Hey all,
I know it is Sunday and we are all trying to relax but I just found this article about the upcoming elections for Mayor of New Orleans and the possible candidates. Wonder who else will be popping out of the woodwork before the campaigns actually begin?? Read the article about the candidates here…
Any opinions? Let me know…i would love to hear your ideas!
–Ray Reggie–
My name is Lisa and I am a guest columnist here at Ray Reggie’s Feed the Needy of New Orleans for this post. Mr. Reggie is a friend of mine and one of the things that strikes me every time that I speak with him is that one of the things that is always at the forefront of his mind is the JTRA food bank in New Orleans that he is the Chairman of the Board for. In fact, I tease him about how devoted he is to it. He speaks of it every time, always trying to find ways to do more for the food bank and make sure that they have enough food for all the needy people in New Orleans. New Orleans is his home and it and it’s people are his heart. He sent me an email recently pointing out an article to me, which you can read here, that explains that a horrifying 3.5 million American children under the age of five are going hungry. On top of that, Lousiana has the highest rate of hungry children. Being a mother of four, I hung my head in shame for ever teasing him about the work he does with JTRA and I will thank God every day for people like Ray Reggie that keep the food banks going so that if I ever find myself in an unexpected situation and I need that food bank to feed my children, I know that they will be there for me.
So, I would just like to say, to Ray Reggie and all the others that devote their time and labor and money to America’s food banks and shelters, I thank you!
–Lisa–
The push for change across our Nation began long before the President made it a household mantra. The economy has been in a changing pattern for years. People have been increasingly beginning to gear their lifestyles away from the fast paced, competitive lives we have created and going back to a simpler, happier time. It seems we may be facing a little of the whole “Be careful what you wish for” cliché. People are trying to live healthier with less stress. They are tired of being tired and feeling bad. Not to mention being overweight, anxious and depressed much of the time.
One of the most noticeable changes that is sweeping the country is that people are attempting more and more to eat healthier. Nutrition is getting noticed and more and more people have a desire to eat only locally grown, organic food. The Catch 22 here is that the expense of healthier food may be too much for most American’s wallets to stand at this time and it is not yet as convenient as fast foods or processed foods that can sit indefinitely on a pantry shelf. Eating healthier means eating fresh.
A new solution could be on the horizon. Actually, it isn’t a new concept, but an old one that is coming back around. Here it is…you don’t have to quit your job and become a farmer to grow your own food! Even if you have limited space or live in an apartment, you can grow some of your own food. You can start with window boxes for an apartment. Get together with your neighbors that are probably in the same type of situation as you and grow different things. Then, swap and share so that everyone is getting some of everything.
For those that have more space to work with, cut that yard in half and start a big ole garden. Plant as much as you possibly can. If you can grow more than you can use, you can freeze and can it so you have healthy food available to you all year long. Still have lots of extras? Great, share it with your family, friends and neighbors. Earn some extra money and put up a little stand somewhere to sell some of the extras. One of the best ideas that I have heard of to do with excess food that you have grown that needs to be used up is to donate it to your local food banks. There are food banks all across the country that are turning people away because they don’t have enough food to take care of everyone that it is need now.
Don’t let a lack of gardening knowledge stop you. A couple of good books from the library or some searching on the internet and you can quickly learn what you need to know to get started. So, help yourself, help others and relieve your stress by starting your garden today.
–Ray Reggie–
Check out this interesting article I found while browsing around on the internet. I am not even quite sure how I got to it but I did and it describes this group of women in the Appalachian area that all work together and plan very carefully all these ways to save money on food. Basically, they all do what they can and barter things amongst themselves. They save themselves money and are probably eating much healthier than the general population. Many of these women and families feel they are living better now using their system than they ever have before. Quite an accomplishment in the recession this country is facing.
–Ray Reggie–
Food banks all over the country are being hit with a huge increase in needy, hungry people and the food banks are feeling the pressure. Luckily, there are a lot of great organizations out there and people that are devoting their time and money to food banks knowing that this is going to be one of the hardest hit areas in this economy. When people have less and less money to pay even the most necessary bills to keep going, it seems like food is one of the things that it is just too hard to come by. Feeding America is the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity. Their network of more than 200 food banks serves all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.The Feeding America network secures and distributes more than 2 billion pounds of donated food and grocery products annually. So, if you live somewhere other than New Orleans and are in need of a food bank, go here and find one in your local area.
Isn’t it amazing that while the government is handing out money hand over fist to the car companies and the big dollar corporations that have all gotten themselves into trouble, yet I don’t hear the words “bailout” and “food banks” in the same sentence? How does our government justify that? Americans are going without food. Americans are going without homes. And the government is giving millions of dollars to Corporate America and giving the public some tax breaks on next years taxes. That is all very nice and I commend them for their efforts but what about the small businesses? What about social security upgrades and fixing the mess that disability is in with most people that apply being denied? What about helping out the people that volunteer their time and money helping other people eat? I want to read about that bailout! Read more here…
–Ray Reggie–
We know the Country is in a sad state of affairs when people can’t even afford to feed their pets anymore but that seems to be the case more and more. Pet food banks are popping up around the Country to help allow people to feed their pets in hopes that they can hold on until things get better without having to give up their beloved pets. Many people have had their pets for a number of years or those pets are all they have in the world and to take that away from them at time when there is already so much stress and uncertainty seems to be the cruelest type of icing on the cake. Read more about pet food banks here. Maybe you could start one in your city?
Farmers have been known to go through many hard times. More so than a lot of the rest of us. As an industry, farming has a great number of hardships that can affect them and many that they have zero control over like the weather. Farming has suffered from droughts, floods, high interest rates and many other farming recessions. The almost fifty percent drop in the price of milk that has been going on in recent months could be by far the worst. Dairy farmers are being forced to cut their expenses, sell off parts of their herds and more and more are having to give up their farms. Many more will be lost if the price of milk doesn’t increase, which is going to lead to a price jump for everyone buying milk at the local grocery stores. Read more about the plight of the dairy farmers here…
–Ray Reggie–
Like food banks don’t have enough hurdles to jump over to keep themselves going to feed the needy, now we can add in all the peanut butter recalls we are facing. Peanut butter is a common staple at food banks and that isn’t even taking into consideration the various other products like snack crackers and other products that have been recalled. Now the food banks can’t distribute any of these products and on top of that, have to store them until it is determined what to do with them. Most food banks are struggling to find enough volunteers just to handle the daily operations required at a food bank to begin with without needing extra labor and time to handle the recalls. Volunteer at your local food bank today! I am sure where ever you live there is a food bank that could use any help they can get! Read more about the peanut butter recalls here…
–Ray Reggie–
Some people may wonder why food banks try to dispense food that is as healthy as possible. You don’t get soda and junk food from a food bank, thankfully. Just good ole fashioned health food like fruits and vegetables. When your kids ask why, show them what things like energy drinks can do to them. Energy drinks are just one more thing that is hurting and killing our children.
