Can You Recommend and Food Charities?

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Ramalama

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I would like to donate a rather meager sum of money monthly to a charity that feeds the hungry. Does anybody have a recommendation?
 
The hungry anywhere? Or in some specific country? Some prefer to keep their money in the United States, and some prefer to donate to other countries. That may impact which organization you choose.

~Liza
 
That should do it. The Charity Navigator was very helpful. Thanks!
 
I would recommend Food for the Poor. Some positive accounts of this organization have been given in the Catholic press.
 
The local food bank or soup kitchen would be my recommendation. There is usually no bureacracy and individuals who work at these places are, in my experience, rightly motivated. Contribute what you can and consider working at one of these places. I think it important that one see and work with the poor rather just writing a check. One needs to see the human qua human, not as an abstraction. That said, horrific situations such as Dafur probobaly should be given some priority.
 
I have often donate funds, goods, and foodstuffs to the Saint Vincent DePaul Society in the various parishes where we have attended Mass. They will make sure that the money, goods and foodstuffs are properly distributed.

At various times of the year…particularly the cooler months here in FL the parishes may ask for donations of food, socks, money, or whatever to be donated directly for the benefit of the poor and homeless.

You may also ask your parish Priest for suggestions, and there is always the “Poor Box” that is found in Catholic Churches.
 
You have been given some wonderful suggestions, and I would add that if you want to help on an international level, check out www.foodforthepoor.com .

They have been given the highest rating by Charity Navigator, and two other charity rating groups. They also give you opportunities to help in long term ways, too. For instance, a gift of $25.00 will buy a flock of chicks, which will provide food for quite a while, or $35.00 will buy them a milk goat.
 
You can act locally, hand the $ to your Priest or DRE and ask that it go to someone they know - they KNOW people right in your Parish who have need today.
 
I have found that I can stretch the amount I have to give to food banks and such locally by designating a certain amount from my monthly food budget then using coupons from the newspaper to buy items that they can use when they are on sale (especially good if your grocery store doubles coupons). There are frequently coupons for items we don’t use but which are helpful for a food pantry. I keep a small box in the pantry and throw items in when I find things very cheaply and take it to the food pantry when it’s full.

This is also a good time of year to stock up on extra inexpensive school supplies when they are a penny and ten cents, etc, then give them to the local school tools drives for kids who need them.
 
You can also donate to your local Catholic Charities since they operate food pantries and homeless shelters.
 
I would suggest checking for a group such as Feed the Children (good rating on Charity Navigator) or something similar rather than buying food as an individual. The reason is that many of these larger charities need the donation money to transport large quantities of food that they can get for free or next to nothing from suppliers. There are instances when boxes of cereal have the packaging smeared or something and they cannot be sold. The companies can donate them because the contents are fine.

We can feed more people for our dollars when bulk donations or bulk purchasing can be properly managed. As has already been noted, Catholic Charities is a good place to start because they partner with local food banks.
 
Ramalama said:
I would like to donate a rather meager sum of money monthly to a charity that feeds the hungry. Does anybody have a recommendation?
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Does your parish have a St Vincent DePaul society? Nothing is a more efficient use of funds than a local parish charity.
 
Thank you all. I now have contacts with the St. Vincent De Paul Society, and Catholic Charities, in addition to the one I sent the first donation to (the name has slipped away from my aging mind!).

Maybe I should have mentioned earlier, I pray to St. Joseph to help me not be a glutton. I decided maybe I could donate the money I save from vending machines, maybe $10/week to help feed someone else. Thanks for helping me do this.

God bless you all.

(My spell checker isn’t working on this machine, so please excuse the eurrurs!)
 
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