I recognize many of my readers have their pet charities and causes. For that, thank you. Anything you do to make the world a better place is a good thing, and I’m always happy to hear stories about it if you want to tell them to me.
For those of you who don’t and are turning your minds to making a positive difference, I have an easy suggestion: Anytime you get a windfall, earmark part of that money for a trip to a warehouse store to buy a few cases of food to donate to your local food pantry.
No, it’s not something huge, but food pantries often run on tiny budgets and can run short of necessities. So, here’s things that will be very helpful to most of them:
- Canned meats and stews or spaghetti sauce
- Canned Vegetables
- Canned Fruit
- Boxes of pasta or rice
- Baby supplies (wipes, diapers that sort of thing. Those things are NOT covered by food stamps).
- Female sanitary supplies
- Boxes of juice or milk (dried or fluid)
- Infant formula
The foods you choose should mostly be as “one-box” or “one-can” as you can make them. Boxed maccaroni and cheese, for instance, really should have milk added. The fewer steps to a functional meal, the better.
I know that this is really off-topic for polyamory and polyamorous relationships, but c’mon, polyamory is about love at its core. Having enough love to help out where you can is good. It sets a good example for your kids, shows the world that yeah, we’re part of it, too and that we want to do our part to help make it better where and when we can.
I hope whatever you do for the Holiday season is done with joy, love and gay abandon.
Love,
Mama Java
Awesome suggestions. As a sometimes-food-pantry-user myself, I really appreciate this post, and of course it is on topic because poly people sometimes have to use food pantries too! 🙂
I’m a little late to this post, but just in case someone else is going through the archives–
My understanding is that food pantries can often buy food at steep discounts, so if you have extra money (as opposed to extra food) a pantry will typically be better served by a donation of the money directly. I know it’s not as visceral as knowing that someone will be eating your specific boxes of food, but it’s more effective.
Well, you’ve got a good point.
And my last few donations have been cash rather than food.