Friendship Donations Network (FDN)

Entries from November 2009

FDN’s First Community Appeal

November 29, 2009 · Comments Off

Dear Neighbor,

We are writing to you today because we know you care about the hungry in our community.  Up until this year, Friendship Donations Network (FDN), which redistributes food to the hungry, has operated predominantly as a one-woman private philanthropy, however, due to the ageing of the Founder/Director and growth of the program, FDN needs to support a small staff.

Our fundraising goal is $46,290.  This amount will ensure that the nearly $2 million worth of food that FDN collects per year does not go to waste.  FDN has secured and is applying for grants to install a walk-in cooler in downtown, and to reimburse our volunteers drivers for gasoline.  We have also collected in-kind donations amounting to $2,326,400 this year.

FDN is a lifeline for 2,200 mostly poor people in Ithaca and nearby communities. Our mission is to alleviate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition by recovering up to 700,000 pounds of fresh, nutritious food valued up to $ 2 million a year.  FDN is the only one-call center for food donors 364 days-a-year in the Finger Lakes region. FDN rescues food that supermarkets and other outlets would dump, and vegetables that local farmers would plow under. Twenty-six food pantries and their 245 volunteers distribute this food to the hungry.  In addition to food, FDN distributes quality clothing, personal supplies and housewares to the poor.  FDN models a low-budget, mostly volunteer-run, food rescue and distribution network that redirects nutritious food to hunger-relief programs.

Due to the effects of recession/depression, many more are unable to afford the basic necessities.  Some rural families that FDN serves were surviving on cat food (cheaper than pasta) until they found a pantry.  Many children ate only one nutritious meal a day—school lunch.  Seniors had to choose between paying for food, rent or medicine until they found a pantry.

Please help FDN survive, grow and serve by making a gift today.  (You can also give online at http://friendshipdonations.org.)  If you have any questions about the work of FDN, please feel free to contact at the e-mail or phone number above.

With our deepest appreciation,

Sara Pines, Founder

PS: We appeal to you to alleviate hunger and prevent up to 700,000 pounds of fresh food from going to the dump instead of to the hungry.  You can make a difference!

Categories: Fundraising

Support Friendship Donations Network at the 2009 Ithaca Alternative Gift Fair

November 29, 2009 · Comments Off

FDN is participating in this year’s Ithaca Alternative Gift Fair, which offers an opportunity to give charitable donations as holiday gifts for friends and relatives. The Fair will be held from 11 am to 7 pm, Saturday, December 5, in two adjacent locations:  the First Presbyterian Church, 315 North Cayuga Street, and the First Baptist Church, 309 North Cayuga Street. Over 55 organizations will be represented at the Fair, which started in 2004 and has grown each year. Gifts at the Fair start at $5, and each gift you buy comes with a free greeting card and an insert about the organization you are supporting. All of the money collected at the Fair goes directly to the participating organizations. The Ithaca Alternative Gift Fair is sponsored by the Center for Transformative Action and TCAction, with financial support from Alternatives Federal Credit Union.

The gifts we are offering this year are:

  • $5 – Provides 73 lbs of milk and cheese to a youth program or a school
  • $10 – Provides 145 lbs of fresh fruits and vegetables to 5 poor families at a food pantry
  • $20 – Provides 623 bagels plus 145 lbs of milk, eggs, yogurt, cheese and sandwich meats to workers at 3 low-wage worksites
  • $25 – Provides 364 lbs of meat, groceries, fruits, vegetables and bread to 12 poor families
  • Open – Helps support FDN to alleviate hunger in our community: just $ 1 provides 14.6 lbs of assorted food to needy families

Categories: Events · Fundraising