Historic day: No foolin'! 20,000 pounds of groceries serve well over 400 shoppers!

Last Wednesday at the CitySquare Resource Center on Haskell Avenue in inner city East Dallas, our team distributed 20,000 pounds of very healthy grocery products to over 400 neighbors who came to shop. 

When I saw the crowds lined up down Haskell almost all the way to Elm Street, I knew we were experiencing the largest food distribution day in our history.  I just didn't know how big the day would be. 

Our staff worked until 8:00 p.m. to make sure all were served. 

Hunger in a city like Dallas, Texas?

Food Deserts

Dr. Mark DeHaven is a member of CitySquare Board of Directors!

Speak up!

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.
Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy.

Proverbs 31:8-9
(New International Version, ©2010)

Bad policy, bad business

I keep running across really disheartening statistics about the status of public benefits for low-income Texas children and families. 

Consider just in the area of nutrition:

• Out of over 300,000 eligible Dallas area children, < 9% receive the benefits of the Texas Summer Lunch Program.
• Only 41% of eligible families receive the benefits afforded by SNAP (the Texas Food Stamp program).

But, bad policy also turns out to be really bad business for Texas and for Dallas, as well.

• Vendors prepare and sell those summer meals, putting money into our local economy, creating jobs and supporting business services.
• Dallas County loses an estimated $500,000,000 annually in retail groceries sales because of our inability or unwillingness to register everyone who is eligible for SNAP, funds lost to local businesses.

Funny how that works, isn't it? 

Bad, unconcerned policy translates to terrible business outcomes. 

When will we wake up in Texas and make sure that Texas tax dollars stay or return to Texas in ways that benefit those in need of a lift, as well as those driving our local economy. 

What affects one sector, affects all sectors. 

Dramatic rise in elderly seeking food assistance

Found the following report in The Huffington Post.  The trend reported here is one we've noticed in Dallas at our Resource Center.

ALBANY, N.Y. — Older Americans who were raised on stories of the Great Depression and acquired lifelong habits of thrift now find themselves crowding soup kitchens and food pantries in greater numbers for the first time after seeing retirement funds, second jobs and nest eggs wiped out by recession.

"What we see in line is lots of gray hair, lots of walkers," said Marti Forman, CEO of The Cooperative Feeding Program in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The help is crucial for many fixed-income seniors, who can't always keep up with rising food prices.

"It's a lifeline. It just means that you can function," said Ronald Shewchuk of Ithaca, N.Y. "Otherwise we would have to sell our house. I don't know what we would do. Go to an old age home."

The number of seniors living alone who seek help from food pantries in the U.S. increased 81 percent to 408,000 in 2008, compared to 225,000 in 2006, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Overall, 4.7 million households used American food pantries in 2008, compared to about 3.7 million in 2006.

"Seniors thought they were OK, but they're not OK," said Virginia Skinner, director of Development at The Association of Arizona Food Banks in Phoenix, citing the downturn in the area's housing market.

Catholic Charities USA, which has 170 agencies across the country helping the needy, issued a 2009 third-quarter report that found a 54 percent increase in requests for food and services from seniors nationwide compared to the same period last year.

Despite the increased need, it can be difficult for some older people to come forward and seek help.

To read more click here.

Pegasus Thanksgiving Report: Hungry North Texans

This report appeared in Pegasus News, a Dallas on-line news service:

Traditional Thanksgiving dinner too costly for some North Texans


by Lena Dirbashi

A few Thanksgivings ago, Andre Alston worked as a permanent substitute teacher at Dallas ISD. For years, he taught English, math, science, and reading. But four years ago, the school district decided that his college degree, a two-year associates degree, wasn't enough and laid him off.

It didn't take him long to find another job -- but not without compromise. Alston's new job at Macy's department store was paying him a fraction of how much he got paid as a teacher. Soon, he found himself caught between paying the bills and buying food. "When you get to that point," he said. "You just feel really bad." With no immediate family close by and nobody to turn to, Alston felt weak, overwhelmed, and sad. One day, he was standing at the unemployment office and noticed a flier for the Central Dallas Ministries (CDM). He paid them a visit that changed everything. Alston was finally able to enjoy a happy Thanksgiving.

Central Dallas Ministries, one of more than 300 food pantries in the Dallas-Forth Worth area, is overwhelmed in the weeks leading up to the holidays. The average number of food recipients for 2009 was 4,575 individuals per month at the Ministries, and that number is expected to double during the holidays. The North Texas Food Bank (NTFB), which distributes food to the Ministries and 291 member agencies, doubled its staff and trucks to confront the drastic increase in need.

To read the entire story click here.
 
To learn more about Central Dallas Ministries go to http://www.centraldallasministries.org/.

Friday at Central Dallas Ministries Resource Center

This is the scene that greeted us on Friday morning.

A line of neighbors over 100 strong strung out in the heavy rain.

Why?

Waiting to receive groceries, including fresh vegetables and fruit.

The need, the food insecurity, the hunger--it's all on the increase, and dramatically.

Community Hunger Day

Can I get another "witness"?

Take a moment to check the link right here.

Reactions invited and needed.

1,000,000 pounds!

During September, Central Dallas Ministries passed the 1 MILLION pound mark of groceries distributed to our low-income neighbors.

1 MILLION pounds!

Through June 30, 2009, our food distribution channel had distributed more food than during all of 2008.

A combination of factors explains the rather startling growth.

First, we entered into a new collaboration with Crossroads Community Services (CCS), a ministry of the First United Methodist Church Dallas. We've adopted the robust nutritional guidelines employed by CCS, as well as their "pounds delivered criteria" and their data tracking system.

Second, CDM serves more individuals than any other food distribution site in Dallas. So far in 2009, we have served well over 5,000 more unduplicated individuals than was the case over the same period in 2008.

So, there is the explanation back of the amazing numbers: More people served with more and higher quality food delivered.

Distributing food is essential, especially in tough economic times like these. Savings achieved by families who use our food pantry means dollars freed up from tight, limited budgets to pay for housing, clothing, health care, transportation and child care.

On October 22 CDM will present, host and roll out our web-based "Second Annual Community Hunger Day."

You can help!

To find out how click here!

I know we can count on you.
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