Food bank larder runs short...charity sees big drop in grocery donations

Senior Gleaners - the region's largest food bank distributor serving 4 million people throughout Northern California and northern Nevada - is facing a nearly 10 percent decline in donated food, the most drastic in its 29-year history.

Food donated to the Senior Gleaners warehouse from supermarkets and other retailers and manufacturers fell to 22.5 million pounds in 2004, from 24.9 million pounds in 2003.

The drop has continued into 2005....

"We've been in operation for 29 years, and it's the only time I've seen a significant decline," said Ernie Brown, spokesman for the nonprofit organization run mostly by senior volunteers. "We're going to have to figure out where to get more food."
...
Nationwide, food banks have seen a 25 percent decrease in donations coming out of reclamation centers where supermarkets send damaged, surplus or close-to-expiring foods. That was attributed partly to a rapid expansion of dollar stores that buy discarded groceries, said Michael Halligan, senior vice president for food sourcing and logistics at America's Second Harvest, the Nation's Food Bank Network.

http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/12858354p-13707793c.html

The economy is booming and there is money to be made. If they are not in a PVS (& noticed by the national news) no one cares if they starve. They are probably members of the liberal elite. Besides starvation is a personal responsibility...

My mailman just confirmed they will be picking up food donations left by my mailbox next Saturday. This is a nationwide drive, so everyone should clean out their cupboards of foodstuff they won't be using and leave it out for pickup Saturday.

No breakroom displays. No service talk. No notice to employees. No official mention at all.

N-O-T-H-I-N-G.

What. The. Fuck.

and asked my postman if he was participating in the drive.

here is a couple of local articles in different areas of the country:

http://www2.townonline.com/billerica/artsLifestyle/view.bg?articleid=239070

Food collection set


The National Association of Letter Carriers, in conjunction with the U.S. Postal Service, the United Way, and AFL-CIO, will collect non-perishable food items on Saturday, May 14, for distribution to food banks within the community.
Persons wishing to participate in the food drive are asked to put non-perishable food items near their mailbox for pickup by letter carrier when delivering their mail.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/local/states/california/counties/contra_costa_county/11595444.htm

Letter carriers plan to hold food drive

By participating in the annual Letter Carriers' Food Drive, residents of Contra Costa, Solano and Alameda counties have an opportunity to help those in their communities who are less fortunate.

Hundreds of letter carriers from more than 140 post offices throughout the Bay Area will pick up non-perishable food items placed by residents at their mailboxes early Saturday morning.

The food, which will be picked up when the mail is delivered, will be brought to a local food bank.

Each year the letter carriers volunteer to participate in the food drive to benefit local food banks.

Officials from the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano, and Alameda County Community Food Bank say this is the most important one-day drive of the year for their operations.

Last year, more than 70.9 million pounds of non-perishable food was collected nationwide.

Each month, Bay Area food banks serve more than half a million people.

Call 800-870-3663 for more information.

maybe you'll hear more about it tomorrow.

...I remembered it because the post office food-pick up happens on my daughter's birthday.

There was a flier at our local grocery store.

remember by next Sat., unless they put in another big ad near the end of next week.

This is no surprise given that this economy is in the shitter.


-------------
"Prosperity is just around the corner." — Herbert Hoover
"The economy has turned a corner." — GW Bush

Herbert Hoover = GW Bush

Neither man cared about the Depression their economic policies created.

to cough up a few bucks from the $8,800,000,000 they 'lost' in Iraq. It can't be all that hard to get some out of the Cayman Islands, can it?

:eyes:

hating the queers is a much higher priority than feeding the poor.

Grocery Outlet is a chain of grocery stores on the model of Ross or Marshall's in the department store business. Instead of donating close to outdated or mislabeled food to the food banks, I think the food producers are selling it to Grocery Outlet. Since corporations are basically not paying taxes anymore, they don't need deductions so they can sell their problem inventory instead of donating it.

http://www.groceryoutlets.com/

There are probably other similar chains but I am not aware of any except Grocery Outlet here on the West Coast.

There are probably thousands of others we just don't think about.

I've been once. Not that impressed. Plus, no union, benefits after 1 year. Yeah, right, like they'll keep people on that long. It won't last here I don't think. We've never been able to support more than two grocery stores, and our town is wealthy retirees, too tacky I think. It is probably food bank food too, one more reason not to go there.

as well as food bank supplies. :-(

There was a mother's day dinner today for a charity fundraiser here in my area. They cooked food for 300 people for it.

Not a single person showed up.

Maybe the rich needs another, an even bigger tax cut, to kick start the charity drives?