264th Week Update - Miles Neighborhood One Can A Week Project

Hi Folks,

Low wages and 20-hour jobs create ...

SNAP—The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—now covers 1 in 7 Americans. This fact emerged in a recent analysis of government data for The Associated Press by economists at the University of Kentucky.

In the past SNAP recipients were mostly kids and the elderly. Today the majority is working-age people. As with climate change and the melting of the glaciers, the evaporation of the middle class is also a reality. And no matter what you hear, few if any of these hardworking and struggling folks are looking for a “ticket to ride.” Unfortunately the same cannot be said of our congress.

Maggie Barcellano, a new SNAP recipient (shown in the photo above with her three-year-old daughter Zoe) is the example cited by the author Hope Yen in The Huffington Post article. Maggie’s bio stacks up like this:

-    Graduated high school.

-    Enrolled in college studying nursing but couldn’t afford all the tuition.

-    Joined the Army National Guard and trained as a medical technician but couldn’t find work after her service because she needed additional certification and fees.

-    Found a job as a home health aide, six days a week at $10 per hour.

-    Signed up for SNAP through Any Baby Can.

-    Trying to save up for paramedic training and certification.

Maggie is living the life of her grandparents–or great grandparents for that matter—way before television and the Internet. And it is sad to say this situation won’t improve soon because our government is not at all interested in governing. Therefore it is left up to us to do something. I’m not standing idly by and every week others are joining me at Sprouts to help hungry families survive.

Wait, here’s an idea. Why not shop at Sprouts every week and make a food donation. Their prices are really very competitive and the quality is superior. You’ll feel better that at least you are doing something … I love that feeling … and others will follow your lead. The truth is hungry folks can’t wait so neither can we.

Sprouts Update

3^rd Truck Load – 2014 

Three weeks in a row we’ve taken over 500 lbs. to the Community Food Bank.

This week’s donations amounted to 635 lbs. and included River View Estates, 126 lbs.; Sprouts (Speedway), 140 lbs.; Sprouts (Oracle), 52 lbs., Miles School, 82 lbs., Shiva Vista, 58 lbs. and Miles Neighborhood, 177 lbs.

Now that was fun

Bill Carnegie, former CEO of the Community Food Bank is taking no time at all getting into new adventures as he promised he would. Mid morning today I got an email: “I'm teaching a Monday evening class this semester at ASU's Tucson Campus. I was wondering if you might have an evening available to come and talk about your efforts as a volunteer (and recruiting other volunteers) and talk about your program a bit.”

Talk about One Can A Week and volunteers? Those are my favorite topics. Bill needed someone on the 17^th of February but was in a bit of a spot because he also had a cancelation for tonight. Blog posting or not, I decided to back up my friend.

Not only did I explain our efforts here in the Miles Neighborhood, I also got to introduce my Twenty-Eighty Volunteer Program where community service becomes a “fact of life” in America. (Click on link to an article on the program at AZStarnet.com.)   

Can’t wait for Bill’s next email because he’s getting adventure into my life, too.

We collected a total of 177 lbs. of food. The money we donated amounted to $29.00, a $25.00 check and $4.00 in cash.

See you Sunday,

Peter