Food Banks

As much as I enjoy the latitude to write about renewable energy, green building, recycling, and the whole varied realm of more sustainable living, every so often I can't help but focusing the Green Views from the Peninsula column on food issues.

Last Saturday, my article on the Second Harvest Food Bank ran.  It highlights the fundamental green-ness of all gleaning programs, preventing food from being wasted. Green initiatives, like using hybrid trucks, or solar panels, or high-efficiency refrigerators, are really icing on a very healthy cake.

All over the country, food pantries and feeding programs take on this challenge. If my food bank distributes 45 million pounds of food a year, the vast majority rescued from being plowed under or sent to landfills, imagine what the totals for the United States must be. Staggering as it may be to realize how much food is available in a country where so many can't be sure of their next meal, it helps to know how hard program staff and millions of volunteers work to make certain that as much as possible reach our neighbors who need it.

Hunger - Numbers Talk, Actions Speak Louder

Donations sorted by volunteers, ready to be bagged

Think you know what hunger in the United States looks like? Take the Feeding America quiz and see. You may be surprised both at the scale of the issue (50 million Americans without enough food) and by how much the face in the mirror looks like the average food bank user.

I thought I had a pretty good picture of the situation until I volunteered at my local food bank, Second Harvest. It serves roughly 247,000 of my neighbors every single month. Most have housing, which costs more in Silicon Valley than most parts of the country. Most also have jobs, which don't necessarily pay more to keep up with the cost of living here.

Of all the numbers I heard, though, one figure changed how I see my role. I had always thought that picking up a few extra items at the store and donating them was a fun, hands-on way to pitch in. Now that I know that the food bank can obtain five times as much food with a dollar as I can, I'm going to be writing checks, instead. For the satisfaction of hands-on participation, there's always showing up at the warehouse and sorting or bagging donations. That only costs a few hours of my time, and I can see the difference I've made right away. Also, it reminds me why I write that check.

After the Bin - Food Donations

Volunteers sorting at Second Harvest food bank

We've all seen the bins out during food drives, during the holiday, big events, and Hunger Action Month. We glean our cupboards or pick up a few extra items at the grocery store, and then just drop them in. Then they disappear. And?

Between the bin and the food being eaten, there are quite a few steps. First, every item is checked to make sure it's safe to give out. Send, each item is sorted into a bin with like items - condiments, protein, canned fruit, canned vegetables, pastas and rice, ready-to-eat pop tops, etc. This step makes it possible for the food bank staff and volunteers to create bags that provide a little bit of each sort of food an individual or family can use.
 You wouldn't want to be the person who gets a whole bag of canned green beans, would you? Much better to have some pasta, some sauce, some canned meat, some veggies, some fruit, etc. Some creativity may be required to put the meal(s) together; but it makes a good kit.
The sorting also makes it possible for food bank staff to evaluate what items they have in abundance, and what is in short supply.  Here in the Bay Area, local banks coordinate and help each other out with over- and under-stock issues.

Food Bank Donations

Hunger Action Month, coming well before the winter holiday surge, is a great time to donate food to your local food bank. When I volunteered recently at Second Harvest, I learned some basic guidelines:

• Fresh produce is welcome, as there is never enough, even in areas blessed with partnerships with local farms
• More than a hint of rust on a canned good will send it to the trash can.
• Large dents or any bulging in a can will also turn it into trash
• Sell by dates are checked, and some items (like baby food) must still be new, while others can be as much as 5 years past the date.
• Boxed goods with small rips or tears can still be used, if there is an interior bag as well

Volunteers sort food bank donations

Food safety is a top priority; and staff always stand by to answer questions from volunteer sorters.

Learning how your local food bank works, and following its guidelines, save time and money for everyone.

Volunteering is a great hands-on lesson; but a website visit or phone call can bring you up to speed, as well.

Hunger Action Month

September is hunger action month. To find out what you can do in your local community, just visit Feeding America's special site for the month and plug in your zip code. While you're there, enjoy the serio-comic celebrity videos, where folks like Matt Damon portray real people telling their stories (and then get a critique from the person).

Scroll down below the videos, and the link to Feeding America's home site will lead you to lots more information about hunger in America, where to find local food banks if you need help, and how to pitch in if you can.