Dine out and help end childhood hunger!

Share Our Strength’s Great American Dine Out is going on this week. Dine out at participating restaurants, and help end childhood hunger in America. Use the link below to find a participating restaurant near you:

http://strength.org/apps/dineout/index.php/Google/DisplayMap

Come out to Farmers' Markets in the Triangle Area this Saturday and Help Fight Hunger!

The Triangle Foodshare Challenge will be held Saturday from 8am to noon at the Carrboro, South Estes (Chapel Hill), Durham, and Western Wake (Cary) farmers' markets.

Each market hopes to collect 1,000 pounds of donated fresh food to help local feeding charities, including the Interfaith Council for Social Service.  Those who would like to participate can either donate cash for food to be bought from farmer's or they can purchase food directly from farmer's to donate to the cause. Those who cannot stop by a participating farmer's market on Saturday can donate online at The Abundance Foundation's web site, theabundancefoundation.org/farmer-foodshare. Donated funds will be used to purchase food products from the farmer's markets.

For more information, please see the Chapel Hill News Article.

For directions and more information about the participating farmers' markets:

Carrboro Farmers' Market
The Carrboro Farmers' Market, now in its 32nd season, is located at the Carrboro Town Commons at 301 W. Main St., the market is open Saturday mornings year round and Wednesday afternoons from April 14 through late November.

South Estes Farmers' Market
The South Estes Farmers' Market is held in the Southern Season parking lot at University Mall, 201 S. Estes Dr. It is open Saturday mornings year-round and Tuesday afternoons from May to November.

 Durham Farmers' Market
The Durham Farmers' Market is held every Saturday morning and Wednesdays from 3:30-6:30 pm in the Pavilion in Durham Central Park in downtown Durham, 501 Foster Street (on the corner of Foster Street and Hunt Avenue).

 Western Wake Farmers' Market
The Western Wake Farmers' Market is held Saturday mornings from April to November.  It is located in Cary on Morrisville Carpenter Rd. between Davis Dr. and Hwy. 55 in Carpenter Village.

IFC's Annual Meeting is One Month Away...October 21, 2010

IFC's annual meeting is only one month away, RSVP now...

IFC Annual Meeting

Thursday, October 21, 2010

6:00 - 8:30pm

Come learn about IFC's programs and plans for new facilities! Meet the architects and our new Project Manager! Find out how you can help! Please bring a dish to share.

United Church of Chapel Hill

1321 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.

Fellowship Room

Please let us know if you are planning to attend. Send your name and your affiliation (if any) by email to rsvp@ifcmailbox.org or call Elizabeth at (919) 929-6380 ext.15.

The Number of Americans Living in Povery Increases

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of Americans living in poverty is at highest in the recorded history of the Census, which has figures dating back for 51 years.  The number of Americans living in poverty was estimated at 43.6 million in 2009. 

The official poverty rate computes out to about 1 in 7 Americans who are living in poverty.  Also, concerning is the increase in the number of children who are living in poverty from 19% in 2008 to 20.7% in 2009.  This means that on average one in five children live in poverty.

The one bit of good news in this report is that the poverty rate among all ages did not rise above 14.3%.  As disheartening as that number is, some had predicted the rate might rise as high as 15%. 

The government is expected to publish new, supplemental poverty figures beginning next year which are expected to show an even higher number of people in poverty.  This leaves no better time than the present to get involved with groups, like IFC, that help fight poverty.

The statistics contained in this posting were published by MSNBC and you can read the full article on their website at :  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39211644/ns/us_news-life/

Unseen Tours: Employing London's Homeless as Tour Guides

Volunteers from the organization Sock Mob, which offers socks and food supplies to London's homeless, have recently launched "Unseen Tours."  Unseen Tours employs homeless guides to take tourists on a tour of the city of London.  The guides get to keep most of the tour fees to help pay for food and, hopefully, housing. 

For more information, see the recent Huffington Post article on Unseen Tours: 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/25/unseen-tours-london-homeless_n_694203.html

You can also learn more about Sock Mob and Unseen Tours at their website:
http://www.sockmobevents.org.uk/unseen-tours

The Debate Over Shelters

There is an interesting debate unfolding in the pages of The Washington Post.  In a July 11th article, Dennis Culhane presented five myths about homelessness:

1) Homelessness is a long-term condition.
2) Most of the homeless population suffer from severe mental illness.
3) Homeless people do not work.
4) Shelters are the most humane solution to homelessness.
5) Poverty is an irreparable problem.

Using original research and statistics from HUD, Culhane confronted these myths, attempted to dispel them, and suggested possible solutions.  Of particular interest to our work at the IFC, Culhane suggests that residential programs and low-income housing are more efficient remedies for homelessness than emergency shelters.  The article makes no explicit mention of transitional programs (like the one proposed for the new Community House), but it does offer harsh criticisms of emergency shelters, calling them "notoriously overcrowded and often unruly places where people experience the ritualized indignities of destitution: long lines for bedding or a squeeze of toothpaste; public showers; thieves; conflict."

Culhane's article can be viewed on The Washington Post's website at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/09/AR2010070902357.html.

In response to Culhane, Robert Hauptman (a volunteer at the Shepherd's Table home in Silver Spring, MD) wrote a letter published in the July 18th Post countering Culhane's assessment of emergency shelters and noting that the majority of clients served at Shepherd's Table are homeless on a long-term basis.  Hauptman's letter can be viewed at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/17/AR2010071702218.html?referrer=emailarticle.  Culhane has not yet responded to Hauptman's letter.

The debate is an interesting one to observe, particularly with the discussions in our own community over the effectiveness of emergency shelters, transitional residential programs, and low-income housing.

PORCH

Just read an interesting article on PORCH (People Offering Relief for Chapel Hill Carrboro Homes), a local food collection/distribution program that has really taken off this past year.  The article also highlights the increase in families needing assistance (a reminder of our difficult economic times) and points to the ever-present need for programs like PORCH and services like those offered by the IFC.

http://www.chapelhillnews.com/2010/07/04/58015/from-porch-to-table.html