Tony and Dolly Ellis

 

Beth Kanter

Widely-respected social media maven, Beth Kanter has become personally involved in the issue of hunger.  She offers some very good tactical advice in this blog post, also asking for examples of hunger relief groups using social media to advance the cause  (BTW, if you're a non-profit, you really need to have Beth's blog in your RSS feed).

Beth will be a featured presenter at the upcoming Share Our Strength Conference of Leaders,  in DC, in October. If you're planning on attending what is usually an excellent conference, this will be a must-attend event.   

A tip of the hat to Beth for her involvement in this issue (also, many thanks for her support of both the Austin and Bay Area comments-for-food efforts).

Hunger is a serious problem in the Bay Area…
• Nearly 1.2 million people in the Bay Area (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma and Santa Cruz counties) are living near the poverty line, at risk of going hungry. According to census figures, these people are making less than $26,000 for a family of 3.
• The California Budget Project estimates that a family needs to make more than twice that amount - at least $53,000 - in order to make ends meet in the Bay Area. People who can’t get by often give up food to pay for vital expenses like medicine, or fixed expenses like rent.
• 50% of the people Bay Area food banks serve are children – and many live in working poor families.

The current economy is making things even worse…
• In addition to the region’s high cost of living, food and fuel prices have skyrocketed over the past year. Higher food and energy prices have put many more families into crisis, and they’ve had to turn to Food Banks to get the basics. Seniors on fixed incomes have been severely impacted, too.
• Nationally, eggs have increased 34% and white bread 15%, while milk prices in California have climbed 30% in the past year.  According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, gasoline prices in the Bay Area have gone up 36.4% in the past year.
• On top of dramatically higher food prices, the economic downturn has put even more families at risk of going hungry. All six Bay Area food banks are seeing increased numbers of clients in need, with longer lines at our grocery pantries. People often stand in line for hours to get food.

Government resources have been cut, making private donations crucial…
• Allotments of basic foods like rice, beans, and protein items from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to Bay Area food banks have dropped 50% in the last 5 years - from over 14 million pounds in 2003 to just 7 million in 2008.

How the 6 Bay Area food banks help…
• Every day, Bay Area food banks source, collect, sort, inspect and repackage hundreds of thousands of pounds of food. The food comes from supermarket chains, large manufacturers, wholesalers, produce packers and growers, restaurant suppliers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and food drives.
• Last year Bay Area Food banks distributed 96 million pounds of food into their communities, this year they are distributing over 102 million pounds of food – up more than 6%.
• This year Bay Area Food banks will distribute enough food for 219,000 meals every day. It goes out to neighborhood grocery pantries, soup kitchens, programs that serve homebound seniors, and more.

Here’s how you can help…
• For every comment this post receives indicating it has been read, Tyson Foods will donate 100 pounds of high-quality protein (up to a total of 200,000 pounds) to the six Bay Area food banks. Help us fill the trucks! Comment here (even one-word comments acceptable. One comment per visitor, please.  NOTE: Since our comments are moderated, it might take a bit to get them up, but we WILL get them up). To prevent spam, the comment form asks for an email address. Tyson will NOT harvest these emails or use them in any way whatsoever.

• Visit the website of your nearest food bank to learn more about how you can donate, volunteer and advocate to help end hunger where you live:
o San Francisco Food Bank
o Alameda Community Food Bank
o Food Bank of Contra Costa & Solano
o Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara & San Mateo Counties
o Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz & San Benito Counties
o Redwood Empire Food Bank
 
Many thanks to the Bay Area food bloggers who took on the San Francisco Food Bank’s Hunger Challenge. Without the attention they brought to this issue, Tyson’s donation would not have happened.
 

UPDATE!!!! As of Thursday, Oct. 2, less than one week after we began the effort, we reached our goal of 2000 comments, meaning ALL 200,000 pounds will be delivered to Bay Area Food Banks!  In fact, as of this writing, some of the food has already been delivered.  THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR EFFORTS!

Since 2000, Tyson Foods has been actively involved in the fight against hunger, contributing more than 53 million pounds of food to hunger and disaster relief.  This site will tell you more about the company's ongoing efforts. 

This just in: We've had quite a few requests from commenters that we send some vegetarian items.  While we're primarily a  meat protein company, we do make pizza crust.  We're sending along  a bit of that.

by Ed Nicholson

We’ve been getting a lot of information from our partners at Feeding America  and the food banks we work with regularly about the need in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi—areas hit by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.  The need is not only in areas directly affected, where a lot of relief work is going on, but also inland, where caring for evacuees put strains on the food banks and relief agencies.  This is all on top of a system already strained by the economy—rising fuel prices, layoffs, rising food prices. 
 

Hunger and disaster relief is core to what we do. It’s our primary philanthropic focus. So, we’re blessed to be able to use some of what we have—some of what our 100,000 team members produce—to meet the need that’s there. 
 

Today, we did an event in northwest Arkansas to send off some representatives of 26 truckloads of food going to the disaster-affected states. There will be at least one truckload going to each of the eighteen Feeding America food bank members in Texas, the five in Louisiana, and the three serving Mississippi.

A special shout out to the Tyson warehouse and transportation departments: the distribution planners, the drivers, the dispatchers, the warehouse managers, and the drivers who get this food on the road and to the people who need it.  They’re always there when we call them and ask them to move product quickly.  

Finally, extra special kudos to Tyson team member Sherri Austin, who moved mountains to put the orders for these trucks in in record time.

We're continually awestruck, humbled by, and grateful to the people in hunger relief organizations throughout the country who work hard every day to take care of those in need.

 

A convoy of 16 Tyson trucks headed to Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi

This month, Feeding America food banks across the country are participating in Hunger Action Month. They're coordinating an array of events--everything from food drives to golf outings, concerts to volunteer opportunities--all in an effort to increase engagement and support in fighting hunger.
We're also proud to partner with country music star Phil Vassar, who is inspiring people nationwide to help the 1 in 8 Americans who struggle with hunger. Phil has recorded an exclusive version of his single "Prayer of a Common Man" with the Fisk Jubilee Singers, and it's available only on Rhapsody. Each download of the song helps fund Feeding America efforts against domestic hunger.
You can fight hunger in your hometown and across the country. Visit feedingamerica.org to find your local food bank and to take action. Then log on to Rhapsody to download the exclusive recording of Phil Vassar's "Prayer of a Common Man."
Each of us has a role to play in Feeding America -- visit feedingamerica.org to find yours.

by Ed Nicholson

I was fortunate enough to be able to travel to Austin on Monday for the Tyson portion of the HAM-up Tweetup.  What an inspiring community, full of energetic, passionate folks. Big thanks to all of the friends we made at Social Media Club Austin and 501 Tech Club Austin.  It was a sincere pleasure meeting Mike Chapman, but we particularly want to thank David Neff of the American Cancer Society, who brought us to the event--be sure and visit his online space, a great example of social media put to good work.  Thanks to the staff of the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas, particularly Lisa Goddard and Kerri Qunell.  The video above is an interview with the President and CEO of the food bank, David Davenport.  (I stuck him out in the bright sunlight, so blame the producer for that...but what he said was great) I can tell you, the house really is rockin' down in Austin.

For those of you in Austin, there are some exciting activities planned for the HAM-up this week, so don't miss your opportunity to see a world class food bank in action. 

By Susan Brockway

My position at Tyson allows me the privilege of working with food banks, agencies and hunger advocates all over the United States. My company has a major focus on hunger relief, but we are only one company.  There are hundreds just like mine who also see the need to provide time, talent and treasure.  Yet it is still not enough.
A day does not go by that I do not talk to three or four groups who collectively are trying to feed millions of individuals and families who are accessing services.  And the number of those at risk continues to rise.  At some locations, there is an increase of more than 70% over last year, with more funding cuts, less dollars available for operations and simply less food. 
I have also had the honor of working directly for agencies who provide services for the homeless and hungry, and am now a proud board member of a food bank in Arkansas.   My food bank suffers from the same condition of many agencies and groups who work tirelessly to advocate and provide services.  I would like to title this condition, IAMNOTWORHTYITIS.  I have given this quite a bit of thought and I know it will draw some healthy conversation, so I am going to knock this one out of the park and get people thinking.  
Through my various careers, I've attended a number of public presentations for CDBG dollars, other state and federal dollars being administered in communities; I've worked with FEMA, HUD and private foundations.   I would like to wag a finger at all of us in the hunger relief community for the way we approach the need for resources. 
In my role as a community relations manager, if I'm working for economic development, I have no difficulty getting people with money to a cocktail party, dinner or a networking event in the middle of the day and during the evenings.  I  am on both sides of the line as a corporate funder and a non-profit advocate so I have seen how successful business groups are in “selling their message”, obtaining millions of dollars in grants, revenues from local municipalities and foundations. 
On the other hand, as advocates for those in crisis of not eating, we can’t seem to step up to the plate and sell the mission and need for more money, food and programs.  Hunger is not sexy.  It is not as easy to get four executives to a peanut butter and jelly lunch at a Boys and Girls Club, so they can tour a facility and understand the need for more dollars to feed OUR children; not children in another country…….children that live in our neighborhoods.  I have no difficulty however getting four people on a golf cart to discuss business partnerships and how  it is important to work together to make the community better when economic development is concerned.   Easy sell, easy day, and great networking.
In my non-profit work, I am also guilty of not raising the roof and using every resource available, which includes board members, customers and agencies of my own food bank, and simply not standing for the status quo. 
Simply stated, we have resources that are underused and the comments usually go towards “that won’t work”.  Well, what we are doing is not working either, so what do we have to lose?  I want to hear from board members, agencies and others; let’s start to work together and move some resources towards those we are helping.  To get in the game, you have to be willing to get your hands dirty and stand up.  Are you willing?  I think you are, so let’s start today.

Tyson Team Member, Jenise Huffman is currently "on loan," working with Millennium Promise, addressing hunger and poverty in Africa.  She sends this report from Rwanda.

 

So I'm back in Africa doing what I love, and I thought I'd tell you a bit about it since some of you asked me to send updates while I'm here...
I'm in Rwanda doing a feasibility study, evaluating the potential for a poultry enterprise for the women of the Millennium Villages and the schools so that the women could have an income and the children could have protein in their diets in a school-meals program.  I'm sure you all know this because I talk about it a lot, but my CEO at Tyson, Dick Bond, generously agreed to donate the technical expertise in poultry rearing to the Millennium Villages project (Millennium Promise's project that I work on in NY) in order to increase the incomes of the farmers and women, as well as adding protein to their diets.   These people currently have NO protein in their diets.  None whatsoever.  So the children are stunted (growth) because protein is required for skeletal growth before the age of 5.  Additionally, protein deficiencies cause all sorts of other problems for both the children and the adults.  Also, many of these people make $0.50 a day.  That will increase dramatically when they have poultry to sell because Rwanda has a huge demand for poultry and very, very little supply.  That causes the market prices to be very high.  An egg costs $0.21 in a grocery store in Kigali (capital city), and so 2 eggs would take the entire day's wages for many people.  As you can see, they would benefit from increased supply of eggs and poultry meat, which sells for $10 a pound.
 
Today I visited a memorial for the genocide of 1994.  Somewhere between 800,000 - 1 million people were killed in just 100 days.  This memorial was a church where Tutsi's were hiding for safety because they thought the Hutu's wouldn't kill them in a church.  The Hutu's killed 10,000 people in that church in 1 day (in a couple hours, actually).  There were only 2 survivors - children who were underneath dead bodies.  After that, the Hutus continued killing the Tutsi's in this district and took 40,000 bodies to that church to be disposed of.  They also threw most bodies in the river here in this district.  Inside the church, which is still riddled with bullet holes, the clothes that all 10,000 people were wearing when they were killed there are laying on the pews (wooden benches).  There's still blood on the table cloth that covers the top of the alter - they killed some people by smashing them repeatedly into the alter.  That was just 14 years ago.  Not a single conversation that I have had with anyone in Rwanda ended without them mentioning the genocide.   Everything is marked as before or after the genocide.  In the district where our Millennium Villages are, there were 80,000 Tutsi's, but in a matter of a few days, all of them were murdered except for about 1,800.  The survivors lost their families and a bit of their soul.  The eyes of the survivors are still so sad and so hollow.  I just don't want to believe that I live in a world where people do this to each other - and worse yet, America knew and did nothing to help them.  That was the biggest failure of the Clinton Administration, in my opinion. 
 
I was told by one of the Millennium Village project employees here today that he knew Hutu husbands who killed their own wives because they were Tutsi, and then they killed their own children because they had some Tutsi blood in them.  He said they did this because the government told them to.  How do governments gain such evil control over people's minds?  Hitler did.  Mao did.  The President of Sudan is doing that right now.
 
The project that I'm working on is going well.  There is much opportunity here in Rwanda.  President Kagame is determined to make a new Rwanda, a reconciled Rwanda.  Rwanda is more developed than any of the other countries I have visited in Sub-Saharan Africa.  That's not to say they are wealthy - most of the people here are still making $1 - $2 a day.  The farmers in our villages, though, are improving their lives and building concrete homes (still only 1 room, but at least they are concrete instead of mud). 
 
The rains are coming.  Rainy season starts in September.  I hope I make it across the border to Uganda before they hit.  The skies have looked ominous the past couple days.
 
Well, it's late here, and I have a lot to do tomorrow, so I need to get some sleep.  I'm not sleeping well because it's so hot in my room without any air conditioning (and not even a fan), and also the staff cleans all night long, sweeping the walkways because dust is always everywhere.  They are quite noisy talking to each other as they work at 3 am.  My walls are about 2 millimeters thick. 
 
I'll be going to Uganda on September 4th to do the same work that I am doing in Rwanda. 
 
Bye for now.  Time to try to sleep.  Wish me luck!