Poor families get less rice from local food bank

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« Forbes: Seattle among worst cities for homeowner debt | Main | Skinnydippers make new push for nude beaches »

Poor families get less rice from local food bank

Yesterday we told you Seattle's Asian Counseling and Referral Service Food Bank is looking for extra help raising money to feed low-income families now that rice prices have sky-rocketed around the world.

An Indonesian woman dries rice under an electrical tower Tuesday in Tangerang, Indonesia. World rice prices have risen sharply this year because of growing demand and poor weather in some rice-producing countries. Some Asian countries, including Vietnam and Cambodia, have curbed rice exports to guarantee their own supplies.(AP Photo/Irwin Fedriansyiah)

What we didn't tell you is what we learned this morning: Food bank staff have already cut the amount of rice they give families by one-sixth and could decide to distribute rice from its International District location one day each week instead of two -- all due to rising food prices.

The food bank's actions raise the uncomfortable fact that while for some Seattle residents the rice crisis is just a headline in the morning paper or a reason to pick up an extra bag of the staple, it could cost less fortunate residents their nutrition.

"The ACRS Food Bank is a nonprofit organization that operates on a budget," Melinda Mizuta, the organization's spokeswoman, wrote in an e-mail to the P-I. "It has a fixed amount of dollars to buy rice and with the increase in rice prices, each dollar buys less rice than before."

Families are now leaving the bank with two and a half pounds of rice instead of the usual three. They're also no longer getting jasmine rice, the variety preferred by three-quarters of the food bank's mostly Asian clients. The bank now only distributes calrose rice, which runs at $20.50 per 50-pound bag, Mizuta said. Jasmine rice -- one of the varieties most hit by the price hikes -- costs between $40 and $50 per bag.

The ACRS food bank serves 5,000 households per month and is the only food bank that distributes rice weekly in Washington state. Staff members hand out rice on Wednesdays and Fridays now, but even that might change. Mizuta said the bank is considering handing out rice only one day a week instead of two -- "to serve more people."

Rice isn't the only food families are missing. Thanks to the impact of high food and gas prices on potential donors' disposable income, Mizuta said, the bank has cut its distribution of high-protein foods like meat and tofu.

"Not only is it more costly to purchase food to donate," she said, "but it costs more to deliver it as well."

Do you know of any other Seattle communities or organizations affected by the rise in food prices? Let us know. I

f you want to help the ACRS food bank, it annual Walk For Rice fundraising event is comining in June at Seward Park. Learn more here.

Posted by at April 29, 2008 2:25 p.m.
Categories: More to the story, News updates

Comments

#123266

Posted by unregistered user at 4/30/08 12:45 a.m.

Ganyan naman lagi eh!!!
Tulad ngayon ibinebenta sa mga mamamayang pilipino yung mga reject na bigas ng ibang bansa na kung tawagin ay NFA...
Tapos yung mga bigas natin na magaganda tinataasan ang presyo para no choise ang mga pinoy kundi bumili nalang ng NFA rice...
para yung mga magagandang bigas maiexport nila sa ibang bansa...
galing talaga ng mga utak ng namumuno ngayon akala nila sila lang ang matalino...
Nasa isip nang mga yan nabubusog naman ang mga pinoy sa mga reject ng ibang bansa bakit hindi natin taasan ang presyo ng mga bigas ng sa ganon ay marami tayong maiexport at para na rin marami tayong kitain o makurakot....
Sa mga nakabasa nito ....Think of this comment and reflect....Ginanawa tayong hayop ng mga namumuno....

Report violation

#152020

Posted by unregistered user at 7/17/08 3:04 a.m.

The comments which I left about the alleged murderer currently held in Italy had been deleted.

Perhaps this was done intentionally?

You and the other alleged murderer fans do not like it when people comment that they rather believe scientific evidence than the prime murder suspects agents e. g. family, friends, mercenaries, self promoters and fast buck merchants etc.

I do not understand your rationale, do you want comments all over the place or do you prefer to have them contained in a blog? An enigma, really, or do you not think strategically?

I don't believe you would be trying to intentionally deceive your viewer ship, but I do know one "journalist" who seems to be doing this and she is very aggressive when it comes to dissenters.

BTW, you might want to download a program which will allow you to post comments to SeattlePI forums even though two IP addresses have already been banned and perhaps more.

Anyway,

I believe murderers must be punished, not doing so is a slap in the face of the victims and their relatives, not to mention the general public.

This re-minds me of a case in Italy where a University student had been viciously murdered.

Unfortunately some of the so called journalists at SeattlePI seem to be supportive of the suspected murderer by publishing favourable articles about the prime murder suspect while at the same time actively remove comments from people who believe in justice and would like to see justice served.

Those un-ethical SeattlePI journalists should be ashamed of themselves.

You are bringing your employer into disrepute which will result in lost potential revenue. You might want to consult the accounting and marketing department before acting irresponsibly.