Simple Concept; Big Help

Do you ever wonder what would happen if all that wasted food - the stuff we don't eat, but is quite edible, those extras we end up throwing out - could be put to better use? In the US, 49 million Americans, about 14.5% of US families, don't get enough to eat every day. Yet, an enormous amount of food gets thrown out.

Enter Carolyn North, who noticed one Thanksgiving Day some thirty years ago, how much food one of her neighbors was tossing out after that yearly feast. Eventually, that led to an organization in the San Francisco Bay area, DAILY BREAD, which collects unwanted food and redistributes it to the hungry through homeless shelters and food pantries. Most remarkable of all, this entire enterprise takes place on a weekly basis with no expenditure of funds.


Utilizing rotating teams of volunteers, the group makes a weekly run to participating restaurants and bakeries to collect surplus food and then distributes all of it to local food kitchens. Ms. North plans and coordinates the routes, so that volunteers are located close to pick-up and drop-off sites and complete the process while engaged in their normal, everyday activities. The entire process takes one hour. However, it has spawned feelings of community and cooperation among participants. This group allowed community members an active role in supporting less fortunate neighbors through sharing.

Obviously, with this organization continuing to operate for more than 30 years, there have been changes in what businesses provide their surplus contributions. Well, they have that handled, too. Some restaurant chains participate in surplus food distribution in other areas of this country, so it's a natural that they come to participate in Daily Bread. Then, the volunteers themselves notice food businesses that have excess food being thrown away and make contact with the business, so then they have another participant. Volunteers are recruited by notices in the local newspaper, East Bay Express.

Carolyn North, the woman with inspiration.

Daily Bread has gotten so good at their mission that they have published GUIDELINES, which they share with other, similar organizations. Because Ms. North has been so willing to share her experience, a number of similar groups have been established in other areas, operating in their own way and incorporating the flavor of their own community. More in-depth information can be found here: http://www.servicespace.org/blog/view.php?id=15521.

Click here to visit Leigh Valentine Beauty.

Click here to visit: BETTING SAMURAI