Food Pantry Article

Food Pantries Seek Y2K Stockpiles By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press Writer MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- There's a feel-good solution for those who prepared for the Y2K worst and are now stuck with stockpiles of Spam, canned soups, cereal and pasta: Pantries that serve the poor are eager to take that food off your hands. ``The food is very much needed by hungry people,'' said Deborah Leff, president and chief executive officer of America's Second Harvest, the nation's largest domestic hunger relief organization, which helps supply 50,000 local charities. Second Harvest on Monday announced ``Y Go 2 Waste,'' a national food drive to encourage people to donate their surplus canned and packaged foods. Helped by a $50,000 grant from Kellogg Co., the giant cereal maker, Second Harvest food banks across the country will be conducting drives from Jan. 15 through Feb. 15, Leff said by phone from Chicago. ``We can take all that food off their hands and have it all gone in a month,'' said Janine Laird, executive director of the Minnesota Food Shelf Association, which represents 320 food shelves across the state that distribute more than 24 million pounds of food a year. Officials don't know how much food was stockpiled in fear of a Y2K cataclysm. It might be a large resource they can tap, or it might not amount to much, Laird said. It's possible that only a few shoppers really stocked up, said Steve Sellent, director of the Great Plains Food Bank in Fargo, N.D., which serves North Dakota and Clay County of Minnesota. ``I think we probably at one time expected there would be more, but I think that over the last six months, people realized major problems wouldn't happen,'' Sellent said. Officials at several food banks across the country said Monday that they had not seen any increase on donations. Rachel Bristol, executive director of the Oregon Food Bank in Portland, Ore., said many people may be hanging on to their supplies in case they need them for winter storms. Caroline Frengle, executive director of Food for Lane County in Eugene, Ore., speculated that people are waiting to make sure the Y2K threat has truly passed. In Columbus, Ohio, food bank officials said it could be days or weeks before people decide what to do with the cans of Spam and beef stew filling their cupboards. ``I don't think it will happen that fast,'' said Evelyn Behm, associate director of Mid-Ohio FoodBank. Donors should contact their local food shelves or food banks before dropping off their contributions, because some are momentarily short of space, advised Stormy Trom, director of the Steele County Food Shelf in Owatonna. She said many food shelves are well-supplied at the moment because of holiday donations. If stockpilers want to wait to make sure the Y2K threat has passed, food shelves will be happy to take their non-perishables in a couple months. Donations traditionally drop off sharply after the holidays. ------ EDITOR'S NOTE -- For more information on where to find local food collection sites, call America's Second Harvest at 1-800-771-2303 or access its Web site at www.secondharvest.org

-- Ready (Food Guy@pantries.r.us.com), January 03, 2000

Answers

Here's your chance Pollies to put your money where you mouth is. These outfits are hoping your going to donate any food preparations you made.

-- Ready (FoodGuy@pantries.r.us.com), January 03, 2000.

"Food is very much needed by hungry people"

Well, DUH! Seems to me that's why I prepared. Having an aversion to being hungry, it seemed to me that being dependant upon others for my daily bread would not be a good position to be in. And guess what--I still feel that way, even with the power on.

Food independance or self-sufficiency (however you wish to view it) once earned, isn't going to be easily relinquished. My family history is full of full larders and winter woodsheds. Hand to mouth? 3-5 day supply in the cupboard? Never again. And especially not with agricultural products at 30 year lows---inflation plus a wipeout of the farming base still scares me.

-- JIT (justintime@rightnow.net), January 03, 2000.

First they were after our generators; now they want our food!

Get your grubby greed outta my plate!

-- preppers (hands@off.leeches), January 03, 2000.

I didn't include any Sugar Smacks, Chef Boradee Pizza, or Hostess Twinkees in my preps so the hungry wouldn't like my taste of preps. Pretty bland, rice and beans, beans and rice, and prunes.

-- Phewwwww (Phewwww@Phewwww.xcom), January 03, 2000.

"There's a feel-good solution for those who prepared for the Y2K worst and are now stuck with stockpiles of Spam, canned soups, cereal and pasta"

I've always considered EATING to be a feel-good solution to having a pantry full of food.

A friend of mine used to buy sale items from grocery stores in pallet quantities and resell it at a profit to other wholesalers. The stores did not want to sell in quantity to dealers, so they would ask him what it was for. He would reply, "to feed the hungry".

-- Bruce (I'm@hungry.boy), January 03, 2000.

Did you see this?

http://www.usnewswire.com/topnews/Current_Releases/0102-103.htm

MRS. CLINTON: Time after time, oh, God, we hoard the bounty of your goodness. We store up goods for ourselves, and ignore the cry of the poor and hungry.

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You are all just a bunch of sinful hoarders.

-- gagging (using@church.barf), January 03, 2000.

DON'T YOU SEE PEOPLE....THEY WANT TO TAKE YOUR FOOD AWAY BEFORE THE REAL PROBLEMS START HAPPENING!!!!

-- Jim Bob (izzitover@yet.com), January 03, 2000.

As I was reading the posting about giving my food away to food banks, I was getting madder and madder. I worked hard to be able to afford that food and I accumulated it carefully--taking time to weigh what we like versus what will keep and putting in a few milky ways just for fun. I figured that no matter what, we would enjoy the things I had bought all next year. So by the end of the article I was steamed. I already give generously to charity--the heck with giving anyone my food. Then I came to the "Answers" section and just cracked up. You all feel the way I do. I'm still laughing. Pam

-- Pamela (jpjgood@penn.com), January 03, 2000.

Not just yet thanks, they are on my list of folks to receive any abundance I may find myself with. A tad too early to be making that decision, just yet. I'll just wait and watch for a little longer, (that is, if anyone doesn't mind?) Much remains to be seen, in my humble opinion.

-- Michael (michaelteever@buffalo.com), January 03, 2000.

It has always been my intention to donate my food stock to charity, should I not require it, and to some degree it was purchased with that (hopeful) end in mind. By this I mean the bulk of the food is canned products which should be reasonably desirable to the needy, there are some 700 cans I would estimate, mostly beef stew, vegetables, hams, milks and fruit. I have only 50lbs each of rice, flour and sugar in 2lb bags. They can have this too, if they'll take it.

I'm still holding on to everything until End of Month processing goes through however, I'm not *that* confident.

If you can afford it you should consider donating any surplus too, in gratitude to your God, whoever He/She might be, for getting us through this unscathed. I never really fancied eating it anyway!

RonD

They get it on 17th Jan, assuming circumstances continue to shape up as well as they currently are.

-- Ron Davis (rdavis@ozemail.com.au), January 03, 2000.

sorry, but they are sucking a ton out of the paycheck already, and the tithes go to the church, where most of it does not get sucked up by administrative costs.

In any case, whose responsibility is it that certain children are hungry and/or homeless? THEIR PARENTS responsibility. Outside of that, it is that particular family's responsibility. Outside of that, it is their church's responsibility, and only then should the govt. help.

The govt.'s duty is not to enable silly or stupid teenage girls the wherewithal to get an apt for themselves and their baby. The duty there is the girl's and her parents to deal with the child as their responsibility, not the state's.

RIGHTS=RESPONSIBILITY

Do you want to see your rights evaporate? Then have some more free corn.

Anyone remember the story of the "Price of Free Corn?"

-- (formerly@nowhere.zzz), January 03, 2000.

A bit premature to ask this of people. Sometime around March would be much more realistic.

-- Gia (laureltree7@hotmail.com), January 03, 2000.

My stores stay right where they are. I'm not going to move them or use them until after July 31 (unless, of course, things warrant their use). As a matter of fact, I intend to keep right on stockpiling. We bought EXTRA rice and beans for sharing with the food banks, and will share it, no problem. But the rest of it is for family and closest friends.

-- Liz (lizpavek@hotmail.com), January 03, 2000.

Now is the time for you selfish, silly, stupid, survivalist nutballs to finally do something decent. The only thing that collapsed on January 1st was your confidence in your idiotic, paranoid leaders. But never fear, something good can come from this if you donate your excess supplies to your local food bank. Do it now and salvage a little self respect!

-- Bill Parker (trimmer_cc@hotmail.com), January 04, 2000.

Now is the time for you selfish, silly, stupid, survivalist nutballs to finally do something decent. The only thing that collapsed on January 1st was your confidence in your idiotic, paranoid leaders. But never fear, something good can come from this if you donate your excess supplies to your local food bank. Do it now and salvage a little self respect!

-- Bill Parker (trimmer_cc@hotmail.com), January 04, 2000.

Now, Bill, just because you are an egotistical, over-paid, over-blown maniac that probably stops at the Winn-Dixie everynight to buy something for dinner cause there's nothing at home doesn't mean that we have to sink to your level.

Who has the right to tell me how much food I can have in my house? Certainly not you. Would you think that your Grandmother was a hoarder and greedy nutball if you looked into her pantry and found hundreds of jars of delicious home-canned foods? Why, she would be exhalted as a prudent, wise, and excellent mother and home-provider. Too bad some of that didn't make it down to you.

As for doing something decent, since you have no food to donate to the hungry, what are YOU going to do that is decent?

-- karen (karen@karen.karen), January 04, 2000.

Bill Parker, just who do you think you are, pontificating to others here who had the good sense to prepare for possible disaster, and one which is not over until it's over!?

First of all, do you call people silly, stupid and selfish who BUY OTHER ITEMS all year long, other than FOOD? You need to go to the eBay buyers of "junk" and to those with expensive cars and boats, those with fur coats, those with expensive foreign vacations, those with diamonds, those with lots of money in investments...and tell THEM that they are silly, stupid and selfish, and to give all that away to others...NOT people who bought extra food for an emergency!!

Did you know that some of us preparers had to go into some debt to prepare, because we decided that having food ahead was more important than anything else, since food is vital to survival? Have you ever read here how many who have little themselves purchased more food for others who might come to their doors for help?

I personally learned extremely valuable lessons in self-sufficiency through this experience, and intend to maintain that lifestyle for the rest of my days. No one bought the food for me: I earned the money the hard way, at a full-time job at age 64, and with a handicap. No one has the right now to tell me that I am silly, selfish or stupid, or to push me to give it away!

-- Elaine Seavey (Gods1sheep@aol.com), January 04, 2000.

Selfish? SELFISH???? I personally gave two families $200.00 each so they could stock up for Jan/Feb. I have given solar flashlights to employees and family. I have stocked up for my immediate family AND the extended 10 more family members we expected. I bought sufficient heat sources so every one of those 10 could be warm and well fed. Who the heck are you to tell me I am selfish? Not that I have that off my chest I think I'll go eat some of MY preps for lunch. Pam

-- Pamela (jpjgood@penn.com), January 04, 2000.

Pam I did the same thing and kept wondering would I have enough for every one that i knew and the ones i didn't know and wanted to get more.If I would have had more time i would still be buying more food for the ones that even laughted at me in a smug way.So you know it alls that think we are selfish you are the egnoramasses that only think of yourselves and you don't even do that well.I got that off my chest what do you stupid,selfish people have to get off your chest??????Ramen

-- Ramen (Ramen@1234.com), January 04, 2000.