Saturday, August 13, 2011

New Source of Food Pantries

Access to food is an everyday problem in what Paul Krugman calls the Lesser Depression, and it happens to people for whom poverty is a new thing.  So it may be helpful to find a place to locate food pantries and soup kitchens across the U.S. Foodpantries.org may not be exhaustive, but it could help you find one near you.  It has a state and zip code search feature, but the zip code is problematic.  I put in mine, and it did indeed find the big Toledo ones (but not all of them), but it put them in haphazard order, with some from Flint and Detroit higher up the list!  So if you use the zip code feature, check out the WHOLE list, and don't be discouraged if you see some far-flung ones listed first.  Overall, they claim over 1800 agencies in the US.  Another is find a food pantry.  Check them both.

But, as I said, the list is self-reporting, so I'm sure they will miss some smaller ones.  If you have a 211 service in your town, call that number to see what they have listed.  Remember, too, that some pantries only take referrals, so contact a social service agency in your town to be sure.  And if you are doing o.k. and live in these towns, the directory could give you some ideas about a place to contribute or volunteer.



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