[tabi] for anyone receiving food aid from Angel Food Ministries or other such programs ...

From: "Allison and Chip Orange" <acorange@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 4 Jun 2011 22:29:58 -0400
Hi everyone,

you may be interested in the article below from today's Democrat if you
receive any type of direct food aid (not food stamps, but actual food).  it
describes how after the legislature worked hard to keep this program going
in Florida, the governor recently vetoed it! 

this is very sad, and if anyone can tell us that this is indeed effecting
their food aid, well, perhaps we can start asking people to contribute to
farmshare.org to help keep this wonderful program going.  it only needs
$750000.

-------------
Patricia Robbins 
 My View 
 Published: June 04. 2011 2:00AM



With a stroke of his pen on May 26, Gov. Rick Scott eliminated the annual
distribution
of $26 million worth of fresh produce and food products to needy residents
throughout
Florida.
Scott vetoed the Legislature's recent appropriation for Farm Share and its
statewide
network of nonprofit distribution affiliates, which deliver food at no
charge to
recipients. To save $750,000, Scott killed a $26 million-a-year,
life-sustaining
program, effective July 1.
Established in 1991, Farm Share is Florida's leader in the recovery,
sorting, packing
and delivery of nutritious food for people and families in need. Donated
fresh produce,
combined with USDA commodities, is given away from packing houses located
near Homestead,
in the heart of Miami-Dade County's farming area, and in Quincy.
In the past 12 months, Farm Share distributed 15.2 million pounds of food -
10 million
pounds of produce and juice, and 5.2 million pounds of USDA frozen, canned
and dry
goods. The total value: $26 million given to 732,629 poor, needy Florida
children,
women and men.
Farm Share partners with the Florida Department of Corrections, whose
inmates learn
job skills working at the packing houses at no cost to taxpayers. The
Florida Department
of Agriculture and Consumer Services also is a strong supporter - farmers
not only
avoid disposal fees they would pay to dispose of their surplus produce, but
they
get an IRS credit of up to 200 percent of the value of that produce when
they donate
it to Farm Share instead of throwing it away.
Private donations and annual support from the Miami-Dade County Commission
fund Farm
Share's core mission in southernmost Florida. The state, historically, has
funded
Farm Share's expansion upstate toward Georgia, maximizing seasonal food
collection
from the summer harvest in North Florida and from the winter harvest in
South Florida.
The fiscally conservative 2011 Legislature, after extensive public
discussion, appropriated
$750,000 to Farm Share to meet the escalating human needs during this very
tough
economic time in the Sunshine State. The chairmen of both the Senate and
House appropriations
committees recommended that full funding, and it was supported as well by
Commissioner
of Agriculture Adam Putnam.
Remarkably, Gov. Scott disagreed.
Since its inception, Farm Share has distributed more than 283 million pounds
of food
valued at more than $493 million, with an administrative overhead of only
1.6 percent.
And while some food banks require recipients to pay for what they receive,
for 20
years Farm Share has provided the neediest Floridians vital nutrition at
absolutely
no cost. Farm Share gives away free food directly to individuals and
families, as
well has hundreds of houses of worship, shelters, soup kitchens and
community-based
organizations throughout its statewide distribution network. Senior
citizens, underprivileged
children, military veterans and the chronically poor constitute the vast
majority
of Farm Share recipients. Who will stand up for them now, the least among
us?

Check out the TABI resource web page at http://acorange.home.comcast.net/TABI
and please make suggestions for new material.



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[tabi] for anyone receiving food aid from Angel Food Ministries or other such programs ...

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