Your donation goes further on the Virtual Food Drive! Thanks to the Food Bank's wholesale purchasing power and efficient distribution model, a gift made here provides more food than through a traditional food drive —– doubling or even tripling the amount of food your dollar can provide at the grocery store.
HI. I'm Diane Patrone and thanks for stopping by my Food Drive!
Food is a basic neccessity for survival and no one should go without, especially during the holidays. So this year, I am asking all of you to find it within yourselves to join me in doing something about hunger in our city. If you are visiting my page, I bet you are someone who is in the position to make a donation and can help. Every little bit counts. My goal is to raise $1500 for the NYC Food Bank by Christmas. Why? There are 3 million New Yorkers who experience difficulty affording food, that's about 38% of us! The Food Bank procures and distributes food to a network of approximately 1,000 community-based member programs citywide, helping to provide 400,000 free meals a day for New Yorkers in need. It's an amazing and essential organization for those in need that I have been supporting it since 2006.
Take a look at these stats:
- The number of households in New York State participating in the federal food stamp program was 2,874,189 in August 2010, an increase of 365,305 households since August 2009.
- 40% of New York City residents are having difficulty affording food, a 60% increase since 2003.
- 93% of food pantries and soup kitchens in the city have seen an increase in first-time visitors over the past year.
- 1 in 4 low income households or 23% of New York City has reported losing their job in the past year.
- A total of 39% of residents or almost 3.3 million people would not be able to afford food within three months of losing their household income.
- 47% of households with children experienced difficulty affording needed food for themselves and their families in 2009, a 15% increase since 2003.
I know these statistics are sobering and might even feel overwhelming. Hunger and poverty in NYC are at an all time high. But we can do something about it! Helping could not be easier, just buy some virtual food during my holiday food drive and you will be making a huge difference in the lives of New Yorkers in need.
So if you were thinking about getting me a Christmas present, please donate to my food drive instead. If you were thinking about making a charitable donation for the holidays, please donate to my food drive. If you feel like helping, or just performing a random act of kindness, please donate to my food drive. It would mean the world to me, and even more to someone in need.
Thanks and much love,
Diane
