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Approximately 4.5 million different people [in the USA] receive emergency food assistance from the A2H system in any given week

42% of clients served by the A2H National Network report having to choose between paying for food and paying for utilities or heating fuel
35% had to choose between paying for food and paying their rent or mortgage
32% had to choose between paying for food and paying for medicine or medical care

http://www.secondharvest.org/learn_about_hunger/po verty_stats.html http://www.hungerinamerica.org/key_findings/

Who are the imprisoned people with no access to lawyers?

People in poverty? Look at the studies- the average family in poverty has a color tv and other ammenities. The poorest people in the U.S. live better than 99% of the people in some countries.

No easy access to medical services? Where did you get that from? Anyone in the U.S. can walk into a hospital, and they will be treated.

Have you ever been to the U.S.? Where are you getting your facts?

American Red Cross

Provides a full spectrum of services to disaster victims, including shelter, medical care, food, clean water and assisting with cleanup efforts.

http://www.redcross.org/

https://www2.redcross.org/donate/donation-form.asp

Salvation Army:

Providing hot meals to displaced disaster victims and emergency personnel working to aid those devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/USNSAHome.htm

https://secure5.salvationarmy.org/donations.nsf/do nate?openform&projectid=USN-hurricane05

United Way

Identifying serious needs of devastated communities and helping not only with front-line disaster relief but with long-term recovery.

http://national.unitedway.org/

https://volunteer.united-e-way.org/hurricane-katri na/donate/

America's Second Harvest

Transports food to victims and secures additional warehouse space to assist member food banks in resuming and maintaining operations.

http://www.secondharvest.org/default.asp

https://www.kintera.org/AutoGen/Simple/Donor.asp?i event=67898

Feed the Children

Mobilizing and distributing supplies in hurricane devastated areas.

http://www.feedthechildren.org/site/PageServer?pag ename=usw_hurricane_katrina

https://secure2.convio.net/ftc/site/Donation?ACTIO N=SHOW_DONATION_OPTIONS&CAMPAIGN_ID=2661

Habitat for Humanity

Helping disaster victims rebuild piece by piece and house by house.

http://www.habitat.org/

https://www.habitat.org/donation/generaldonation/d efault.aspx?media=habitat&lander=MP&sourcecode=10w 39&tg=katrina&keyword=homepage_08302005

AmeriCares:americares.org

Baton Rouge Area Foundation(BRAF): 877.387.6126 or braf.org

Episcopal Relief & Development: 1-800-334-7626 or www.er-d.org

United Methodist Committee on Relief: 1-800-554-8583 or gbgm-umc.org/umcor/emergency/hurricanes/2005

Salvation Army: 1-800-SAL-ARMY or www.salvationarmyusa.org

Catholic Charities: 1-800-919-9338 or www.catholiccharitiesusa.org

FEMA Charity tips: www.fema.gov/rrr/help2.shtm

National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster: www.nvoad.org

Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: www.la-spca.org

Operation Blessing: 1-800-436-6348 or www.ob.org

America's Second Harvest: 1-800-344-8070 or www.secondharvest.org

Adventist Community Services: 1-800-381-7171 or www.adventist.communityservices.org

Christian Disaster Response: 1-941-956-5183 or 1-941-551-9554 or www.cdresponse.org/cdrhome.html

Christian Reformed World Relief Committee: 1-800-848-5818 or www.crwrc.org

Church World Service: 1-800-297-1516 or www.churchworldservice.org

Convoy of Hope: 1-417-823-8998 or www.convoyofhope.org

Lutheran Disaster Response: 1-800-638-3522 or www.elca.org/disaster

Mennonite Disaster Service: 1-717-859-2210 or www.mds.mennonite.net

Nazarene Disaster Response: 1-888-256-5886 or www.nazarenedisasterresponse.org

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance: 1-800-872-3283 or www.pcusa.org/pda

Southern Baptist Convention - Disaster Relief: 1-800-462-8657, ext. 6440 or www.namb.net

Many of the nearby food banks that aren't themselves in affected areas are sending their own supplies to the affected areas, so they're going to be going low for a while. Additionally, the food banks in the affected areas will experience increased demand over the next year, at least, as people try to recover economically, and many of their local donors will probably be unable to give to them because of their own changed financial circumstances.

I'm not affiliated with Second Harvest or anything like that, but I respect their work. Less than two percent goes to overhead and all the rest goes to actual services. http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/sear ch.summary/orgid/5271.htm

...who will buy gifts for people that need it more than me.

That's very nice of you, but if you're talking about need, I'd give money to a food bank, a local homeless shelter, or children's charity. Personally, I'd rather help someone who may die or be in pain than a volunteer who signed up for a world tour.

...consistently been able to feed its population...
um...do you have your head in the sand ?

Instead of turning leftover food into plastic, how about using it to feed people?

Organizations like Second Harvest already exist. They need not only food but also donations of time and talent or money. Check them out!

In the US, food doesn't *have* to be tossed. There's a national organization, Second Harvest, that arranges for surplus food donations. I think their programs vary depending on location, but in Atlanta, they have trucks that come to restaurants and grocery stores to pick up, and regular drop off points. The food goes from the restaurants to soup kitchens and food assistance pantries, where it is used or handed out in an organized fashion. They also do larger scale projects like getting surpus produce from one region in the country to another.

As far as I'm aware, in some places restauranteurs are misinformed about local rules for food donation. Second Harvest and similar organizations work to provide correct information as well as the go-betweens to organize and monitor such donations.

A quick survey on the net for "surpus food" or "food rescue" (a common term for this) turned up several meta-lists of organizations, including this one which has listings for the US and Canada. It seems like there's more a misperception of legal reason that actual restrictions.

Every restaurant worth eating in in NYC has a regular pickup by city harvest. There may be an Alice Waters influence here. The cheap restaurants seem less likely to donate. (I think they use the food whether it's fresh or not) Second Harvest has a reputation for doing similar work nationally. Politely suggest an organization like this to your local restaurant, bakery, etc.

To get back on topic , http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&am p;q=donate+computers