Feeding America

One of the organizations that I donated to recently is Feeding America. I usually focus on donating money to wildlife organizations and donating time to people-oriented charities, but this one was definitely an exception.

In the current economy, soup kitchens are running out of food. There have been a few articles about this problem in the New York Times, and Feeding America run ads which say the same. So many people are newly out of work and are going to food banks (many for the first time) that there isn’t enough food to go around. Feeding America is one of a handful of national charities that gives money to local organizations and helps distribute food. This isn’t all they do (the whole list is on their website under “how we work”), but that’s a summary of where the funds go. I recommend reading their page, because it’s really interesting to see the many places they need to stay connected to in order to stay effective- and to see how they use government funding.

Of course, food banks and soup kitchens will always need physical help (except during Christmas, which is when a lot of people are suddenly generous time-wise) which is one more reason I would usually volunteer instead of donating. (I’m also not well off enough yet to have more than one steady cause.) Recently, however, I just felt compelled to send a few dollars their way.

One caveat: After I donated to them, I must admit that I started getting many other mailings from other groups. I’m not 100% sure they were the ones who sold me out -- but I’m pretty confident -- so if you’d like to donate to Feeding America’s cause without adding to your junk mail, consider donating food straight to the soup kitchens in your area.