On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 20:38:17 GMT, "Tom Littleton"
wrote:

this has veered WAY off the original topic, but this is a valuable
observation nonetheless. Food pantries and similar missions are suffering a
two-sided problem at the moment. Far more folks are showing up, and
donations have dropped in recent months, presumably due to economic
conditions. Liberal, conservative or whatever, anyone who can, should donate
what they can to these efforts. Many of your countrymen depend on these
places........now, I'll get off my soapbox.

Actually, Tom, we have seen little growth in the number of clients.
It's pretty steady - about 125 - 150 people a day, three days a week.
This is going back about 2 1/2 years. The number of donations has not
slackened either. We get left-over bread, deserts, "fresh" veggies
and fruits from the local super markets. Very little from FDA, and we
buy the rest of the stuff. Cereal costs $0.17/pound. We get lots of
damaged goods - dented cans, boxes open, etc. We are in the process
of buying frozen turkeys for Thanksgiving and Christmas. They will
cost about $0.87/pound. We will buy about 500 of them.
Unfortunately, only families of three or more will get them.

Dave