Friday, September 02, 2005

New Math Grocery Shopping



















It is a beautiful day in southern California. The sky is blue, the birds are singing -- and the palm trees are standing upright and strong!

In much of the southern U.S. right now, this picture could not be farther from the truth. Tens of thousands of people feel the world in upheavel. Many are very, very hungry.

As Labor Day weekend is upon us, filling up a shopping cart with food items is usually part of the Ingredient's Sleuth's ritual. Here is some "new math" to be considered when filling up my Labor Day shopping cart:

One bottle of wine = 150 meals for the hungry
One case of beer = 360 meals for the hungry
One bag of chips = 75 meals for the hungry
One dozen donuts = 105 meals for the hungry


The list, of course, could go on and on. "Where would one find these meals for the hungry at this price," you ask? "It sounds like a tremendous program!"

And it is! America's Second Harvest (www.SecondHarvest.org) feeds hungry, disadvantaged Americans the year round. It already has food banks and distribution channels established throughout the United States. Today, September 2nd, it already has over 1 million pounds of food enroute to the hurricane survivors. Amazingly, one U.S. dollar contributed to Second Harvest equals 15 meals to the table (about four bags of food) for the hungry.

This weekend, September 1st through September 5th, has been designated as "Blog for Relief" weekend. Today, September 2nd, as of late morning Pacific Daylight Time, 1411 blogs in 20 countries have listed links to 156 charities targeting Hurricane Katrina relief. Over $359,310 has been raised.

The Ingredient Sleuth's blog will continue to list Second Harvest's link in the sidebar (it actually has been there for several months already -- how can a blog focused on food NOT consider feeding the hungry?).

America's Second Harvest:

by phone: 1-800-344-8070.

by mail: 35 E. Wacker Dr., Suite 2000, Chicago IL 60601

online: www.secondharvest.org


May this Labor Day weekend be blessed with safety -- and food -- for ALL of us!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Readers:

If you would like to keep an eye on the Blog Relief Weekend stats, just go to:

www.truthlaidbear.com/katrinarelief.php

The Ingredient Sleuth

Anonymous said...

Second Harvest does such good work and is a wonderful suggestion for contributions. We see the volunteers in the fields collecting what the big farm harvest equipment leaves behind. Thank youfor suggesting it and giving the contact info.

Anonymous said...

This is so beautifully done. Many thanks for your care and concern for others.

Anonymous said...

We here in Europe cannot believe what we see on television about the Katrina hurricane. We pray for your citizens.

Anonymous said...

Great idea and great way to present it.

Anonymous said...

We saw the Second Harvest trucks delivering aid to Mississippi on the Oprah Show. We're glad to know about this organization.