How 25 cents Can Help Feed Your Neighbors
Here’s How To Feed An Entire Town With Spare Change
Woodstock, Ontario has implemented an ingenious program that, for 25 cents, ensures all residents are kept fed.
You might not be able to do much with just a quarter, but an innovative program in Canada has a great idea of how you can put that 25 cents to good use.
As part of a “Food For Friends” program, grocery stores located in Woodstock, Ontario have been inviting shoppers to add 25 cents to their check-out bill to help local families in need.
The donated money, which is collectively transferred onto food cards, allows families the opportunity to shop in dignity for their own fresh groceries. As such, they may avoid the shame associated with visiting a traditional food bank.
While many rarely think twice about their spare change, the donated quarters have added up to an astonishing amount over the past nine years! Since the program began, the initiative has raised between $75,000 – $90,000 a year for the 275 families who participate in the program. This amount is equivalent to what typically feeds those families through the food bank system.
The cards allotted to the families are not only a more discreet method of distributing food, they are far more efficient. This program cuts out the need for food truck deliveries, warehouse storage, and volunteer hours. In addition, not a cent is used for administrative costs.
Plus, it is a great way for people from all socioeconomic backgrounds to help others within their own community. 25 cents at the check-out, that’s all it takes!
This program was ingeniously developed by Stephen Giuliano, the Director of Operation Sharing, a group that assists low-income people in Oxford County. His hope is to use this approach with other Operation Sharing programs, such as the homeless shelter, disability support, and children’s services.
According to the coverage from CBC’s The National, Woodstock’s approach to caring for low-income families has been so successful, many other areas are inspired to introduce similar into their own towns.
What are your thoughts on this ingenious method to feed an entire town?
© 2015, ↑ True Activist
Please see this link for the links in the article to contact him and ask how to implement it. In Marin, we are letting our independently owned grocery stores know we'd like to see this happen. It will bring them more customers, free publicity, and good will.
https://www.trueactivist.com/heres-f...-spare-change/
Re: How 25 cents Can Help Feed Your Neighbors
I love this! So easy!
Will support this practice in Sonoma County and will begin asking grocers tomorrow.
Juna
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by intheflow88:
Here’s How To Feed An Entire Town With Spare Change
...
As part of a “Food For Friends” program, grocery stores located in Woodstock, Ontario have been inviting shoppers to add 25 cents to their check-out bill to help local families in need....
https://www.trueactivist.com/heres-f...-spare-change/
Re: How 25 cents Can Help Feed Your Neighbors
I don't think it's such a great idea. Spreading that amount of money over that many people amounts to about $25 a month per family, a very small amount I'd imagine in a normal family's food budget. Note this sentence:
"This amount is equivalent to what typically feeds those families through the food bank system."
I dare say it wouldn't feed those families through the retail stores if the families are paying the usual retail prices! Sounds more like a way of stores diverting funds from food banks that would probably make better use of it providing surplus food to people in need. It goes instead to the stores themselves, for their own profits. The stores win, the families lose. Of course, it would be good to get the opinion of someone who's involved with food banks.
A better idea might be to encourage local stores to accept donations for the food banks (probably some already do).
CSummer
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by juna:
I love this! So easy!
Will support this practice in Sonoma County and will begin asking grocers tomorrow.
Juna
Re: How 25 cents Can Help Feed Your Neighbors
It seems like a good idea. If the figures are right, and the estimate of $25 a month in food is correct, then people may be getting less value than they would from a food bank. When I was going to a NOAH local food bank, I was getting at least $25 worth of food each week. The value of two loaves of bread alone was about $8-10.
I haven't looked at the site yet, so I don't know if the Food Bank actually stopped their services because they weren't needed any more. That's kind of hard to believe. I'll have to read up on the facts.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by intheflow88:
Here’s How To Feed An Entire Town With Spare Change
...
As part of a “Food For Friends” program, grocery stores located in Woodstock, Ontario have been inviting shoppers to add 25 cents to their check-out bill to help local families in need...
Re: How 25 cents Can Help Feed Your Neighbors
Most of the stores I shop at, have donation jars for the local food banks, such as NOAH, right at each check stand.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by CSummer:
I don't think it's such a great idea. Spreading that amount of money over that many people amounts to about $25 a month per family, a very small amount I'd imagine in a normal family's food budget. Note this sentence:
"This amount is equivalent to what typically feeds those families through the food bank system."
I dare say it wouldn't feed those families through the retail stores if the families are paying the usual retail prices! Sounds more like a way of stores diverting funds from food banks that would probably make better use of it providing surplus food to people in need. It goes instead to the stores themselves, for their own profits. The stores win, the families lose. Of course, it would be good to get the opinion of someone who's involved with food banks.
A better idea might be to encourage local stores to accept donations for the food banks (probably some already do).
CSummer
Re: How 25 cents Can Help Feed Your Neighbors
hmmm.. how do we get funds from a community to support those in need. Maybe it's been solved before. If we get a little bit from those who can afford it, and share it, sounds great!
but let's make it random, with only those who feel like doing it participating. That way it's not predictable or equitable, but that shouldn't matter.
because if we made it formal, it'd be called 'taxes'. And imply a government. Clearly it's better to let things run randomly.
