Answering your searches, part 1

We’ve noticed that people land on our blog using some intriguing search terms. Here are 5 of the search terms we’d like to help you out with:

1. “Can you donate canned soup that’s expired?”
Good question. Technically, you can drop it off at your local food bank, but it will be screened out by staff and tossed. If you don’t think it’s fit for you to eat, it won’t be any more fit for anyone else to eat it. So if you have those old cans of food lying around in the cupboard and you’re pretty sure you won’t open it and eat it, just put it in the trash.

2. “issues of homeless in suburbs”
Yes, there is homelessness in the suburbs. Folks might be living in the bush somewhere in your neighbourhood, or in their cars, or they may be couch surfing (living with friends and family for short periods). Here are some of our posts about homelessness. We’d love to hear your thoughts on the issue!

3. “donate food mississauga” or “foodbank missisauga”
According to the Region of Peel’s website, there are 13 food banks currently in operation in Mississauga. Click on the link (lists food banks for Brampton and Calendon as well) to see eligibility information and contact numbers – most will probably accept donations. Give them a call and see.

From experience, we know that Open Door and The Compass accepts donation drop offs during opening hours. One final word – remember to donate to food banks year round! They’d appreciate the help!

4. “mississauga fire hall accept food donations”
The Mississauga Food Bank website says that all fire halls in Mississauga accept donations. At our local fire hall, there is a drop off bin located in the rear of the building. You may have to ring the bell to ask about food donations at your local fire hall. Fire halls accept donations year round, not just during Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas!

5. “is there any (way) to pass the ogt”
Hmm, good question. The OGT we refer to here is Operation Good Thing run by Youth Unlimited. The way to pass this OGT is to contribute (stay tuned for more details!).

The OGT that you, searcher, might be referring to is the Ohio Graduate Test, which we know nothing about since we’re not from Ohio. But here’s a site from Ohio’s Department of Education that might point you in the right direction. All the best!

shopping on a shoestring

To celebrate this month’s grocery run, our group decided to make $20 stretch to feed a family of four for the entire month. Each person could come up with their own composition of the family – 2 adults and 2 kids, 3 kids and a single parent – whatever we wanted.

Here was the menu I came up with:

• 1 box of frosted flakes for breakfast (hopefully I’d get some milk from the food bank)
• 1 jar of strawberry jam for lunch sandwiches (I hope for some bread at the food bank)
• 4 meals of pasta (2 packs of pasta and 2 cans of sauce – maybe a bit from the 2 cans of tuna)
• 2 meals of mac and cheese, with some tuna
• 2 meals of vermicelli (1 pack vermicelli, stir fried with soy sauce and a can of peas and carrots)
• 5 meals of rice, with soy sauce and/or tuna… maybe some of that pasta sauce
• a can of apple sauce for a healthier snack

So I have 13 rather dismal dinners covered for four people, and meagre supplies for breakfast and lunch. That still leaves half a month without food. Everyone was in the same predicament – we all bought pretty much the same items, with some variations:

• Sarah’s breakfast is going to be pancakes from 1 box – it makes 60 pancakes
• Cecilia got quick oatmeal for breakfast – just needs some brown sugar
• Cecilia and Angela both got peanut butter for their kids’ lunches
• stews and soup gave some of the meat content, besides the cheapest meat of tuna
• in total, we got 20 boxes of mac and cheese for our 5 hypothetical families

I think all our bills, save one, went over the $20 budget. In reality, we would’ve had to pick something out of our purchases so that we could pay for everything. One person said, “I need to go over budget so my kids can have a lunch!” And I kept thinking that my kids wouldn’t have any juice for lunch at school (should I get the Kool-Aid powder?), and that they would probably complain about the lack of variety in their meals. “Mom! Not mac and cheese again!”

It’s a heartbreaking thing to shop below the poverty line.

corn in your car?

“The stage is now set for the direct competition for grain between the 800 million people who own automobiles, and the world’s two billion poorest people.” – Lester Brown, Earth Policy Institute

So, basically, we are beginning to fuel up our vehicles with people’s food. Or, we can let them eat our fuel. How are we to choose what to do?

Read more:

• The fight for the world’s food. – Daniel Howden, The Independent (UK)
• Selected articles from The Future of Food in an Urbanized World, Geez Magazine (Issue 8; Canadian)