I have long had an addiction to reading economic blogs. I mostly visit blogs and sites that have daily commentary while enjoying my morning coffee. The sites that I visit tend to have a no holds barred approach in their writing and commentary on daily economic trends. One such blog I have enjoyed reading on a near daily basis for several years now is from Mike Shedlock (Mish).
Mish has a post up today: Food Stamp Usage Up Nationally
It shows my state of Idaho having the largest year over year increase in residents receiving food stamps, or what is now referred to as SNAP. SNAP stands for: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Reading the post was timely for me, as you will understand in a moment. After reading some of the comments to the above linked post by Mish, I was motivated to post a comment of my own.
I am writing this post and sharing the contents of my comment with readers of DebtBytes because many may not know the policy we at Consumer Recovery Network adopted to help feed those who often go hungry inside the communities of many of our customers across the nation.
Here is the comment I left:
“I have been reading Mish for years and assume this post is intended as a real time representation of deflation.
Reading the comments (and the fact that I am really hungry right now), prompted me to add to the discussion.
Today my family is participating in “Feel the Hunger”.
I made my daughters each a 1/2 cup of rice before school. It’s all they get to eat for the whole day. My youngest ate 2 tbls prior to leaving and took the rest with her. My oldest held off from eating any, but took the full 1/2 cup with her.
All I can think of right now is bacon…There are many locals in my small North Idaho town participating.
This is a good learning tool for my daughters.
There are local answers to hunger, but they depend upon the participation of those better situated.
The work I do at my company focuses on assisting mostly middle class families in financial turmoil. For those suitable to use the approach we advocate, we provide a good alternative to bankruptcy (mostly alternative to chapter 13). Our fee since opening our doors for any direct hands on service is wholly contingent upon our success. In over 20 states we do not collect the fee, but still provide the service. In lieu of collecting the fee we encourage our customers donate the calculated fee to low income legal aid in their area, or to their local food bank in the form of nonperishable food items.
We are not a nonprofit. We like profit as much as the next guy, but we keep our fees low and our results and retention high. Our reputation is exemplary in an industry known to scam and leave people in a lurch.
We do the work we do, the way we do, for a myriad of reasons.
We do not advertise, as the cost would be borne by our customers who are not in the best position to fund higher fees. We mostly rely on word of mouth and organic exposure.
My point: Be part of the solution when and wherever you can.
Man… I could go for burger right now…”
The people we help here in Idaho and in Mish’s state of Illinois are included in that list of over 20 states where we encourage donations to those in need.
I will cover why we designate low income legal aid offices as donation recipients in a later post.
Companies like Consumer Recovery Network exemplify, in our chosen unique way, good corporate citizenship. If you have the ability, next time you stop for groceries, consider picking up a few extra food items and drop them off at your local food bank.
Oh, and if you happen to be in Sandpoint Idaho, I could go for a bacon cheeseburger right now….
Double Oh, check out Mish’s blog. He gives a rip about the state of economic affairs in this country.
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