
- Baby wipes
- Mechanix gloves
- LED flashlights
- Gel shoe insoles
- Goop Cleaning Gel
- Powdered energy drinks
- Gel energy food packets
- DVDs and CDs
- Letters to the soldiers
- More suggestions coming soon
Books for Soldiers
Soldiers love to receive books, but due once again to the logistics of collecting and storing them prior to NN09, books will not be included in the packages that NFTT will put together this year. Other organizations are more specialized in the collection and distribution of books to Iraq and Afghanistan. If you are interested in sending books, please consider checking out the Books for Soldiers Website. It is run by DKos's very own StormBearand is a great resource for giving.
Important Note about Successful Online Donations
PLEASE DONATE HERE
When you make your online donation, the screen indicates that you are donating to Netroots Nation. This is the right screen! Rest assured all donations WILL go to NFTT. If you wish, feel free to use the comment area provided to note that your donation is intended for Netroots For The Troops. It isn’t necessary to do this however, as this is the only fundraising activity being conducted for Netroots Nation at this time. For further information about online donations, please read TexDem's diary on the subject.