52nd Week Update - Miles Neighborhood Food Collection Project

Hi Folks,

Happy Anniversary everyone!

The one consistent comment I got Sunday when handing out our First Year Anniversary Quarterly Report summary was “It sure doesn’t seem like a year since we started One Can A Week.” I agree and I’m the guy who carried those 9,000 lbs. of food to the Community Food Bank. Guess we can attribute it to the fact that time flies when you are having fun. Also I think doing something very important every Sunday also contributes to the imagined contraction of time.

In our second year I plan on doing even more because it just doesn’t seem like more work. Then again people are beginning to step up. Just today, Pauline Hechler, Director of Development at the Community Food Bank sent me a piece of good news. “Peter: I’m copying you, as this is a group that wants to start the program (One Can A Week) in Green Valley for our branch bank there.”

Time appears to be on our side in a number of ways which is a very good thing. A year doesn’t seem like a year yet others see our longevity and success and decide to get involved. I believe we have created a paradigm shift or change in a fundamental way we think about helping the hungry. It’s everybody’s problem and everybody can help a little each week.

Just the Facts
The great thing about the numbers in the annual summary is they represent us, The Miles Neighborhood feeding hungry folks here in Tucson one whole year…lots of folks…more than 2,300 folks and we fed them three meals in one day. Then there’s the money. Our $1,953.38 donation over the year translated into $17,580.42 (1$ = $9) in Community Food Bank food and services. Hope you are proud of yourselves because you should be and I’m very proud of you, too.

Meeting with Bobby Rich at Mix-FM and Other News
Later this week I plan on calling Bobby Rich to talk about One Can A Week and how we can help each other do more for the needy here in Tucson. Also, I have to get back to the Ron Abbott at the Rincon Market to see what our next steps will be.

Ward 5 Offices on South Park
Council Member Richard G. Fembres, our neighbor and staunch supporter of the Community Food Bank, just invited Ward 5 neighbors and businesses to a Ward 5 Dialogue Event on Thursday, January 14th from 5 pm. to 7 pm. The offices (pictured above) are located at 4300 S. Park Avenue just south of E. Ajo Way. It’s a great way to meet your neighbors, get a little more involved in our neighborhood happenings or just check out the fine looking layout. Mark your calendars and hope to see you there.

One Can A Week Now Means Neighborhood
Businesses, Too

We collected 175 lbs. of food (in the basket on the left) and $13 in cash but add that to the 43 lbs. the Axis Food Mart collected and we have a grand total of 218 lbs. Also included in our poundage this week is a donation from a unit at St. Mary’s where a neighbor on Miles works and the staff at DKA. If making a weekly delivery directly to the Community Food Bank helps us gather more food, spread the word. And think about it. Wouldn’t it be great if we got so much food from here and there that we had to make two trips to the food bank on Mondays?

See you Sunday,

Peter