Fascinating article and accompanying editorial in our local paper today. It seems that General Mills and other big businesses have pledged $0.14 to food banks across the country for every pound lost by their area residents. What a double win that could be: here the Food Bank for Larimer County has noted a huge increase in the number of visits by those in need of food help; up 32,000 from 2008 to 2009. Twenty percent of the kids in the county get food assistance either through the schools or food stamps.
At the same time, although Colorado is a "relatively lean" state, more than half of the people who live in my county fall into the overweight and obese categories (that includes one fourth of the students in our school district). We face a quandary in these difficult financial time; it's cheaper to buy unhealthy food choices than healthy ones.
So our Food Bank has over 13,000 area folk who've pledged 13,000 pounds so far and is aiming at 50,000 pounds in pledges. If they succeed, they'll get $7,000 from the corporate sponsors of the "pound for Pound Challenge," be able to feed more of our our-income residents and, at the same time, help those who pledge to become healthier.
It's hard to think of a better "twofer" than that. Wherever you live, I'd suggest seeing if your area food bank is participating. Join in on this wonderful plan to help others and yourself.