Tuesday, September 21, 2010

A Public Service Announcement

George Bernard Shaw is quoted as saying, "if all economists were laid end to end they would not reach a conclusion." That said, I was heartened to read the latest pablum that recession in the US ended in June 2009. Sadly, they may be the only ones who believe that.

The aftermath of the latest economic fallout has been ugly, and the human toll incalculable. The past 3 years are likely to scar families for a generation. Mrs. T and I work for a local food pantry and weekly we see the family costs.

In August, our pantry had a record month.
1,949 people were fed with 3,078 bags of food.
$73,210.23 in donated food was shared with families.
$9,927 was given in financial aid for rent/utilities to 81 families.

Our cupboard is bare, as are the food pantries in your neighborhood.

Americans are a giving people. As exciting as it is to give during the holidays, your donation is more appreciated now. If you can, please support your local family outreach group. It's your neighbors, and neighborhood you're supporting.

Toad

7 comments:

Main Line Sportsman said...

Well said and timely. My mother works at the food pantry at our Church and it is in dire need of replenishment. Your call for donations will hopefully be heard.

James said...

If you are of the Catholic faith check on your local St Vincent de paul society. My wife's family help this group,that helps those in need of all faiths.

house things said...

This is so important. The latest statistics show that 1 in 7 are now in poverty.

Patsy said...

Our food pantry uses Facebook! A very community minded local friend puts the call out on his FB page and messages all of his fans/friends to leave a bag at their front door on a certain day. He and his assistant spend the day gathering all the items and delivering them to the pantry. It's wonderful. Plus they can ask for the most needed items.

Town and Country House said...

Thank you for this reminder. It's also a good time of year to pull out coats, jackets, and blankets that can be passed along to agencies to distribute in the coming months.

ADG said...

Man...I don't even do the math on the dollar costs of this latest economic absurdity anymore. I'll never "recover" but that's ok. We are solvent, well fed, healthy and happy. Just returned from LFGs school open house where we loaded up the shelter boxes with canned goods and some $$$.

The Down East Dilettante said...

Bravo. In total accord here