Question about childhood hunger in America

[LucyStoner]

I looked up our parish food bank's *need* list before I went shopping this morning so that I could help fill the box a bit. One of the first things I noticed was that it dictates NO FRESHLY PREPARED foods, fresh foods (must be in "original packaging") or frozen items - I assume there must be a legal issue with homemade items and that there is nowhere to freeze the frozen items?

I purchased (as per the list): peanut butter, tuna fish, canned fruit, soups, hot cocoa mix, canned meat (chicken breast in this case), and baby food. It appears that this is as good as it gets? I looked at a few different local sites to see what they needed in terms of food - and only one accepted frozen or fresh

 

Here it is not red tape to preventing food banks from accepting it, it is space, storage and refrigeration issues. Some will accept things they can not normally if you deliver right before their distribution days.

[Scarlett]

To illustrate your point...We once offered a neighbor some green beans from our garden. This is a woman who had told me on many occasions she was broke and couldn't afford food. She turned them down. Why? Because she said she didn't know how to cook them.

 

That is just insanity though. Why would she not find out how to cook them?

 

Starting with asking you how.

[LibraryLover]

.

Edited October 22, 2012 by LibraryLover

[justLisa]

The food service department does not get any of that $20k a year per student (our district spends 22k per student :001_huh:). That is a separate pot of money. The food service provided meals get paid through federal/ state reimbursements and through paid meals from students.

 

Our district has an awesome food service program. They are very tuned into health and food trends and provide quality meals with very little money. Sadly that's where the awesomeness ends -- our graduation rate is 43%.

 

 

That's is WITHOUT the food? Holy crud....

[psychmom]

I agree with pp's that this issue is so frustrating and disheartening. Recently my book group read Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman. This (not at all serious) book was written in the early 90's, I believe. One character in the book represented famine. He congratulated himself on inventing food that would simultaneously make people fat and starve. I guess the book wasn't fiction after all...

[mommymilkies]

I agree with pp's that this issue is so frustrating and disheartening. Recently my book group read Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman. This (not at all serious) book was written in the early 90's, I believe. One character in the book represented famine. He congratulated himself on inventing food that would simultaneously make people fat and starve. I guess the book wasn't fiction after all...

 

I love that book!

[Rivka]

I think the school hot lunch program is one of the biggest mistakes our country has made so far.

 

Really? Wow. It wouldn't even make my top 500.

[Plucky]

Our church pays $500 a month to get a delivery from the Cleveland Food Bank. It is the food bank's JOB to feed the poor and hungry well! You would think that the food selection would include a variety from all the food groups, but it is terribly carb-heavy. It's very frustrating.

 

This month, we got cans of beef stew as the ONLY protein, NO canned veggies or fruits, and then boxes of mac n cheese, loaves of bread, white rice, and--MUFFINS. Prepared Otis Spunkmeyer brand muffins in double chocolate, cinnamon apple and lemon poppy seed. Oh yes, THIS is what we need to be feeding the needy. Made me ill. Not that I don't want people to have something sweet and "frivolous" once in a while, but this was in addition to donuts, bagels and cupcakes!!

 

I know that a lot of people have food issues, BUT I think that many people would be better served by having hot, freshly prepared, economical AND healthy meals available. At least in addition to such a limited selection from our food pantry! That means more time and manpower, but I really believe that the church is supposed to be stepping it up to do these things.

 

When we worked at the food bank we were told not to push the whole grains and healthy vegetables available because so much of it was left outside or returned. We wanted it available for the people actually looking for it, and it wasn't many.

[Jpoy85]

I know people who sell their stamps, then later in the month they complain they dont have food or they go to every pantry they can. 6packofun- Ive been to pantries like that. Where they give out the unhealthy things and claim its based on donations they get? :confused:

 

We make too much to qualify for stamps, oh but how i wish we did, $668 for a family of 5 was WONDERFUL! There are only 2 food pantries we can go to here vs the 4 when we lived on the other side of town. I cant even go to my church's pantry because i dont live in the town where my church is (its their rule, i dont like it, but it is).

We dont go without, but we dont have cookies and all that (unless we get it from the pantry).

[AimeeM]

I know people who sell their stamps, then later in the month they complain they dont have food or they go to every pantry they can. 6packofun- Ive been to pantries like that. Where they give out the unhealthy things and claim its based on donations they get? :confused:

 

We make too much to qualify for stamps, oh but how i wish we did, $668 for a family of 5 was WONDERFUL! There are only 2 food pantries we can go to here vs the 4 when we lived on the other side of town. I cant even go to my church's pantry because i dont live in the town where my church is (its their rule, i dont like it, but it is).

We dont go without, but we dont have cookies and all that (unless we get it from the pantry).

 

I don't understand what you mean by the highlighted. Our parish food bank is run SOLELY on donations. What is donated is what can be given. Since they aren't able to accept fresh foods or homemade foods, any money donated is spent stretching the already minimal food donations they have. I would say 95% of what they have was direct food donations. There is no "claim" to refute. It is what it is - a lot of canned goods and other food that can sit on shelves. They aren't ALLOWED to accept hot, fresh, or homemade. When I asked my husband a few minutes ago, he said it was something to do with DHEC and "food prep" sanitation requirements - which apparently extend to food banks. The smaller, church run food banks do not have the funds to spend on creating special areas to meet those requirements.

[Rosie_0801]

So why can't food banks accept fresh fruit and veg? The likes of carrots, apples, pumpkins and potatoes can sit around for ages without being in the fridge. :confused:

 

Rosie

[AimeeM]

So why can't food banks accept fresh fruit and veg? The likes of carrots, apples, pumpkins and potatoes can sit around for ages without being in the fridge. :confused:

 

Rosie

Our food bank (parish run) requires that all food be in original packaging and completely sealed. My husband assumes this is because of strict local DHEC regulations on some level - for the same reason that many local schools ban homemade foods or fresh produce brought in for a classroom... unpackaged food cannot be monitored for safe food conditions (they don't know where it came from, what it was stored with, how old it is, etc). Cans and boxes are sealed and have expiration dates.

 

That's our best guess anyway. We do *know* that local regs are pretty tight around here. I'll ask the head when I do my drop off on Saturday.

[Murphy101]

I love that book!

 

Me too...

 

That aside, these stupid rules are permitted to exist because as a nation our people accept them.

 

When people refuse, the rules will change or at least be discarded.

 

I'd refuse to bring a snack if I was told something so ridiculously stupid as I can't bring a bag of fresh apples or oranges or bananas.

 

If a locality hears that a woman was fined for giving a homeless person a sandwich, I think the ONLY reasonable answer is for everyone possible to go out the next day and start giving sandwiches in protest.

 

This insanity is ridiculously frustrating both to those seeking help and those who would give it more freely if permitted to do so.

[AimeeM]

Me too...

 

That aside, these stupid rules are permitted to exist because as a nation our people accept them.

 

When people refuse, the rules will change or at least be discarded.

 

I'd refuse to bring a snack if I was told something so ridiculously stupid as I can't bring a bag of fresh apples or oranges or bananas.

 

If a locality hears that a woman was fined for giving a homeless person a sandwich, I think the ONLY reasonable answer is for everyone possible to go out the next day and start giving sandwiches in protest.

 

This insanity is ridiculously frustrating both to those seeking help and those who would give it more freely if permitted to do so.

Agreed - which is why I plan on asking the head of the food bank if the issue is, indeed, regulation or just storage. If storage is the reason they can't hand out freshly cooked food the one day a week they are open, there is no reason I can't take out the third row in my vehicle and transport/serve the food myself; taking out of the equation any need for safe storage or prep. I'm not honestly sure what part regulations play in this, or if storage is the main issue (with the smaller church run food banks that are only open for distribution, say, once a week - so all food acquired is "dropped" during the week; leaving an "unknown", kwim?).

Edited October 22, 2012 by AimeeM

[Rosie_0801]

Our food bank (parish run) requires that all food be in original packaging and completely sealed. My husband assumes this is because of strict local DHEC regulations on some level - for the same reason that many local schools ban homemade foods or fresh produce brought in for a classroom... unpackaged food cannot be monitored for safe food conditions (they don't know where it came from, what it was stored with, how old it is, etc). Cans and boxes are sealed and have expiration dates.

 

That's our best guess anyway. We do *know* that local regs are pretty tight around here. I'll ask the head when I do my drop off on Saturday.

 

An unpeeled fruit or vegetable is in its original packaging! I'd laugh if it wasn't so stupid. Your genetic engineers have got a long way to go if they want lunches to grow prepackaged like they do in Oz.

 

Rosie

[Arcadia]

An unpeeled fruit or vegetable is in its original packaging! I'd laugh if it wasn't so stupid. Your genetic engineers have got a long way to go if they want lunches to grow prepackaged like they do in Oz.

 

Thankfully the soup kitchen and a food pantry farther away from me does accept donations of fresh fruits and vegetables.

 

I think soup kitchens in general would accept fresh fruits, vegetables and bread since food turnover is fast. Food pantries would have to worry about storage and liability issues.

 

Back home, a few bakeries were worried about donating day old bread and pastries to senior centres. They were worried about liability issues. In the end the non-profits who run the senior centres have a liability waiver kind of situation for these donations.

[GWOB]

Me too...

 

That aside, these stupid rules are permitted to exist because as a nation our people accept them.

 

When people refuse, the rules will change or at least be discarded.

 

I'd refuse to bring a snack if I was told something so ridiculously stupid as I can't bring a bag of fresh apples or oranges or bananas.

 

If a locality hears that a woman was fined for giving a homeless person a sandwich, I think the ONLY reasonable answer is for everyone possible to go out the next day and start giving sandwiches in protest.

 

This insanity is ridiculously frustrating both to those seeking help and those who would give it more freely if permitted to do so.

 

A-flippen-men!!! People! We have a right to free speech! If something frustrates you, speak out against it! That's about all I can say without veering into political waters. Just look at my last line in my siggy.

[phathui5]

I think a main problem is that they give people food stamps but don't give them any education on how to stretch them with coupons, comparison shopping and looking for good values.

 

This is a great point. I would love to see food stamps coupled with budgeting classes.

[Renee in NC]

I don't know about the numbers, but I know there is still a lot of poverty in pockets both urban and rural. One of my favorite organization is Christian Appalachian Project. Diana Sawyer did a big series of shows about the Appalachian areas and the poverty that existed.

 

:iagree:

[Renee in NC]

This is a great point. I would love to see food stamps coupled with budgeting classes.

 

It would be great, but people already have to take off work to go apply. Classes would mean more transportation costs and more time off work.

[melissad2]

:iagree:

Everything a parents owns is an "asset" - never mind that they don't live on a bus line so they *need* that car; never mind that the piece of property they own won't sell in the current economy, even at a loss; never mind that they are upside down on that mortgage from a better time in their lives... it's all considered an asset and too many assets disqualify you for aid.

 

:iagree:

[Catherine]

I'm involved in a large community vegetable garden, and our weekly surplus goes to a soup kitchen. Some of our members have been concerned that we not send any spotted or imperfect-looking veggies there. One day, the guy who met me kindly showed me their walk-in freezer. They get relatively little produce, and process it immediately by washing and cutting it; then it is stored in bins in the fridge to await the next meal. They definitely need fresh produce. Much of what they get is baked goods.

[stripe]

My husband told her I'd tell her. No she didn't want them. She said she wasn't used to eating stuff like that.

 

My mother had this happen when she lived in a rural area and grew zucchini. No one had ever heard of them and were frightened by their scary foreign name. When the crop came in, and she ended up with giant ones, she had no one who wanted them! I don't think she's ever grown zucchini again. ;)

 

About food banks, though, I heard the head of one on the radio, maybe last year, saying they really don't want donations of actual food because they can get so much cheaper food from whatever their sources are, at pennies on the dollar. So they vastly prefer cash.

 

But heck, I read an article about how cows are being fed candy to combat high food prices. :ack2:

 

There are places that distribute excess food of the sort that's been described, but, judging from the posts here, few and far between. Some classmates of mine once did a study of this one, called Food Gatherers.

[stripe]

I wouldn't know what to do with kohlrabi, either. I was at a garden and they had some; almost everything else was labeled but it. It was so interesting looking that my whole family wanted to know what it was. Yep, kohlrabi.

[Scarlett]

It's a cross between turnip and cabbage. You peal it. You can cut it very thin and use it in salad (I don't prefer that). I usually cut it up into sticks or cubes and boil it until soft and serve it with a sauce of some sort or fried up with some bacon bits. We had a ton of it this year so I cut it up and threw it in the freezer and I use it for soups. What's nice too is that it can sit in the fridge for quite awhile.

 

I'll admit the first time I even heard of it was visiting my boyfriend (now husband) in Germany. I really liked it. I do see it in the store here.

 

I've never heard of it either. But Google is my friend.

 

Seriously, the fact that she wouldn't even TRY to learn how to cook GREEN BEANS for Pete's Sake...seems like she is just lazy and wanting the easiest route.

 

Yes, I agree that many people are uneducated in how to stretch a dollar. I more and more admire my mom who raised my brother and me in poverty, but we never went hungry and we never had a utility turned off. Granted one summer/fall we lived in a small cabin in a cow pasture with a no running water. We had an outhouse and a well and 4 rooms. We took baths in a big tub on the back porch. When it got cold we lugged it into the kitchen and mom heated water for our baths. We also took a bath every.single. night.

 

She did take advantage of aid that she qualified for. But we never visited a food pantry or had to beg for food.

 

We were also always dressed well....I don't know how she did that...she made my brother's suits...she went to yardsales...we got new shoes and socks and a coat for school each fall...(lay-away at Wal-Mart).

 

I just don't get it. It makes me want to start a class on how to survive on very little....but then no one would come because there is one excuse after another.

[FaithManor]

I don't understand what you mean by the highlighted. Our parish food bank is run SOLELY on donations. What is donated is what can be given. Since they aren't able to accept fresh foods or homemade foods, any money donated is spent stretching the already minimal food donations they have. I would say 95% of what they have was direct food donations. There is no "claim" to refute. It is what it is - a lot of canned goods and other food that can sit on shelves. They aren't ALLOWED to accept hot, fresh, or homemade. When I asked my husband a few minutes ago, he said it was something to do with DHEC and "food prep" sanitation requirements - which apparently extend to food banks. The smaller, church run food banks do not have the funds to spend on creating special areas to meet those requirements.

 

 

This is why our church does not run a food pantry. As our pastor puts it, "I don't want to be in the business of giving people diabetes, heart disease, and cancer deliberately!". So, when people apply for assistance, there is a call list of men and women in the church who are willing to shop for the items (or similiar - sometimes if there is a really good sale going, we subsitute - this week chicken leg quarters are 79cents a lb. if a 10 lb. bag is purchased so anyone receiving assistance will get a big bag of those instead of roasting chickens) and two people will deliver them. Since we are bypassing "prep and storage issues", and going directly from the grocery store to someone's home, we can avoid those issues. It's not convenient for certain. However, we feel very strongly that WWJD means He would want us providing healthy food, not junk if we can manage it or at least, the best that we can manage.

 

When we do our Back-to-School outreach, not only are there the groceries available that I listed in previous posts, but also tons of fresh produce that has been donated by area gardeners. Thankfully, we've never had trouble getting rid of it. We usually have tons of tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, radishes, green beans, onions, peppers, cucumbers, and zuchini. The only thing we've ever had trouble over was the zuchini. Seriously gardeners, one zuchini plant per county please! The stuff is like the "Blob that Ate New York City!" One plant equals whole pallets of it. There should be a law that only one plant can be put into the ground per county each spring and the gardener must apply for the license and then agree to share the wealth with all of the other zuchini people. :D

 

It grinds me that we've got so many state regulations that simple carbs is all that food pantries can provide.

 

Faith

[Jenny in Florida]

An unpeeled fruit or vegetable is in its original packaging! I'd laugh if it wasn't so stupid.

 

It is sad, and I wish we as a society could find a way to do better by our vulnerable population. However, as I understand it, the thinking behind requiring foods to be in professional, unbroken packages is to protect the receivers from any mistakes or bad intentions.

 

Remember, we live in a world in which every bottle of over-the-counter pain reliever must be sold seal with plastic. Why? Because, 20 years ago, some maniac decided it would be fun to poison the Tylenol and watch what happened. And that was not an isolated case.

 

So, you take a vulnerable population -- families, children -- and you start handing out food. The food pantry, trying to provide healthy meals, gives out the fresh fruits and veggies that some anonymous donor provided. Maybe this donor is a wonderful person with the best of intentions, who doesn't know that his backyard garden has been soaked on e coli or salmonella. Maybe the donor is a crazy person who baked rat poison into the whole-wheat bread, because he or she is trying to single-handedly solve the homeless problem in that city.

 

Either way, people are hurt, sickened or killed, and there is no way to track the problem.

 

A sealed packaged from a recognizable manufacturer comes with certain safety procedures included. And, when something does go wrong, there can be a recall.

 

Are these policies ideal? No, but I do understand why they are in place. For my money, the best possible solution is to do everything in our power to help people not need these programs for the long term. A few months of eating packaged carbs during a time of crisis is unlikely to do anyone permanent harm.

Edited October 22, 2012 by Jenny in Florida

[Scarlett]

Thing with growing zucchini though is that some years we can have five plants and get one or two zucchini out of it. It's really weird. My FIL said it has something to do with male/female plants. But I don't know how that works. I do not have a green thumb. ;)

 

You have to cross pollinate. Or some such.

 

I have not ever had much luck with a garden. One year, when I finally had the room we planted a nice garden and then a horrible flood came and washed it all away. I did grow beautiful sunflowers one year in a small garden.....and got a few egg plants. Then I moved to a small lot with no room....now I am back in the country with an acre and room for a garden....I plan to have one next year.

[Mrs Mungo]

It is sad, and I wish we as a society could find a way to do better by our vulnerable population. However, as I understand it, the thinking behind requiring foods to be in professional, unbroken packages is to protect the receivers from any mistakes or bad intentions.

 

Remember, we live in a world in which every bottle of over-the-counter pain reliever must be sold seal with plastic. Why? Because, 20 years ago, some maniac decided it would be fun to poisin the Tylenol and watch what happened. And that was not an isolated case.

 

So, you take a vulnerable population -- families, children -- and you start handing out food. The food pantry, trying to provide healthy meals, gives out the fresh fruits and veggies that some anonymous donor provided. Maybe this donor is a wonderful person with the best of intentions, who doesn't know that his backyard garden has been soaked on e coli or salmonella. Maybe the donor is a crazy person who baked rat poisin into the whole-wheat bread, because he or she is trying to single-handedly solve the homeless problem in that city.

 

Either way, people are hurt, sickened or killed, and there is no way to track the problem.

 

A sealed packaged from a recognizable manufacturer comes with certain safety procedures included. And, when something does go wrong, there can be a recall.

 

Are these policies ideal? No, but I do understand why they are in place. For my money, the best possible solution is to do everything in our power to help people not need these programs for the long term. A few months of eating packaged carbs during a time of crisis is unlikely to do anyone permanent harm.

 

Bit, I think there are other ways to potentially help. For example, take land away from derelict landlords of trashed vacant lots and give it to the community for a garden. Provide someone to teach gardening and how to prepare foods from a garden, including how to can. If it is an option right there *in* a neighborhood as opposed to a requirement at the welfare office, then you would reach more people.

[Jenny in Florida]

Bit, I think there are other ways to potentially help. For example, take land away from derelict landlords of trashed vacant lots and give it to the community for a garden. Provide someone to teach gardening and how to prepare foods from a garden, including how to can. If it is an option right there *in* a neighborhood as opposed to a requirement at the welfare office, then you would reach more people.

 

Oh, absolutely. I'm not arguing that even a little bit. I love the concept of community gardens. And I think a food pantry could make a big difference by growing their own produce to distribute, since it would at least be traceable.

 

All I'm suggesting is that there may be reasons for these "stupid" policies that aren't necessarily about laziness or lack of information about healthy foods.

[Scarlett]

Gardening here is difficult. We have more bad years than good years. It's very frustrating. I'm very thankful I don't have to rely on it for my main food. I'd go hungry if that were the case!

 

Look I read Farmer Boy and they had fabulous food there in NY. So what gives now? Different part of NY?

 

AR (and I assume OK since that is where I live now :glare:---I keep forgetting) has good gardens most years.

[Catherine]

LOLOL!

[Mrs Mungo]

Oh, absolutely. I'm not arguing that even a little bit. I love the concept of community gardens. And I think a food pantry could make a big difference by growing their own produce to distribute, since it would at least be traceable.

 

All I'm suggesting is that there may be reasons for these "stupid" policies that aren't necessarily about laziness or lack of information about healthy foods.

 

Oh, I agree (and have worked at a food bank), I was just thinking out loud. :)

[Beetkvass]

Yeah we have a community garden. It's located in pretty much a ghetto. A young girl was always hanging around asking my husband for vegetables. He gave her some. She came back with them and said her mom didn't know what they were so she didn't want them. We do tend to grow some less typical vegetables like kohlrabi, but still.

 

Ugh makes me so sad though. I wanted to grow fennel this year. I really worked on hard on that **** fennel. We got nothin. It seems the growing season was just not long enough for it. *sigh* Growing stuff around here is a hit or miss.

 

I love fennel! We have a long growing season but I can never get it to bulb up. It grows like a weed in my garden now. I never need to replant it. My 5yog munches on raw fennel fronds most of the year now. lol

[Ipsey]

It would be great, but people already have to take off work to go apply. Classes would mean more transportation costs and more time off work.

 

Yes! When my family was on WIC it would take approximately 2.5 hours at the WIC center of county health office to receive our supplements for the month. It was during the day, and we were all kept in a small room until we could visit the nurse or get the foods (there were no "stamps" our coupons--they just filled a flat with irradiated milk and peanut butter, etc. right there in the building).

 

I had to juggle my schedule to make it work.

 

Once, they changed my milk for my 2-year-old to skim milk because he was on the upper cusp of the normal weight limit. (None of my children are even close to overweight.) It was nightmare :(

 

I can't imagine the time/transportation/child care issues if budgeting classes were required--though, I can certainly understand the need for them!

[SKL]

While I am all for the fruit/veggie and protein food groups, the fact is that if you're actually hungry, a loaf of bread is fine and dandy (and a lot better than nothing) in the short run. Or even some pastries, in an emergency. Obviously it's not a long-term solution, but I don't think lifelong nutrition is the purpose of food pantries and such.

 

I have always been a white carb fiend and never been overweight nor developed any diet-related health issues. It's not poison.

 

Also, the fact is that many people (poor and rich) choose that kind of diet even in the best of times. There's nothing wrong with providing it as a supplement for folks who are in need. Some of the comments above seem to imply it's sinful to give someone bread instead of produce.

 

Actually, the more I think about it . . . when times were tough as a kid, we used to have "bread 'n' gravy" for supper. That's exactly what it sounds like. A slice of bread with gravy over it. Yum. And we all lived to tell about it. If we had no gravy, there was margarine. Also, we literally never had fruit or veggie for any meal other than dinner.

 

ETA: My original beef about food donations is the fact that it's so regulated that people have to throw away edible food - enough to feed the entire world probably. That's one of the reasons produce doesn't get donated as much. But that in turn doesn't mean it's wrong to distribute what does get donated.

Edited October 22, 2012 by SKL

[AimeeM]

ETA: I just re-checked the site for our parish food bank and it says that sometimes they are able to send a truck to the larger food bank to get more food; it also says that they are looking for volunteers to assess emergency requests and make home visits (bring food for someone with no transportation) - I wonder, reading some of the other posts, if hot meals would be allowed for a home visit.

[Carol in Cal.]

WendyK, I have a book recommendation for you: "This Organic Life". It's about a couple who were serious veggie gardeners in upstate New York. I'm pretty sure that they achieved vegetable self-sufficiency using their garden and a root cellar. It's not written as a how to book, but it does mention a lot of specific fruits and veggies that do well there.

[Carol in Cal.]

On the subject of not taking green beans or good bread.

 

So.

 

This is what I picture.

 

Here is a family with the TV blaring 'want this, want that' at the kids all the time. They don't get to spend much time together unless someone is unemployed, in which case they are extremely stressed.

 

They go to the food bank and someone offers them something unfamiliar, and it feels like a stress, not a blessing. One more thing for the kids to whine about.

 

The first time I tasted a raw green bean, it was because a neighbor lady gave me a piece (raw) to eat, when I was about 5. I ran home to my mom and asked her if we could get that kind, and she got furious because preparing them would have been more drudge work for her. That is the last time I had them until I was out on my own. We only ever had frozen, cooked to death veggies. I hated all veggies except corn, asparagus and artichokes for my entire child hood, but once I was on my own, I ate raw green beans because that blessed woman gave me some.

 

The first time we tried whole grain bread we all hated it. Now it's all I eat.

 

It can be overwhelming to have to deal with another stressor. Personally, when I give away something 'odd' like that, I serve it. I bring whole grain hearth raised bread when I volunteer with 5th graders, and cut it in front of them, and we eat it together, with some kind of good but odd jam, or with cheese that doesn't come pre-sliced. I don't know how this plays out at home. I don't care, either. I am introducing them to something nutritious that they enjoy, and figuring that that is a good experience, and also that someday when they run across this again they will know that it might be really good. I don't make a big deal of this. I just put it out there, and if someone doesn't want it, no biggie.

Edited October 22, 2012 by Carol in Cal.

[mommymilkies]

This was sadly a bad apple year though. Many of the local orchards only have picking on weekends. I notice in the store there are slim apple pickings too. And the prices are nothing special.

 

Same here.

 

Gardening here is difficult. We have more bad years than good years. It's very frustrating. I'm very thankful I don't have to rely on it for my main food. I'd go hungry if that were the case!

We have had the same problem here. Most of the land here was tilled under months ago because it was all dead. We had record heat and record drought. Even the Amish and Mennonites here had very low production. Our garden was a waste of time & money. We have 9 raised beds in our small yard, plus many blackberry bushes, strawberry plants, and raspberry canes in our landscaping. We got a tiny yield of strawberries, many blackberries (they dried out before most could be collected to freeze, though, because of the extreme drought), one raspberry (yes, 1), and early on we got some lettuce and a few peas. We had a couple cherry tomatoes recently since we've been getting rain, but the frost got them. It's not a matter of what will grow here. It's the severe weather conditions. Even our neighbor with an irrigation system and greenhouse (yes, in town) had dead crops. Last year wasn't much better-not a single person I know raised a single tomato. There weren't any at the farmer's market, either, from around the area. In 2010 we had crazy good tomato crops and that was a drought year, too. Things be a changin. :glare:

 

The only thing we've ever had trouble over was the zuchini. Seriously gardeners, one zuchini plant per county please! The stuff is like the "Blob that Ate New York City!" One plant equals whole pallets of it. There should be a law that only one plant can be put into the ground per county each spring and the gardener must apply for the license and then agree to share the wealth with all of the other zuchini people. :D

 

Faith

 

:lol: this year nobody I know raised any zucchini. They just wouldn't grow. I never saw any at the farmer's market and only tiny ones at Walmart. Now you know something is wrong! We usually get more than could possibly be eaten. I was a little disappointed. I actually like them!

 

 

An unpeeled fruit or vegetable is in its original packaging! I'd laugh if it wasn't so stupid. Your genetic engineers have got a long way to go if they want lunches to grow prepackaged like they do in Oz.

 

Rosie

:lol:

[butterflymommy]

While I am all for the fruit/veggie and protein food groups, the fact is that if you're actually hungry, a loaf of bread is fine and dandy (and a lot better than nothing) in the short run. Or even some pastries, in an emergency. Obviously it's not a long-term solution, but I don't think lifelong nutrition is the purpose of food pantries and such.

 

I have always been a white carb fiend and never been overweight nor developed any diet-related health issues. It's not poison.

 

My opinion is that humans are like rats in this regard. We can eat just about anything and be ok. There are cancer risks associated with too much of certain foods (like grilled red meats) or too little of certain foods (fresh fruits and veggies) but if you stood two people next to each other, same weight and height, one of whom lived on organic cuisine and the other who lived on wonder bread, you probably would not see much difference.

 

Personally I try to eat healthy because there is a history in my family of reproductive cancers, but I love calzones and pizzas made with white flour. I'm not biting my fingernails over it.

[butterflymommy]

I also don't think it helps that many people don't know how to cook. I don't mean poor people; I mean, many people in all economic groups.

 

Time is a big issue too. I'm home all day, I cook for 9 people. I spend at least 2 hours a day cooking (often more) and about 1 hr on clean up, less if I have help. I have no idea how a person working long hours could possibly cook everything from scratch? Not to mention comparison shop (if they even have a working car)? And even with my constant cooking and ample supplies in the house, i *still* have at least one kid a day coming to me in tears because she's hungry and can't find something to eat in the fridge. Prepping food and making sure it gets to the child and making sure the child eats it isn't as simple as it sounds, especially if they're finicky or addicted to junk food.

[stripe]

Our cellar is not a good place to store anything.

 

Most aren't nowadays; unlike basements/cellars of a hundred years ago, they are is somewhat protected from the weather -- it's not freezing there.

 

Time is a big issue too. I'm home all day, I cook for 9 people. I spend at least 2 hours a day cooking (often more) and about 1 hr on clean up, less if I have help. I have no idea how a person working long hours could possibly cook everything from scratch?

I agree. Many of the working poor people I know work 2 full time jobs, as does their spouse. Not much time to sleep, much less cook complicated meals. It's very difficult all around.

[Pink Fairy]

I love smaller zucchini. They taste way better!

 

We tried to grow it. We got one. It was insanely hard. I had to peal it, seed it, and chop it up small and cook it to death in a casserole to make it edible.

 

What is the secret to small zucchini? I don't like the big ones either, and I've never been able to grow one that ripened before it weighed 20 pounds. :tongue_smilie:

[Carol in Cal.]

People that lived in this area in the past used their uninsulated attics. Winter was cold then. The tour guides usually show us squash hanging from a rope in the rafters and tell stories about defeating rodents.

 

Good point. Now that you mention this, I remember one of the Little House books talking about storing pumpkins up in the attic all winter. That's the beauty of winter squashes, including pumpkins, BTW--they store extremely well.

[Murphy101]

Meh. I'm so torn on this whole "they don't want it" or "it's more stress".

 

Otoh. I really do get it. After working their butt off for a paycheck that doesn't even cover all their necessities, they just want to sit down and eat and then go to bed. Plenty of sympathy there.

 

Otoh. Beggars can't be choosers. If they are doing well enough to be able to turn down what is offered, then they can't be that bad off.

 

I get annoyed by the entire concept of "help me" doesn't seem to mean to do whatever you can to help but instead means give me x, y or z.

 

If I have an extra bag of apples or a bumper crop of garden tomatoes to offer and I'm told, I can't give that bc it's not packaged at a store or wheat crackers bc no one likes it? Well that's what I have and they don't want it so I guess I won't give anything. We are on a budget too. I can't afford to just buy more expensive or specialty stuff for others than I do for my own family.

 

I've also seen that donations are often not accepted at places. Instead they only accept money. Then they give gift cards to local grocery stores. This way they don't have to store anything, sort/bag anything. Unfortunately it also means only people with spare cash can help at all.

 

So I had 3 garbage bags full of nice boys clothes I can't donate to a place that clothes the needy. Or I have a dresser I'd be willing to donate to a woman leaving domestic violence and needing to furnish her appartment. I don't have cash, so I don't get to do anything.

 

Usually I put it on Craig's list or take it to goodwill.

[Beetkvass]

What is the secret to small zucchini? I don't like the big ones either, and I've never been able to grow one that ripened before it weighed 20 pounds. :tongue_smilie:

 

You can pick a zucchini with a blossom still on the end and it should be ripe. I love small zucchini too and just pick them small. I have to admit I'm confused by the idea of it needing to ripen? In my experience it's much like growing greens. You can pick them as soon as you want and they are ready just small yet in size.

[Carol in Cal.]

Meh. I'm so torn on this whole "they don't want it" or "it's more stress".

 

Yes, I am torn, too. That's why I give as a demo instead of as a handout when it's something like that. But I also sometimes bring produce to our local food place. They put it out on the back dock, and those who want it and will use it can take some. It's a good way to handle this unusual stuff, IMO.

 

If I have an extra bag of apples or a bumper crop of garden tomatoes to offer and I'm told, I can't give that bc it's not packaged at a store or wheat crackers bc no one likes it? Well that's what I have and they don't want it so I guess I won't give anything. We are on a budget too. I can't afford to just buy more expensive or specialty stuff for others than I do for my own family.

 

Yup. I felt the same way when DD was a baby. I would dress her in slightly decrepit hand me downs to save money and be able to stay home with her longer, but the local pregnancy center would not accept anything with the slightest stain on it. So the stuff they wanted had to be better than the stuff I was actually using.

 

So I had 3 garbage bags full of nice boys clothes I can't donate to a place that clothes the needy. Or I have a dresser I'd be willing to donate to a woman leaving domestic violence and needing to furnish her appartment. I don't have cash, so I don't get to do anything.

 

Usually I put it on Craig's list or take it to goodwill.

 

I'm really sorry to hear this. It is not like that here. I would take your clothes and we would give them away. And the dresser would go to Next Door Solutions to pass on to someone in the exact circumstance you are describing. In fact, I donated a dining room sideboard to be used as a dresser to the San Jose Family Shelter a few years back to use in one of their rooms for homeless families.

 

Having said that, around here people don't always know about these options, and they find out by posting on a neighborhood elist or asking around at church. Maybe if you did that you would find an outlet for your generosity.

[AimeeM]

Meh. I'm so torn on this whole "they don't want it" or "it's more stress".

 

Otoh. I really do get it. After working their butt off for a paycheck that doesn't even cover all their necessities, they just want to sit down and eat and then go to bed. Plenty of sympathy there.

 

Otoh. Beggars can't be choosers. If they are doing well enough to be able to turn down what is offered, then they can't be that bad off.

 

I get annoyed by the entire concept of "help me" doesn't seem to mean to do whatever you can to help but instead means give me x, y or z.

 

If I have an extra bag of apples or a bumper crop of garden tomatoes to offer and I'm told, I can't give that bc it's not packaged at a store or wheat crackers bc no one likes it? Well that's what I have and they don't want it so I guess I won't give anything. We are on a budget too. I can't afford to just buy more expensive or specialty stuff for others than I do for my own family.

 

I've also seen that donations are often not accepted at places. Instead they only accept money. Then they give gift cards to local grocery stores. This way they don't have to store anything, sort/bag anything. Unfortunately it also means only people with spare cash can help at all.

 

So I had 3 garbage bags full of nice boys clothes I can't donate to a place that clothes the needy. Or I have a dresser I'd be willing to donate to a woman leaving domestic violence and needing to furnish her appartment. I don't have cash, so I don't get to do anything.

 

Usually I put it on Craig's list or take it to goodwill.

I tried to donate Nico's gently used baby furniture (very nice wooden furniture) to a local children's home - they weren't allowed to accept used baby furniture (they were a state funded agency, so "regs" hit again). The woman on the phone seemed distressed about it (you could tell she would take it if she were allowed); they can only accept cash donations to buy new furniture. :001_huh:

[Mrs Mungo]

I tried to donate Nico's gently used baby furniture (very nice wooden furniture) to a local children's home - they weren't allowed to accept used baby furniture (they were a state funded agency, so "regs" hit again). The woman on the phone seemed distressed about it (you could tell she would take it if she were allowed); they can only accept cash donations to buy new furniture. :001_huh:

 

This is because of changing safety standards. They cannot take highchairs, playpens, strollers, cribs or carseats because they cannot check the recall notices on all of them. Even our thrift store won't take baby stuff like that.