The City that Ended Hunger [General]
2010 Jun 4
A project I've often dreamed of was to take all the food that gets tossed out by all the supermarkets and restaurants in the city, and can it up into mason jars for the food bank. I bet that alone would feed every hungry person in this city. And it would not cost a whole lot to do, either.
2010 Jun 4
It's a good idea (getting aesthetically unpleasing/ otherwise unsellable produce from supermarkets) but in my experience they resist such things. I've volunteered for a group that got donated produce from a few smaller grocers in the city which we then cooked and serveed as a free lunch once a week. The smaller grocers go for it more easily than a Loblaws would. The big stores typically pull the 'liability' card and give a flat out 'no.' Some of my more wacko lefty colleagues automatically assume a capitalist conspiracy is at work. I think it's a bit more reasonable to acknowledge that risking poisoning someone with food is a legitimate legal concern for any food related business. I'd want to cover my ass too if I were them. That being said there are probably wholesalers and other supply companies that have excess/ seconds to get rid of. It would just take a lot of organization and volunteer power.
2010 Jun 4
I would not say it is a capitalist "conspiracy" - it is just capitalism, period. They don't want to give away their product for free. All of these problems are easy to solve with legislation, as per the story I posted.
I've always said (even on this site numerous times) that one day we'll view our food chain the same way we in Canada view our health care. When you ask someone about our health care in Canada, the vast majority support our system, and when asked why, their answer boils down to basically "because it is just what you do in a civil society".
Yet food is a far more basic need than healthcare. Therefore, we have a long way to go before we are a truly civil(ized) society.
I've always said (even on this site numerous times) that one day we'll view our food chain the same way we in Canada view our health care. When you ask someone about our health care in Canada, the vast majority support our system, and when asked why, their answer boils down to basically "because it is just what you do in a civil society".
Yet food is a far more basic need than healthcare. Therefore, we have a long way to go before we are a truly civil(ized) society.
2010 Jun 5
i hate to be a pessimist, by hunger and homelessness (which sometimes go hand in hand) will never be solved, because there are too many people making a living from it! Think of all the homelessness agencies in this city.
This country has the potential to be completely self sufficient in terms of food, fuel, natural resources, etc. but treaties and agreements with other countries over the years have made that impossible. Shame that.
The answer is political will...there has to be a grass roots movement to end hunger, then business has to figure out how to make $$$ from it...just like the environmental movement of today...known as ecology in the '70's.
Passionate people like you Zym are a good start...
This country has the potential to be completely self sufficient in terms of food, fuel, natural resources, etc. but treaties and agreements with other countries over the years have made that impossible. Shame that.
The answer is political will...there has to be a grass roots movement to end hunger, then business has to figure out how to make $$$ from it...just like the environmental movement of today...known as ecology in the '70's.
Passionate people like you Zym are a good start...
2010 Jun 5
The answer to hunger and homelessness is that business ( as opposed to non-profits? ) needs to be able to make money off it? I'll lay a wager that Zym did not mean that privatizing hunger and homelessness was the solution... Perhaps I've misinterpreted both Zym and spud guy?
One might argue that the pursuit of money is the problem in the first place... but I digress...
One might argue that the pursuit of money is the problem in the first place... but I digress...
2010 Jun 6
Many years ago in Cape Town, South Africa, while working in a large hotel I asked the Chef if I could make a soup or Stew from all the left over food every day as it was being thrown out.
This consisted of vegetables, meat or fish or both which we cooked up and tasted ourselves to make sure it was flavourful and hearty. Buns and dinner rolls were also handed out, just because they were day old and did not meet with the Chefs" always fresh" to our customers did not mean they were inedible.
Fruit was also handed out when available.
We had a huge problem with street children begging for food at the windows and doors of our restaurants.
To cut a long story short this " soup kitchen" idea took off so well that by the time I left Cape Town most of the hotels were doing this and had line ups every day at the kitchen doors with little kids holding old cans for there one and only meal of the day.
This also spread to other cities and I can only hope that they are still doing this today.
That is why I applaud vendors who donate to the soup kitchens and food banks in our city as the waste is huge in the food industry.
This consisted of vegetables, meat or fish or both which we cooked up and tasted ourselves to make sure it was flavourful and hearty. Buns and dinner rolls were also handed out, just because they were day old and did not meet with the Chefs" always fresh" to our customers did not mean they were inedible.
Fruit was also handed out when available.
We had a huge problem with street children begging for food at the windows and doors of our restaurants.
To cut a long story short this " soup kitchen" idea took off so well that by the time I left Cape Town most of the hotels were doing this and had line ups every day at the kitchen doors with little kids holding old cans for there one and only meal of the day.
This also spread to other cities and I can only hope that they are still doing this today.
That is why I applaud vendors who donate to the soup kitchens and food banks in our city as the waste is huge in the food industry.
2010 Jun 9
Regarding a for-profit solution for hunger, I am not persuaded. The promise of free markets is economic efficiency not equity of resource distribution. It is not an accident that the Belo Horizonte initiative was a top-down, government initiative.
For-profit entities can, however, be part of the solution. True corporate altruism exists, and the profit motive can also drive "altruistic" behaviour as a marketing tool. In theory, for-profit entities could, though competition, provide the service delivery component efficiently where required, but I am not familiar with any stellar examples of this working well in practice.
I spent an evening handing out food at a homeless shelter in San Diego a while back. They collected unsold food from restaurants and groceries along the lines of Second Harvest, and I have to say: I was ashamed at passing the stuff out. The food was barely edible (volunteers also shared the meal) and certainly not nutritious.
This has led me to fantasize about a charity with three main aims:
1) Provide high-quality, nutritious prepared food to those in greatest need (e.g., the homeless). As we all know, the raw materials for good food need not be expensive (though it can be labour intensive to procure and prepare). Clever preparation can compensate for less than optimally fresh ingredients and other limitations.
2) Provide food service instruction to the homeless and marginalized others to serve as a bridge to potential employment. I believe there are successful models for this out there in other communities.
3) Provide education on healthy, tasty, affordable eating on a budget to poorer families who prepare their own food. I will acknowledge that this approach, while intuitively appealing, will probably be a flop in practice as it assumes that knowledge deficits are primarily driving consumption patterns in poor families. But like I said, it is a fantasy!
For-profit entities can, however, be part of the solution. True corporate altruism exists, and the profit motive can also drive "altruistic" behaviour as a marketing tool. In theory, for-profit entities could, though competition, provide the service delivery component efficiently where required, but I am not familiar with any stellar examples of this working well in practice.
I spent an evening handing out food at a homeless shelter in San Diego a while back. They collected unsold food from restaurants and groceries along the lines of Second Harvest, and I have to say: I was ashamed at passing the stuff out. The food was barely edible (volunteers also shared the meal) and certainly not nutritious.
This has led me to fantasize about a charity with three main aims:
1) Provide high-quality, nutritious prepared food to those in greatest need (e.g., the homeless). As we all know, the raw materials for good food need not be expensive (though it can be labour intensive to procure and prepare). Clever preparation can compensate for less than optimally fresh ingredients and other limitations.
2) Provide food service instruction to the homeless and marginalized others to serve as a bridge to potential employment. I believe there are successful models for this out there in other communities.
3) Provide education on healthy, tasty, affordable eating on a budget to poorer families who prepare their own food. I will acknowledge that this approach, while intuitively appealing, will probably be a flop in practice as it assumes that knowledge deficits are primarily driving consumption patterns in poor families. But like I said, it is a fantasy!
2010 Jun 9
A very intriguing topic! I think there is a confusion between the arguments and merits of public vs private, and the market economy vs command economy. Many people seem to think that privately run enterprise, and market economy are inextricably tied together but this is not at all true. Public vs Private is really a distinction between ownership (and to a lesser extent, motivation), whereas command vs market economy is about the structure of commerce. None of these explicitly requires a 'profit' motive, although one is always assumed in private enterprise.
Much good research points out that market economies are very very efficient for distributing (scarce) goods, but everyone just assumes that the endgame is always profit. The endgame of a market transaction is merely to have both parties of a transaction agree to a exchange that both think has value to them. I can trade a toothpick for a paperclip, or 10 cents for a paperclip, and both are valid and efficient expressions of a market transaction.
One issue with modern capitalism isn't the market per se, but the distribution and accumulation of wealth. Some very good arguments have been made that accumulation of wealth is actually a drain on a market economy where transactions (not accumulation) fuel the engine.
Along this vein, I would propose that 'For Profit' only works if the participants in the program (receiving the food) are part of the 'For Profit'. They need to be a part of the economic engine. Many people take this to mean they need to work for their food, but that is not at all specifically what I mean. I think they need to be actual owners in the 'For Profit' program.
Much good research points out that market economies are very very efficient for distributing (scarce) goods, but everyone just assumes that the endgame is always profit. The endgame of a market transaction is merely to have both parties of a transaction agree to a exchange that both think has value to them. I can trade a toothpick for a paperclip, or 10 cents for a paperclip, and both are valid and efficient expressions of a market transaction.
One issue with modern capitalism isn't the market per se, but the distribution and accumulation of wealth. Some very good arguments have been made that accumulation of wealth is actually a drain on a market economy where transactions (not accumulation) fuel the engine.
Along this vein, I would propose that 'For Profit' only works if the participants in the program (receiving the food) are part of the 'For Profit'. They need to be a part of the economic engine. Many people take this to mean they need to work for their food, but that is not at all specifically what I mean. I think they need to be actual owners in the 'For Profit' program.
2010 Jun 9
PIO...holy smokes, this is getting deep. You sound like a learned fellow!
Your comment on "transactions (not accumulation) fuel the engine" are valid...so if everyone send me $10, I will promise to spend it wisely, thus keeping the economy flowing!!!! ;-)) Sorry, couldn't resist!!!
Seriously, how many times have you heard "spend your way out of a recession"?
Your comment on "transactions (not accumulation) fuel the engine" are valid...so if everyone send me $10, I will promise to spend it wisely, thus keeping the economy flowing!!!! ;-)) Sorry, couldn't resist!!!
Seriously, how many times have you heard "spend your way out of a recession"?
2010 Jun 9
Nope spud guy I just make this sh*t up as I go... ;-)
Technically the only way out of a recession is to spend, since the cause of the recession is not enough spending. It's only gets prickly if you're spending borrowed money, at which point you have to decide if the future debt is worth it. In some cases it certainly is, in other cases... not so much.
Technically the only way out of a recession is to spend, since the cause of the recession is not enough spending. It's only gets prickly if you're spending borrowed money, at which point you have to decide if the future debt is worth it. In some cases it certainly is, in other cases... not so much.
zymurgist
www.urbanhippy.ca
More than 10 years ago, Brazil’s fourth-largest city, Belo Horizonte, declared that food was a right of citizenship and started working to make good food available to all. One of its programs puts local farm produce into school meals. This and other projects cost the city less than 2 percent of its budget. Above, fresh passion fruit juice and salad as part of a school lunch.