Food Pantries: The Need is Still Great

In this morning's Daily Herald, I read an article about the Mount Prospect Food Pantry. Evidently, they are desperately in need of donations because the economy has significantly increased the demand for its services.

That got me to thinking . . . it's been awhile since I talked about how badly food pantries need our help all year long (and not just at Christmas or Thanksgiving).

With summer here, the demand on food pantries is greater because families that rely on the free and reduced-fee school lunches to help stretch their food stamp dollars don't have that safety net.

According to the Illinois Department of Human Services, a family of 4 can have a monthly gross income of no more than $2,389 ($28,668 gross annually) in order to qualify for food stamps. That's not a lot of money, especially in the Chicago area. So people who make too much to qualify for food stamps, but are poor, the working poor, also rely on food pantries to help them make ends meet.

If you're a long-time reader of Little Merry Sunshine, you have probably read about my own personal experience with getting food from the food pantry and you know supporting food pantries is personal to me.

In addition to non-expired food (this is key because they cannot give out expired food to clients), many food pantries also accept toiletries. The Wheeling Township Food Pantry has a list of the items they need. The Mount Prospect Food Pantry specifically needs cash donations and bottled juice, canned goods, dried goods, rice, baby diapers and paper goods, but they can't accept cans larger than 32 ounces.

I buy a few extra items each week to donate to the food pantry. Thanks to buy one, get one free sales and coupons, this often has zero impact on my budget. I collect the items and when I have a full bag, I run over to the food pantry.

As you begin to harvest your garden, you might also think about donating some of your excess fruits and veggies to your local food pantries. See the list of food pantries accepting produce here.

Think your tiny garden can't make a difference? Watch the video below to learn how 11-year-old Katie Stagliano is making a difference in her community. She was on CNN today and has started Katie's Krops.



If you're not in Arlington Heights or Mt. Prospect, you can find food pantries local to you at Feeding America's website.

Food Pantries Need YOUR Help!

It's no surprise that everyone is feeling pinched by the economy right now. Gas prices are through the roof. Food prices are at near record highs. A few days ago, the Farm, Nutrition and Bioenergy Act Conference Report was up for a vote in Congress and it passed in both the House and Senate, in spite of Representative Mark Kirk's (R-IL 10th) vote against it and President Bush's promise to veto it. Luckily, this bill should be veto-proof.

A crucial element of this Act is that 2/3 of the money in the farm bill would go to public nutrition programs like food stamps. Did you know that there are 27.7 million Americans on Food Stamps, that in Illinois 1.3 million people are on Food Stamps or in the WIC program (the largest number ever in the State) and that the average food stamp recipient lives on less than $1 per meal (yes, that's ONE DOLLAR PER MEAL)?

One way people with low incomes stretch their food budgets is with the free and reduced breakfast and lunch programs provided through the schools. With school about to end for the summer, however, these programs will also be on hiatus, putting an additional strain on families.

Food pantries provide a safety net for entire communities. Because of the economic recession, more people are relying on food pantries than the in recent times - including more and more "middle class" people. As a result, food pantries across the country are finding their shelves empty and need your donations.

In addition to accepting non-expired, non-perishable food items, many food pantries also accept personal hygiene items such as toilet paper, deodorant, feminine hygiene products, diapers, etc., but you should call your local food pantry to confirm they accept these items. UPDATE: As Gourmet Goddess states in her comment below, some food pantries also accept pet food and pet care items. Please call your local food pantry before you bring a big bag of Alpo over, however.

In Wheeling Township (where I live), our food pantry is in need of quite a few items that I've listed below:

Food
canned tuna fish
vegetable oil and olive oil
snacks/cookies
stuffing
sugar (small size)
tomato products
apple sauce
beef stew
bottled juice
canned fruit - all varieties
canned meat products such as chicken, hash, ham
cereal
coffee (small) and tea
dry milk/canned milk
condiments
dried beans and dried peas
dry soups including Ramen
canned or packaged gravy
jams, jelly and honey
macaroni and cheese
pancake mix and syrup
potato products and yams
rice (1 lb bags)
salad dressing

Personal Hygiene Items
paper towels
Kleenex
napkins
toilet paper (2 or 4 roll pkgs)
laundry and dish washing detergent
diapers - sizes 4, 5, and 6
shampoo and conditioner
toothbrushes
toothpaste
bar soap
feminine hygiene products

If you don't live in Wheeling Township, I encourage you to call your local food pantry, see what is needed, and then make a donation.

What if we all went through our own pantry and dropped 5 or 10 items off at the local food pantry? Certainly we won't starve by donating a day's worth of food, but it could keep someone else from going to bed hungry.

Update: Today, while grocery shopping, I used a bunch of buy one, get one free coupons and will be giving the free items to my food pantry. Just a thought.

Back on My Soapbox: Help Your Local Food Pantries!

Do you feel like I rant about this topic endlessly? Well I do carry on about it quite a bit. But one of my core beliefs is that we are obligated to help those less fortunate than us and it's unconscionable to me that so many people in our society go hungry every day.

It's simply not that difficult or expensive to donate extra food to local food pantries. And food donations have an incredible immediate impact in ways that other donations don't. We must have food to live. Children must have proper nutrition to grow up healthy. Going to school on an empty stomach has been shown to cause kids to have trouble with concentration, etc.

I don't know anyone who is unaffected by the current economic situation and you may be thinking that you simply don't have any extra money to buy a bunch of food for others. I beg to differ. Grocery stores are constantly offering buy one, get one free specials. Every weekend when I review the coupon inserts, I often find coupons for free items. Rather than toss out the coupons you won't use, why not use them to buy items for the food pantry? Buy one or two extra items each week and in no time you'll have a bag of food to drop-off at your local pantry. Clean out your own pantry. Do you have items you bought and haven't eaten, but are not expired yet (food pantries don't take expired food)? I'm sure you do. We all do. Pack them up.

In addition to donations being down and demand being up because of the current economic crisis, food pantries also have another blow against them: the peanut recall. Think about it. A staple in many homes is peanut butter. But because of the peanut recall, food pantries are forced to toss out otherwise perfectly good food in order to avoid sickening any of their clients.

The bottom line is food pantries desperately need our help. Will you join me in easing their burden?

Can You Help Spread Thanksgiving Cheer?

The economy is suffering and as a result more families than ever are turning to food pantries for help, especially as the holidays approach. Food pantries, however, are in a Catch-22. The need is far greater than normal (whatever that is), but donations are down significantly. And as a result, food pantries aren't able to provide assistance to as all families.

Donating to food pantries isn't just something I write about like a broken record. It's actually personal to me.

Shortly after my parents divorced when I was 12, my mom was unemployed and studying to pass the real estate test and earn her real estate license. We had no money. Child support payments from my dad were sporadic and there was no alimony. Truly, we had no money. Rather than ask my grandmother for money, my mom applied for food stamps and signed my brother and me up for the free lunch program at school. I remember I was mortified. I was terrified my friends would find out and no longer be my friends. In junior high, image was everything. I even had to work as a runner on picture day at school that year in order to get free school pictures.

My most vivid memory of that year, however, was going to the food pantry with my mom to pick up donated food so that we'd have a Thanksgiving dinner. I didn't want to go, but my mom made me. And almost 25 years later, I'm still grateful she did.

A few weeks later, we went back to pick up donated food and gifts for Christmas.

My brother and I were two of the kids on the giving tree that year. I was in 8th grade, but whomever got my name must have misunderstood because I received underwear for an 8 year old as my donated Christmas present. The look on my mom's face on that Christmas morning as I opened my present meant for a little girl, not a teenager, was one of the saddest looks I've ever seen. I could tell she felt broken, but she tried to hide it. No parent wants to feel like they've failed their children and I know that's how she felt.

Although I was momentarily disappointed at having received essentially nothing for Christmas that year, I learned the value of compassion and helping others. It was more important that someone had generously given than what they gave. And I knew that it was more important that we still had a home, had food on the table, and were together than whether I received any presents.

We only spent a year or so on food stamps and I only remember that one holiday season receiving donated food and gifts (although there may have been another year), but the memories of that year depending on the kindness of strangers will never leave me. I know it's made me more compassionate and less judgemental of those on hard times. And each year, no matter what, I always donate to my local food pantry and giving tree.

So please please give to your local food pantry, even though you may be struggling. The smallest donation will make a huge difference. You may never know the lives you will touch, but I assure you that your act of kindness will change the life of someone. It changed mine.

Food Stamp Recipients Struggle Through the Month

This article was in the Sun-Times this morning. It simply astounds me that we live in one of the richest countries in the world, yet we have so many people going hungry. We must do something about this food crisis. It's our moral obligation.

Times are tough all over, but picking up 2-3 extra items a week at the grocery store and making a monthly trip to the food pantry would be a help countless people.

The emphasis is mine.

Food stamp recipients struggle through the month
May 19, 2008
FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Danielle Brown stands outside a South Side market at midnight, braving the spring chill for her first chance to buy groceries since her food stamps ran out nearly two weeks ago.

For days, Brown has been turning cans of ''whatever we got in the cabinet'' into breakfast, lunch and dinner for her children, ages 1 and 3, who finished off the last of the milk and cereal long ago.

''Ain't got no food left, the kids are probably hungry,'' said Brown, a 23-year-old single mother who relies heavily on her $312 monthly allotment of food stamps -- a ration adjusted just once a year, in October.

This is what the skyrocketing cost of food looks like at street level: Poor people whose food stamps don't buy as much as they once did rushing into a store in the dead of night, filling shopping carts with cereal, eggs and milk so their kids can wake up on the first day of the month to a decent meal.

Here's what it looks like another way: The number of Americans relying on food stamps has climbed 6.1 percent in the past year, from 26.1 million in February 2007 to 27.7 million in February this year. Every state except for Arkansas and Colorado saw the food stamp rolls increase, led by Nevada and Florida -- both also hit hard by the housing crisis.

The sputtering economy, persistent unemployment and the mortgage crisis have all contributed to the increase. The U.S. Agriculture Department expects the overall number of participants to reach 28 million next year.

It all paints a picture that experts say is becoming more grim every month.

''People with incomes below the poverty threshold are in dire straits because not only are food prices increasing but the food stamps they are receiving have not increased,'' said Dr. John Cook, an associate professor at Boston University's medical school who has studied the food stamp program, particularly how it affects children.

On the South Side of Chicago, what it means is that people like Danielle Brown wait for the stroke of midnight, when one month gives way to another and brings a new allotment of food stamps.

Dennis Kladis began opening his family-owned One Stop Food & Liquors once a month at midnight nine months ago to give desperate families a chance to buy food as soon as possible.

''I'm telling you, by the end of the month they're just dying to get back to the first,'' said Kladis, who has watched other area stores follow his lead. ''Obviously, they are struggling to get through the month.''

For Lynda Wheeler, who receives $281 in food stamps each month, the rhythm of life has been one of shopping for food, running out of food and turning to churches, food pantries and friends for food. And all the while, she is doing things like cutting milk with water to make it last a bit longer.

''You get it on the first and it runs out by the 14th and 15th,'' said Wheeler, a single mom who brought her 14-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter shopping at midnight with the Link card, the Illinois version of food stamps.

The consumer price index for food rose 5 percent last year, the highest gain in nearly two decades. It is especially grim news for the poor.

Start with milk. Between March 2007 and this year, a gallon of milk jumped from just over $3 a gallon to nearly $3.80, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. During the same period, eggs climbed from about $1.60 a dozen to $2.20. Meanwhile, everything from white bread to chicken to tomatoes is more expensive than it was last year.

Just last summer, the maximum food stamp payment -- $542 a month for a family of four with a gross income of no more than $2,238 -- was enough to cover the USDA's ''thrifty food plan,'' a bare-bones diet that meets minimal nutritional needs. Studies show that allotment now falls about $25 short, Cook said.

Because food stamp allotments are adjusted every fall based on the federal food inflation rate, recipients are months away from getting any relief. But even when that relief comes, advocates say, it won't come close to keeping pace with rising costs.

Meanwhile, demand is growing. The number of U.S. food stamp participants grew by 482,000 between October and February; in the same time period a year earlier, the figure dropped by 135,000.

And just getting to the store is a lot more expensive. Since October, the cost of gas has shot up nationally from $2.70 a gallon to $3.62, according to the Lundberg Survey, a petroleum market research firm. With 31 cents of that jump in the last month alone, Lundberg says there is a good chance the price will top $4 a gallon by the end of the summer.

That means the poor are spending money on gas that they might otherwise have used for food -- sometimes striking deals with people who have cars to buy them food using the only currency they have.

''Even if they don't have a car, they are using food stamps just to get a ride to the store,'' said Dan Block, a Chicago State University geography professor who has studied grocery store shopping in Chicago's poorest neighborhoods.

High gas prices were the reason 58-year-old Floyd Ogalvie made the 15-minute trip for the midnight opening this month in his electric wheelchair.

''My old lady, she drives, but she didn't want to drive to save gas,'' he said.

For starters, gas prices are not part of the equation. USDA spokeswoman Jean Daniel did say that the agency is trying to help and noted recipes for inexpensive meals are posted on the agency Web site.

But she said there is only much food stamp programs can -- or were meant -- to do.

''Food stamps were designed to be a supplement to the food budget, (they) were never intended to be the entire budget,'' she said.

If the USDA pulls $1.7 billion from a contingency fund of $6 billion this year to support the food stamp program, as it expects to do, that would be the largest withdrawal since $2 billion was pulled out after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The program saw a surge in demand that year as well, with the number of recipients climbing to 27.9 million in October and 29.8 million in November.

On Thursday, the Senate passed a five-year, $300 billion farm bill that includes $200 billion for nutrition programs such as food stamps and emergency food aid for the needy. Daniel said it was too early to say how the at will affect benefits to food stamp recipients and she knew of no provision in the bill to make the annual adjustment before the fall.

In the meantime, there are signs that the same people shopping at midnight on the first of the month may be getting hungrier sooner.

Maura Daly of America's Second Harvest, a national network of food banks, said food banks are seeing a 20 percent increase in the number of people turning to them for help. Much of that increase, she said, comes at month's end.

Diane Doherty, executive director of the Illinois Hunger Coalition, said she's seeing people more frantic for food than ever.

''The level of desperation is just frightening,'' she said. ''People are calling, saying they have no idea what they are going to do.''

But even as demand is rising, many food panties nationwide have been forced to cut back on the amount of food given to individual families because higher fuel costs and commodity prices have sliced into private donations to the pantries, Daly and others say.

What that means is the hungry are casting an ever wider net for food, showing up at pantry after pantry.

''We're seeing people come to us from further and further outside our geographical boundaries, (from) as far away as Indiana and southern Wisconsin,'' said Greg Nergaard, coordinator at Lakeview Pantry on Chicago's North Side. ''What they say is they didn't know where else to go.''

For now, many of the needy, including many in Kladis' store pushing carts laden with soda pop, bags of cookies and chips -- much of it cheaper than healthier food -- are doing what they can to stretch their shrinking buying power.

''The bottom line is, a mother trying to feed her kids is not really picky about what she puts in their bellies,'' said Dan Gibbons, executive director of the Chicago Anti-Hunger Federation. ''She just wants them full.''

The Food Stamp Challenge

Hunger is real and too many people are go hungry every night. Contrary to popular opinion, even so-called "well to do" towns have people who are struggling to feed their families. And our current economic crisis only makes this situation worse.

The local NBC affiliate did a story on Thursday night called "The Food Stamp Challenge" and I think it's important and worth repeating here.

A number of members of Congress have participated in this challenge, although NOT my own Representative Mark Kirk (R-10th IL) (just 1 of the many reasons I did not vote for him). More need to participate and we need to encourage our elected officials to take part.



I've written about the plight of those receiving food stamps, the Food Stamp Challenge and the importance of donating to food pantries previously. But as we head into the holiday season with Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas right around the corner, I encourage you to call your food pantry and see what their greatest need is.

Many food pantries are looking for people to sponsor a Thanksgiving dinner for a local family. The Wheeling Township Food Pantry, where I live, does this. You can provide traditional Thanksgiving foods (canned yams, boxed mashed potatoes, canned corn, canned cranberry jelly or a gift card to the grocery store for a turkey) and a local family that couldn't afford this luxury for their family will have a special day.

Whenever I go to the grocery store, I pick up an item or two extra that I can give to my food pantry. I always buy on sale, so it doesn't become a burden on my budget. Then when I have a full grocery sack, I drop it off at the food pantry. Almost as important as the need for food, personal care items such as toilet paper, feminine hygiene products, and diapers cannot be purchased with food stamps and I encourage you to pick up some extra when it's on sale for your food pantry. Of course, donations to food pantries are tax deductible, so keep a list of what you donate and get a receipt when you make a donation.

Food
canned tuna fish
vegetable oil and olive oil
snacks/cookies
stuffing
sugar (small size)
tomato products
apple sauce
beef stew
bottled juice
canned fruit - all varieties
canned meat products such as chicken, hash, ham
cereal
coffee (small) and tea
dry milk/canned milk
condiments
dried beans and dried peas
dry soups including Ramen
canned or packaged gravy
jams, jelly and honey
macaroni and cheese
pancake mix and syrup
potato products and yams
rice (1 lb bags)
salad dressing

Personal Hygiene Items
paper towels
Kleenex
napkins
toilet paper (2 or 4 roll pkgs)
laundry and dish washing detergent
diapers - sizes 4, 5, and 6
shampoo and conditioner
toothbrushes
toothpaste
bar soap
feminine hygiene products

FINALLY! Some Good News!

Stories like this truly warm my heart. It's no secret that times are tough and sometimes we forget that some people don't have enough money to feed their pets. Sure it's easy to say "well, just give Fido away" UNLESS you've ever had a beloved pet. I'm telling you right now that I'd personally go without a few meals a month before letting Betsey and Ross starve or giving them away. Pets are calming and soothing. They love us unconditionally. Ross gives massages when I have migraines (really). They are good company. Dogs give their owners good exercise when they have to be walked (the dogs have to be walked, not the owners).

After reading the story below, drop off a bag of dog or cat food at Pooch Pantry (part of B.C. Dog Training Club) in Mundelein.

Chicago, suburban pet owners look for place to turn when food runs out
The worsening economy means many animal owners can no longer afford the cost of food and care for their four-legged companions.

Tribune Staff Report, February 20, 2009

When his health-care consulting business dried up, George Olsen applied for the state's food stamp program, but didn't count on the difficulty in feeding Oliver and Gracie.

State aid doesn't cover food for his two golden retrievers, cherished family members for Olsen, of Vernon Hills.

After learning of his plight, dog trainer Cathie Sabin provided him with a 20-pound bag of dog food for free, and then was motivated to take it a step further by opening the Pooch Pantry in Mundelein.

"That animal in itself gives them comfort, gives them unconditional love," said Sabin, who hopes to keep her pantry stocked with dog and cat food, treats, used collars, and other supplies.

The food bank for pets, run out of Sabin's B.C. Dog Training Club, opened almost a month ago and is accepting dog and cat food donations, which it distributes at no cost to people suffering a financial crisis. With little publicity, she has handed out 12 to 15 bags of food every Saturday morning, mostly to senior citizens on fixed incomes, and expects the numbers to grow as word spreads.

Woodland Primary School in Gurnee has started collecting pet food to donate to the pantry.

There are several pet food pantries in Chicago, including a "foreclosure program" at PAWS, which has doled out 2,100 pounds of cat food and 2,240 pounds of dog food to needy families since September, a spokeswoman said. PAWS also offers foster care, pet food and emergency medical care and has about 40 people on its current recipient list.

Sabin believes her Pooch Pantry to be among the first in Lake County—reflecting a growing need during the economic downturn.

Nationally, animal shelters have reported rising numbers of people who are giving up their pets, skipping veterinarian visits and buying cheaper pet food. The evidence is largely anecdotal, but there's no doubt among advocates in the field.

"I think we are going to see more of these kinds of things if the economy doesn't turn around," said Steve Dale, a nationally syndicated pet care journalist.

Pet pantries have become a necessity in some areas, Dale said. "People are just opening their doors, letting [pets] out, or in some cases leaving them in foreclosed homes," Dale said.

Other owners, he said, are trimming their budgets and agonizing over how to keep their pets.

At Save-A-Pet in Grayslake, executive director Frank Corbi said he has seen about a 20 percent increase since last year in people relinquishing their cats or dogs.

Corbi described a man who had to return a pet because "he was literally living out of his truck."

Afterward, "he went outside and actually fell on his knees and cried," Corbi said. "I will never forget that."

At PAWS Chicago, the pet food bank is available only by appointment, said spokeswoman Susan Robinson. Most who need help are in foreclosure or unemployed, and their stories are heartbreaking, she said.

"We have had a couple of people whose animals have had a medical crisis," she said. "Now they can't afford" to feed them.

The hope, she said, is to try to help people for three to six months, with the understanding that they are trying to get back on their feet.

Sabin delivers a similar message. On a recent weekend, she explained to several people who dropped by her Mundelein pantry for food that she would do her best to help, but added a caveat.

Sabin also runs a non-profit dog rescue education group, and she talks to each pet food donor about the organization's mission and goals, allowing contributions to be tax-deductible.

Mary York, 57, of Round Lake Park, stopped by the Pooch Pantry to pick up some dog and cat food. She lives alone, if you don't count her Dalmatian mix, Oreo, 10; a beagle mix, Barley, 8; and a 9-year-old cat named Morris.

York, who is on a fixed income and has health problems, also has been trying to find a home for two strays a neighbor left with her.

"I have a full house," she said with a sigh. "They're my family. They are alarm clocks and everything else."

Another visitor to the pantry was Linda Plier of Waukegan, who donated food.

"People shouldn't be without their best friends," said Plier, who no longer has a pet of her own but appreciates their companionship. "I am lucky enough to still have a job."

Before he was referred to Sabin, Olsen, 60, said he was surprised to find so little help available for struggling pet owners in the suburbs. He figured he called 20 places as he tries to get his family through a tight spot after his consulting business soured.

"The thing that was disappointing and irritating to me is that when I called a few of the pet stores . . . their response was, 'No we don't do that. Maybe you should consider giving your pet up.' "

That would be a last resort, said Olsen, who hopes he can reciprocate the kindness shown him and help other pet owners.

"This is such an important piece of people's lives," he said.



Where to find pet food assistance

Kids Do the Darndest Things

As I've talked about before, there was a time when I was growing up that we lived on food stamps and got help from the local food pantry. I was in 8th grade and I was a student at Thomas Junior High in Arlington Heights, now Thomas Middle School. At the time, I don't remember ever doing things like food drives, although I guess we did. If we did, however, we all just brought a few cans to school and that was the end of it. We most certainly did not take time out of school to form a human chain to the Wheeling Township Offices and Food Pantry, which like today, were located just down the street from my school.

Having gone to the food pantry as a kid because we needed food and now being a regular donor, my heart swelled with pride in today's youth when I read this story about the students at Thomas Middle School. 872 students and 101 faculty and staff collected over 5,000 cans of food - more than double what they collected last year. WOW.

Summer is one of the hardest times for food pantries. Donations are down and demand is up. Demand is up because parents who rely on the free or reduced-fee breakfast and lunch programs to help them stretch their meager food budgets (usually food stamps) are suddenly without that supplement when school ends in early June.

I'm delivering a box of food to Wheeling Township tomorrow and I'll be bringing extra veggies from my garden later this summer. If we all just add a few extra items to our carts every time we shop for groceries, it's not a strain on anyone's budget and in no time we'll have a full bag to drop off at the food pantry. Many stores run "buy one, get one free" specials and these are great times to get extra items at no cost.

Will you join me in collecting food for your food pantry this summer? If less than 900 middle school kids can donate more than 5,000 cans of food, what can we do?

Read the article below and watch the video.

Arlington Heights students make dent in need at food pantry
By Deborah Donovan, Daily Herald Staff, May 29, 2009

Is it a world's record if 872 middle school students and 101 staff members pass cans and other nonperishable food items they've donated from hand to hand for at least five blocks?

The students at Thomas Middle School, 1430 N. Belmont Ave., Arlington Heights, collected more than 5,000 containers of food, and Friday they stretched out from the school door to a truck waiting across the street from the Wheeling Township Food Pantry, 1616 N. Arlington Heights Road.

While village authorities let them block streets like E. Lynnwood Ave., closing Arlington Heights Road during the morning rush hour was not an option.

The school is hoping to create a new category for the Guinness Book of World Records, said Jason A. Dietz, assistant principal: Longest human chain passing food.

The weather was gorgeous, the students were only getting out of homeroom, but things were more complicated than you might think.

Believe it or not, the food--two or three times what they collected last year -- did not move in a smooth-flowing chain. Miscues caused cans and boxes to fall to the grass or sidewalk. Sometimes nothing seemed to be coming down the line, but then Danielle Stasik, 13, was juggling so many items that a classmate popped one into the hood of her sweatshirt.

Small groups of students -- usually eighth graders like Abbey Groves, 14, and her friends -- served as unofficial quality control experts, pulling out damaged cans and packages. Groves also pretended to confiscate a box of tea when she noticed it was her favorite brand.

All kinds of nonperishable items were donated from tins of tuna to boxes of breakfast cereal and plastic bottles of syrup and of course cans of pork and beans.

"I'm collecting good dinner ideas," said Victoria Self, a teaching assistant who lives in Inverness. "I've never seen some of these brands."

All year the students sponsored projects that demonstrated kindness and compassion to others, said Dietz.

"The students and staff at Thomas have worked hard to start a 'chain reaction' of kindness and compassion for others," he said. "Creating a human hand chain and passing the cans allows everyone to be a part of something special."

This Christmas, Give Peace & Good Will Toward Men

There was an interesting article in today's Sun-Times about how many non-profit organizations find themselves in a strange predicament: they have too many volunteers.

Around the holidays, many people's most generous side comes out and it seems they all want to work in soup kitchens or at homeless shelters. This overabundance of volunteers is also buttressed by the fact that we have a 10% national unemployment rate. Many people who are unemployed seek to fill their time by volunteering.

Unfortunately, this glut of volunteers is not a year-round problem. During other times of the year, there is a severe shortage of volunteers.

Because Little Merry Sunshine believes strongly in giving back and volunteering, I thought it would be helpful to suggest some alternative volunteer opportunities that are readily available and could use your help right now:

• Donate blood. LifeSource and other blood donation centers always need extra blood.
• Food pantries. Call your local food pantry and see what their greatest need is. Many food pantries also take personal care items (deodorant, toilet paper, feminine hygiene products, diapers, etc.). These donations are vital because food stamps cannot be used to purchase these items, which can be quite costly. Don't forget that pets are family too and there are food pantries set up for pets.
• Donate gently used clothing to a local resale shop.
• Before Santa brings your kids a new bounty of toys, why not get them into the spirit of sharing the wealth by donating some of their gently used toys to resale shops.
• Toys for Tots accepts new, unwrapped toys and books.
• Call your local school and see what items they need. I'm sure they all have a wish list.
• Check out the website for the Random Acts of Kindness Club. They always have fun and easy ways to make a difference in the community.
• Call your city or township hall and see if they offer Adopt-a-Family programs where you can sponsor Christmas gifts for the entire family.
• Check with the post office for letters to Santa from kids who are especially needy this year. Fulfill their Christmas wishes.
  
• Ask your church secretary about members who need rides to church or are alone during the holidays. Drive them to church or invite them over for Christmas dinner. It's what Jesus would do. Have a goal at your church that no member is alone on Christmas.
• Take a tray of cookies over to your local police department and/or fire department to thank them for their never-ending hard work all year long. You may not see them doing their jobs, but that's kind of the point. Trust me, they are there when you need them and they work all the holidays.
• Drop some change in a Salvation Army kettle.

If these ideas don't resonate with you, look around your neighborhood. There are plenty of opportunities to make the world better right your own backyard.

• Shovel an elderly neighbor's driveway - for free, of course.
• Are the sidewalks at the corners clear and free of snow piles at the curb for the kids walking to school? Those snow piles from the snow plows become a danger when they turn to ice and the kids have to climb them to climb the street.
• Shovel your own driveway and sidewalks. This helps kids, the postman, people walking dogs, the elderly walking for fresh air, runners, mom's walking little kids and more.
  
• Is there a neighbor who still isn't quite ready for winter and you could offer to help them with their fall clean-up?
• Do you have a neighbor you know is struggling? Maybe someone has lost a job. What if you anonymously sent them a gift card to the local grocery store or purchased tickets to the local movie theater for the family?
• Do you know someone struggling after losing a loved one this year? Reach out to them. Don't be freaked out if they cry. The holidays are difficult.
  
• Do you know a single mom (or dad) without family in the area? Invite her and her kids to spend Christmas day with you. Offer to take her kids for an afternoon to give her a break and so she can have some personal time.
  
• Nursing home residents need love too. Call a local nursing home and find out if there are residents without regular visitors. Go read to them. If they're able, let them tell you their stories. They love the trips down Memory Lane and visitors keep their spirits up. Just remember to be 100% healthy when you visit. Their immune systems are probably not as strong as yours.
  

Don't forget your own family. Charity begins at home, after all. Who in your extended family could use some extra kindness this year?

• Did someone lose a job? Collect your siblings together and each donate towards Visa Gift Card or call and offer to pay a bill this month.
• Is someone getting a divorce or newly divorced? Make sure you let them know they're not alone and you're still there for them. Often people going through divorce feel isolated especially this time of the year. This is especially true for the non-custodial parent. He or she may be spending Christmas Day alone. Invite them over for dinner.
• Do you have an elderly relative at home, in an assisted-living facility or nursing home? Offer to drive them to the doctor's office, invite them to lunch, or set up a regular visitation schedule. Take old family pictures with you because they will enjoy looking at them. Take them artwork from your kids.
  
• Have your kids write Grandma and Grandpa a letter or color some pictures for them.
  

To me, the holidays are a time to spread peace and good will. No matter how we may each have been affected by the economy this past year, we are each still better off than the majority of the world and many people in our own communities. By reaching out and lifting them up, even in what may seem like insignificant ways, we will not only improve the lives of others, we will feel better about ourselves.

Feed Your Pets or Yourself?

Gourmet Goddess brought the issue of pets not having enough food in this tough economy to light in a comment on my earlier post "Food Pantries Need Your Help." And now, CNN has picked up on this important topic. Clearly their producers are reading Little Merry Sunshine and were educated by Gourmet Goddess's comment. Thank you Gourmet Goddess for bringing this important issue our attention!

Click here to watch an important video by CNN.

Then call your local food bank and see where you can donate pet food. For many people, their pets are their children.

What Brings You to Little Merry Sunshine?

One of my favorite things about my blog is checking out my Site Meter site stats and learning what brings you, my loyal readers, to Little Merry Sunshine.

Quite a few of you find me by doing Google searches for "little merry sunshine," "wheeling township food pantry," "arlington heights," "Marshall Field's" and a variety of searches for information on the current local elections in Arlington Heights and I'm incredibly grateful my blog appears in the results for all of these search terms. I'm also grateful to my blog buddies Monkey Muck, Gourmet Goddess, Boxer Rebellion, She's An American Girl, Living Oprah, Ellen of the Tenth, and Fran I Am for their links and the readers who find me through their sites. I could never write this post without showing proper appreciation to Chicago's Best Blogs for the new readers they've sent me. Truly it's an honor being one of Chicago's Best Blogs.

But many of you visit LMS as the result of some more interesting Google searches . . .

An employee at one of the country's largest banks and recipient of tons of bailout money, spent some valuable work time searching "I get off on you getting off on me" and found my post iPhone, Therefore I Get Off.

Numerous state employees in states such as Nebraska, Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana (on state time!) and folks at some very esteemed higher education institutions have visited LMS as the result of searches for "stripper poles" (finding I'm Gonna Install A Stripper Pole!)and "prostitute names" (finding The Name Game).

People from all over the world searching for "AK-47" find my post What Were They Hunting With That AK-47?

More than a few folks are curious about "pregnant women wearing braces," which I find interesting since there are no pregnant women on this site. Really. No woman on this blog is pregnant. I swear.

Many of you are searching for food pantries in the northwest suburbs of Chicago and it's my wish that you're doing these searches because you want to donate, but probably some of you need some extra help these days. So this gives me a good opportunity to say to everyone: Donate to your local food pantry. They desperately need your help. The demand is greater than ever and if you set aside just a couple items each week, in no time you'll have a full bag of groceries that will really help someone. That someone could be your neighbor or your best friend or someday it could be you.

Many of you seem to be interested in recycling and tax credits for greening your home and installing solar attic fans. Visit my brother's website, Crystal Skylights. He'll take great care of you.

However you ended up here, I truly thank you and I hope you come back often. Without you, I'd just be talking to myself.

The Neighborhood Still Matters

I know it's been a few days since I've last posted, but I had a good excuse. I was in Dallas. Dallas in July. And it was awesome. And I'll blog about it over the weekend.

When I arrived home, I discovered, much to my dismay, that the world is falling apart. Now I know we've had problems over the last few months and many of them I've discussed here. Food pantries with no food. AK-47s. The list goes on.

But this is serious. I mean, really serious. PBS is trying to eliminate Mister Rogers.

Yes, Fred Rogers. Of the zip-up sweaters. You'll recall I wished Mister Rogers a Happy 80th Birthday. Mister Rogers is one of my heroes. I don't say that lightly because I don't have many. It's an exclusive club and he's one of the original members.

I'm not feeling very original today, so I'm just going to reprint what Brad Meltzer had to say yesterday.

But please, this is a Call to Action. Save Mr. Rogers for future generations!

Mr. Rogers, People!

I don’t have many heroes. Mr. Rogers is one of them. So when I saw my buddy Whitney post this on PopCandy, my eyes started to bleed. I’m now stealing it as a call to action. If you want to know why you should care, watch Mr. Rogers testify before congress for public television. I dare you. Please do join the cause. He. Is. The. Best.

YouTube link of Mr. Rogers defending PBS.

From Popcandy:

Pop reader Amy H. is worried about Mister Rogers.

Why? Because PBS "is trying to wipe him off the face of the earth by limiting his program to once a week," she says. "I mean, what is their reasoning? He’s outdated? He’s had the same puke-green curtains since 1970, so his being outdated is hardly a new claim. But his message is TIMELESS."

A campaign has been started at http://savemisterrogers.com to try to bring back Mister Rogers' Neighborhood into daily syndication. It was started by a young father who wants his kids to grow up with the man who taught him about human kindness and comfortable sweaters.

Amy adds that a Facebook group has started as well. Hey, if it can happen with Jericho, maybe it can happen with this Neighborhood, too.