In this giving season we all like to consider giving outside our own interested parties, some give to local food banks that are always in need, especially at this time of year when heating and fuel cost go up but pay cheques may not. The Interfaith food bank helped more than 129 000 Calgarians in 2013, I don't have the statistics for 2014 but from 2013, Calgarians that needed to use the food bank were not under employed they were proportionately underpaid for the high cost of housing/ living, this surmounts to more people in need of the basics of life, and important one being food and food security.
From reviewing this organizations policies and transparency it is a truly deserving charity with well run efficient programs to get the most food to the most people. If you are looking to donate at the local level you can feel good to donate to a local organization like the Interfaith Food Bank. Some things to consider when donating to this or any food banks;
1)Donate food you would want to eat, don't clean out the cupboards and donate what no one eat in the house. If you don't eat Kraft dinner because you don't consider it food, please don't consider it food for 'others'.
2)When considering those pre-packed hampers for the food bank that cost $10 at your local grocery store, consider if you could do better with that $10. Is there non perishable bulk foods that are more nutritious and have lower sodium than the box of GM pasta noodle, a can of high sodium pasta sauce, and the 2 cans of no name soup. Bulk brown rice, lentils, or dried beans may go further on the nutritious road than the 'canned' items and they are less allergenic as well as being respectful of all Canadian multi cultural food diets.
3)You can donate perishable items to the food bank directly so they can get it to the end user the most efficiently. Grocery stores often donate produce as it is on the cusp of being 'non sellable', this is not a detrimental to anyone, this is a blessing, boxes of brown bananas and bruised apples, cabbages, carrots and onions so kindly donated from local growers. They fall short every month with extremely limited fresh produce. In my mind, a staple of basic nutrition.
From reviewing this organizations policies and transparency it is a truly deserving charity with well run efficient programs to get the most food to the most people. If you are looking to donate at the local level you can feel good to donate to a local organization like the Interfaith Food Bank. Some things to consider when donating to this or any food banks;
1)Donate food you would want to eat, don't clean out the cupboards and donate what no one eat in the house. If you don't eat Kraft dinner because you don't consider it food, please don't consider it food for 'others'.
2)When considering those pre-packed hampers for the food bank that cost $10 at your local grocery store, consider if you could do better with that $10. Is there non perishable bulk foods that are more nutritious and have lower sodium than the box of GM pasta noodle, a can of high sodium pasta sauce, and the 2 cans of no name soup. Bulk brown rice, lentils, or dried beans may go further on the nutritious road than the 'canned' items and they are less allergenic as well as being respectful of all Canadian multi cultural food diets.
3)You can donate perishable items to the food bank directly so they can get it to the end user the most efficiently. Grocery stores often donate produce as it is on the cusp of being 'non sellable', this is not a detrimental to anyone, this is a blessing, boxes of brown bananas and bruised apples, cabbages, carrots and onions so kindly donated from local growers. They fall short every month with extremely limited fresh produce. In my mind, a staple of basic nutrition.
Follow the link to donate now
http://calgaryfoodbank.akaraisin.com/Donation/Event/Home.aspx?seid=2121&mid=8&Lang=en-CA
In such an agricultural province, one should wonder why and how anyone can go hungry? I'll not get into agribusiness and it capacity to cripple food security in first world countries, this is another topic worthy of at least a page.
So where are the food security initiatives if there are so many vulnerable people here?
Grow Calgary has started a small urban farm to help the food bank meet these needs for fresh produce. They except donations and even better for those on a tight budget; they except donations of your volunteer hrs.
http://www.growcalgary.ca/#!volunteer/c19kabasic
HSCA also has food security and education initiatives that you can become involved in with your dollars or your time.
http://www.farmersmarket.hillhurstsunnyside.org/#!community-food-program/c1edn
Donations are a great gift for the person you know that has it all, and the person you may not, that has much less.
Feel like your money might do better farther a field?...There are the small micro finance donations and loans that help people with a hand up with their own entrepreneurial pursuits. Small business and small scale farming is one way to support more sustainable global economies and shrink poverty levels around the world. There are entrepreneurs the globe over, supporting small independent business is a sustainable, environmental and a ethical way to donate. The best gift for someone you know in financial/business world:)
If you are looking into a micro-finance loan donation there are a few questions you might go over to find the most suitable cause and organization.
1)Is the organization focused on social impact? Do they state what these impacts are?
2)What interest rate does the organization charge?what is the organizations repayment rate?)
3)High repayment rates, with a focus on social impact/development, give contributors confidence that they are making a difference.
4)Who are the clients? Not necessarily to the name, but what community, and what are these persons goals in equation to the loan?
Kiva has a selection of micro loans to choose from and in there 7 years of sustainable development they have a good track record, great transparency, and reputation.
Something for anyone to choose, if you are interested in helping with micro finance programs read more from the link below.
http://www.kiva.org/about/microfinance
My personal opinion is that programs the focus on water, sustainable agriculture, and education are some of the most effective and uplifting programs you can donate to as communities as a whole are looking for food security and for that to be sustainable when the organizations are gone and the food is still growing and thriving.
The United Nations deemed 2014 the year of the family farm as most of the world farmers have less than a half acre of land. The return to family farming practices and the dismantling/re-organization of large scale multi- national agribusiness and factory farming will have more impact than dumping subsidies GMO crops in developing countries during times of crisis flooding their local markets driving down prices exacerbating the problem. (1)
Something for anyone to choose, if you are interested in helping with micro finance programs read more from the link below.
http://www.kiva.org/about/microfinance
My personal opinion is that programs the focus on water, sustainable agriculture, and education are some of the most effective and uplifting programs you can donate to as communities as a whole are looking for food security and for that to be sustainable when the organizations are gone and the food is still growing and thriving.
The United Nations deemed 2014 the year of the family farm as most of the world farmers have less than a half acre of land. The return to family farming practices and the dismantling/re-organization of large scale multi- national agribusiness and factory farming will have more impact than dumping subsidies GMO crops in developing countries during times of crisis flooding their local markets driving down prices exacerbating the problem. (1)
One of the worth wild programs that I feel is respectful of diverse ethnic diets and the environment while working on direct community development is A Well Feed World. Working on development of the small scale, sustainable farm with considerations of water as a much higher commodity than we realize in the first world.
Read more about them through the link
http://awfw.org/
At the root of all agricultural and community based development programs there is a need, for clean water.
We may complain if we have to drink from the tap and have heavy chlorine and fluoride levels that can slowly poison internal organs. Imagine being thirsty and not having any access to potable (usable) water. Water is needed in a day to day basis and is of great importance to health of humans and the environment. Look for more reputable organizations and feel excellent about giving the give of the most precious substance, for where there is water, the community can grow.
Just one of many great projects to look into.
http://thewaterproject.org/getinvolved
A few stats to ponder.. Spending in November and December last year totalled $56.5 billion last year, an increase from $54 billion in 2009, according to the Retail Consel of Canada.
You don't need to donate a lot of money, but to think that if even half of Calgary donated $10 each it would pool together to become an injection of something like $5 million, if half of Canada donated $10 it would be close to $175 million. Not enough to feed the world but enough to start a better conversation in Canada about it's contributions, not in GMO crops, but in something more tangible and engaging. This would add to the contributions our Country's currently considers.
Please remember the people you love and the people you don't know you love.
Read more about them through the link
http://awfw.org/
At the root of all agricultural and community based development programs there is a need, for clean water.
We may complain if we have to drink from the tap and have heavy chlorine and fluoride levels that can slowly poison internal organs. Imagine being thirsty and not having any access to potable (usable) water. Water is needed in a day to day basis and is of great importance to health of humans and the environment. Look for more reputable organizations and feel excellent about giving the give of the most precious substance, for where there is water, the community can grow.
Just one of many great projects to look into.
http://thewaterproject.org/getinvolved
A few stats to ponder.. Spending in November and December last year totalled $56.5 billion last year, an increase from $54 billion in 2009, according to the Retail Consel of Canada.
You don't need to donate a lot of money, but to think that if even half of Calgary donated $10 each it would pool together to become an injection of something like $5 million, if half of Canada donated $10 it would be close to $175 million. Not enough to feed the world but enough to start a better conversation in Canada about it's contributions, not in GMO crops, but in something more tangible and engaging. This would add to the contributions our Country's currently considers.
Please remember the people you love and the people you don't know you love.
In this time of giving and getting together, lets get down to our human roots, lets share ideas, lets grow ideals, lets share with everyone.
Happy Holidays my friends! Eat well & live well.
References;
2.Contributions to WFP: Comparative Figures and Five-Year Aggregate Rankinghttp://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/research/wfp232961.pdf
- Family Farming: Feeding the world, caring for the earth - Panel discussion http://webtv.un.org/search/family-farming-feeding-the-world-caring-for-the-earth-panel- discussion/3849735733001?term=wfp&sort=date#full-text
2.Contributions to WFP: Comparative Figures and Five-Year Aggregate Rankinghttp://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/research/wfp232961.pdf