h/t Onomastic
The additional 40,000 pounds of food Lisa Ansell Frazier ordered in October for the Buffalo Youth Nation Project will help stock food lodges at four Wind River Reservation schools through December. The Project began in 2018 with a Wyoming Community Development Authority grant and orders from the Wyoming Food Bank. The Project’s schools have seen reading comprehension rates double, and attendance rise from 34 percent to 72 percent. “All of the community can come in and get the food they need, including now more people who don't have children at the schools.”
Native-led organizations all over are increasing effort to feed relatives as requests grow. More than 540,000 Native Americans receive SNAP benefits yet 65% of their households routinely experience food insecurity — 10 times the national average because their food access is limited by centuries of federal policies destroying Native cultures, not least by stripping their communities of millions of acres of land from which traditional food is derived. And by federal law, they cannot receive SNAP benefits in the same month as from the USDA Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) that packages to households directly.
"Look into what your ancestors did," Frazier said. "Go back to making relatives with people. The settler colonialism isolates in a hierarchy very divisive and based on paper and material possessions — that is not our way. This comes from Native to Native, so there's no shame, there's no condemnation, there's no superiority, none of that. It's giving with no expectation other than the health and wellness of the community. If you are healthy, then I am healthy.”
Many food lodges also put funds into partnering with hunters, meat processors, and local and regional farmers to meet the immediate demand, reflecting a core Native belief: that a connected community is a healthy community.
h/t Onomastic
More than 2,000 miles from Wind River, Ralph Francis (Passamaquoddy) is making similar decisions as coordinator of the Passamaquoddy Pleasant Point Food Pantry. The pantry serves up to 100 people a month, and many of the relatives Francis delivers food to on the remote reservation are elders, disabled, or don't have access to transportation.
"We are trying to stay ahead of the game; we want to run, not crawl. We don't want to be stagnant," Francis said. Last month the pantry began networking with more than a half-dozen non-tribal programs to prepare for the SNAP cuts.
"So ... I could go to them and get stuff, and if they don't have anything, I can give them stuff," Francis said. "We're doing a lot of collaborating and meeting with different people."
While hunters regularly donate deer and moose to the food pantry, Francis said their donations are coming in faster than usual — and some even from the First Nations Passamaquoddy community in Canada.
Francis encourages those in need to reach out for help. "No one should be ashamed of getting food for their families. "This is what we do. We take care of our people."
Kosaks are checking in with their local food banks and community pantries to find out what’s needed that the organizations sometimes can’t obtain on their own
h/t JGoldblum
I read that it’s best to call your local food pantries first to see what kind of needs they are looking for. Some of them do not take frozen food items, or do not have the capacity for refrigerated items, so it’s always best to call the place you plan to donate to first and ask them if they take refrigerated or frozen food items.. Many of them prefer a monetary donation because the pantries are able to buy in bulk and get more for their money, but they are very appreciative of anything that you can give.
The preferred items are peanut butter, jelly, bread,canned fruits and vegetables, cereal, powdered milk, granola bars, crackers, cookies for the kids, canned chicken and tuna,pet food, cat litter.rice, beans and pasta,oatmeal ,canned soups, coffee, fruit juices, baby items, laundry detergents, toilet paper, soap, shampoos, etc. Be wary of anything in glass like baby foods, etc…. try not to buy things in glass because they worry about things getting broken and people getting hurt in some way.
Some other things food banks may be in need of is dairy products like milk and cheese, meats, and fresh fruits and vegetables. With these items , it’s best to call to see if they take these items.
h/t arhpdx
Thank you to everyone who can donate in some way or another….you are making a big difference for someone else in this world. Love is the way.❤
I worked a shift at my local food bank, personal care items, shampoo, TP, Period products are in very short supply. Also cooking oils, coffee and tea.
Most definitely! Anything we use on a daily basis … Thank you so much for volunteering!❤
I have three bags of coffee in my donation bag that I will be taking sometime next week, I know how much I love and miss my morning coffee when I don’t have it, so I wanted to make sure others had some as well. I may just pick up some cooking oil before I take my donation in. Thank you!
h/t JGoldblum
Checking with them sounds like an EXCELLENT idea.
If nothing else, needs can vary so much from neighborhood to neighborhood, and the availability of all kinds of things can very from day to day.
Especially as retail and wholesale consumer goods and food goods businesses get hit by the drop in purchasing caused by the SNAP cuts. The entire food supply chain is predicted by a lot of experts to take a very bad hit, there will be lay-offs, delays, spoilage and waste…
But it’s their livelihood so they’ll do everything they can to overcome, and we will too. Because it’s each other.
h/t arhpdx <big>Hover for data</big>
h/t arhpdx <big>Hover for data</big>
<big><big>Portrait of Kendricka Kelly, a junior in high school who has been working at Grow Dat for nearly two years. Grow Dat Youth Farm nurtures a diverse group of young leaders through the meaningful work of growing food. The urban farm received a grant through USDA’s Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production for a Mobile Food Access Expansion Project, which will respond to and improve the unhealthy relationship to local food systems experienced by young adults in New Orleans. Young adults, ages 15-24, will explore and practice sustainable agriculture, community leadership, and food justice. The project also aims to form partnerships with people (growers, distributors, retailers, and policy influencers) and institutions participating in local and regional food systems. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grow_Dat_Youth_Farm,_New_Orleans,_April_2023_-_07.jpg </big></big>
