No Hunger No Waste

My last post shed light on the volume of incoming refugees, and people who have applied for asylum. A very small percentage of them actually end up being refugees incoming countries have a limit on the number of refugees they can take. For example, USA's limit for 2022 was 125,000 [ source ] while 250,000 people applied for asylum that year. These refugees settle in many different states - the top ones being Texas, Washington, Ohio, California and New York.   Source: https://immigrationforum.org/article/fact-sheet-u-s-refugee-resettlement/   In June 2022, I had attended a webinar hosted by the Newark Library highlighting the struggles that refugees and local organizations face when trying to settle Afghan refugees that were displaced when the Afghan war ended. They Bay Area local organizations were equipped to resettle ~70 refugees every 6 months. This number aligns with the graph above - if CA sees about ~1400 refugees per year, that is ~700 every 6 months - and Bay Area be...

As a volunteer, I often wonder how big an impact I am making on the problem. Volunteers have a good understanding of their immediate work and the people they are helping day-to-day. While that is very rewarding, sometimes I wonder how big the problem of hunger really is, and is my contribution (in the form of time or money) a drop in the ocean or a teaspoon in a teacup? I have found some good data sources, which I will study and present in the next few blogs. Today, we look at data from the UN Refugee Agency   - it has collected stats about refugees to/from various countries for the last 60 years. Here are some interesting graphs about USA. There has always been a stream of incoming refugees, with a large increase starting in the 2010s. In the last 60 years, there have been 4.5 million refugees. US population is about 332 million, making refugees ~1.4%, not counting children born into refugee families. These refugees get public benefits for 90 days, after which they are mostly on t...

Hello Everyone Happy New Year! I came across the concept of Right to Food recently, also known as Right to Freedom from Hunger . It is a human right like Right to Life, Right to Education etc. Over 60 countries have it as a Constitutional right, and 160 countries have committed to this right by ratifying  the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.  The Right to Food is not about government providing free food. Rather, it is about food availability, accessibility and adequacy. Also, in times of war or other crisis, when food is not available, the right requires the government to provide food directly.  It is heartening to know that there is an international movement around this because hunger does not discriminate. The United States is one of the countries with no known right to food . That does not mean that we don't have government help available. There are several public programs. For example, at our local Newark Library (37055 Newark Blvd., ...

If you have fruit trees and find yourself with excess food during harvest season, we can save it from going to waste. I recently learned about Village Harvest that helps people share the abundance of their gardens. It is very simple - donate the excess harvest to TCV Food Bank at 37350 Joseph St., Fremont, CA. M - Th 10:00am - 2:00pm, Fri 10:00am - 11:30am. The website also gives tips on how to harvest fruit, how to tell when it is ripe, other Bay Area locations, how can you volunteer by picking fruit, and driving. This is a win-win situation:  Many fruit trees such as apples, persimmons, peaches ripen all at once and families are still left with excess after consuming what they can, and distributing to friends. This is a single location where they can drop off the extra fruit. They can also apply to harvesting assistance for volunteers to come pick fruit.  Having access to fresh produce and fruit is essential to the future health of this country as it provides a nutri...

Other than the places listed in my previous blog post here , food donations during this holiday season are listed here:   2022 Holiday Season (November and December)  1. St. Anne Catholic Church - Dec 10, 11 AM Please comment below for any suggestions you may have. Subscribe to the newsletter . #NoHungerNoWaste  #NHNW 

Update (12/3/2022): The drives below have ended.   Hello everyone  Spread the holiday cheer and kindness by donating food to some of these locations: (1) LOV Food Drive: (2) TriCity Volunteers Food Drive: 37350 Joseph St Fremont, CA 94536 (On Mondays—Thursdays, 10am—2pm) OR Drop off at NewPark Mall, there will be donation barrels at every main entrance until November 21st. (3) Alameda County Food Bank - Volunteers for Food Distribution - link . When: Saturday, Nov 19. Shifts: 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. or 12 p.m.–2 p.m. at your local Safeway. -------- Please comment below for any suggestions you may have. Subscribe for the newsletter . #NoHungerNoWaste  #NHNW 

I have received an overwhelming response from this community with willingness to help. You can donate food, money or your time by helping at these places: Place Address Types of donation accepted Dates/Times of operation Little Free Pantry San Pedro Dr, Fremont CA 94536 Canned food, grains, snacks Any time. Do not disturb residents. Fremont Feed the Homeless - a group of >650 volunteers fundraiser link nextdoor group link Monetary Donations and Volunteer Services - join this group N/A TCV Food Bank 37350 Joseph Street, Fremont CA Monetary donations and Volunteer Services Weekdays - morning and afternoon shifts Centerville Presbysterian Church 4360 Central Ave, Fremont, CA 94536 Food and essentials like juice, canned, and tissues , Monetary donations and Volunteer Services Thursday volunteer shifts: Thursdays 9:30-11:30, 3:...