Laws changed in some states to protect restaurants donating food

As food pantries struggle to provide meals for increasing numbers, some states have recently passed laws to protect donor restaurants from civil liability, which makes "it easier for restaurants to donate leftover food to charities", according to USA Today.

Ross Fraser of Feeding America, a national association of food banks, says the demand for free meals rose by an average of 30% in 2008, but some areas saw an increase of up to 70%.

The article discusses changes in laws in Mississippi, Nevada, Massachusetts, California, and Florida. It is also noted by USA Today that

Food donors are protected from liability by the 1996 federal Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, but it does not supersede state and local restrictions on food donations, says Maureen Ryan, spokesperson for the National Restaurant Association.

Living in between hunger pangs

This past week I've run into three people who are hungry because their money doesn't cover current costs of food. One is on SSI and he runs out of money for food the last week of the month. His friends have to help him buy groceries that week and, he tells me, some months that happens and other months it doesn't.

The second person works and his medical costs are so high he has to choose between food and care and equipment. The third person is unemployed and had not eaten in two days.

Wikipedia says hunger pangs "usually do not begin until 12 to 24 hours after the last ingestion of food. A single hunger contraction lasts about 30 seconds, and pangs continue for around 30-45 minutes, then hunger subsides for around 30-150 minutes.Individual contractions are separated at first, but are almost continuous after a certain amount of time."

The first guy said he can eat a banana every twelve hours and get through a number of days on that before he starts cramping up.

The second guy told me that he had something to eat a few hours before, so he would wait before eating again, not to waste the food. He said he waits until he gets a hunger pang, rides it through, then eats as little as possible to make them stop. He says it "only gets bad when they happen one after the other".

The third guy was becoming pretty sick after going without food for two days. He said he keeps looking for a job, but can't find anything. At first he refused help, but after reassurance that being hungry wasn't his fault, he accepted help, which included pointing him toward resources.

For example, a local church is providing a noon meal for a dollar to those who are hungry and that helps many people, once they find out about it. This is a great idea to help the unemployed and those for whom rising food costs have left them hungry.

I didn't have to go far to meet people living in between hunger pangs. I bet these days most of us don't.

Take a few minutes to check out where food pantries and soup kitchens are near you, and write down their addresses and numbers so you have that information if anyone needs it. We can handle the hunger problem caused by this economic downturn if we help people connect to resources and help out by volunteering or donating.

Update: Hungry at Noon Prayers

Shelter Box

How one man designed a way to provide victims of natural disasters with items to sustain a family with more dignity.



For Shelter Box USA, a nonprofit site to donate toward providing these boxes, click here. For a Catholic group that sends these boxes and allows donations, please click here. You can also see more photos of the boxes at the sites. (The Catholic site loads rather slowly, so please be patient.)

Darfur

The Save Darfur organization has come up with a wonderful way to connect people who want to help raise awareness and work to help the people of Darfur. If you click above you can enter your zip code and find events near you that you can attend and participate in. After seeing the creative ways people are finding to have events (such as talent shows, film showings, etc.) you might want to run one yourself.

What some people do with fame

Drew Barrymore, the actress known for her many roles since ET as a child, is now an Ambassador for the World Hunger Program. She has been traveling and working with the group, which provides aid through school feeding programs. "Feeding a child at school is such a simple thing to do," she says. And she adds that she's seen what a miracle it is. "School feeding not only fills stomachs, but has a proven track record of boosting enrollment, attendance and academic performance. For just pennies a day per child, this program changes lives – and ultimately can impact the futures of poor countries around the world in a profound way,” she said.

In the above video, Drew talks about the work of WHP. I've put a link on top of this post so people can go over and check out the work this group is doing.