Freestore Foodbank

Dan and I were invited to the Freestore Foodbank for a tour of what goes on behind the scenes. They invited a handful of bloggers, including Wine Me, Dine Me's Julie Niesen and Bridgett Raffenberg from 365 Cincinnati.

I believe one of the reasons we were included in this tour was because of a post from last October, where we asked our readers to vote for which Cincinnati nonprofit or charity should receive a small donation we were making. You guys chose Freestore (and WVXU), and I'm fairly sure that's why we were contacted.

The tour of the Freestore Foodbank was amazing. Admittedly I didn't know a ton about Freestore beforehand; I knew the basics, but I had no idea about all of the programming that Freestore offers to help people get their lives back on track. I was particularly interested to learn about Cincinnati COOKS! and Cincinnati COOKS! Catering, which provided the (delicious) food that we were offered upon arrival. These programs help train people who have difficulty getting back into the job market-- when they have a record, for instance.

The people at Freestore really focused on the "dignity" aspect of what they do-- programs like Cincinnati COOKS! are "give a hand up, not a handout," as they like to say. There are a slew of other programs that Freestore maintains as well, such as giving less privileged kids warm meals at the end of a school day. I was surprised to hear about the varied programs and how much psychology goes into making sure people are helping themselves, gaining dignity and self esteem, and coming away with something more than a bag of canned food.

More than once, they mentioned that food is "the beginning of the conversation," and that their real strength is in helping people after the visit to Freestore-- they act as a resource to put these people in touch with agencies if they need help paying rent and other bills, or even preparing for everyday things like visiting the BMV. It goes much deeper than handing out parcels of food, but that's where the dialogue begins.

We concluded, of course, by talking about various ways that the community can be involved. The Rubber Duck Regatta is approaching, so we were able to visit the slews of plastic ducks that the Freestore team is preparing. One things that lodged itself into my mind (as I am always looking for ways to help out that aren't direct donations, as I am often cash-strapped) is couponing. They suggested that when you find really great coupons for things that you wouldn't normally buy, that you pick the items up anyway (for dirt cheap!) and donate them to the Freestore Foodbank. Smart smart smart.

I'm grateful that you guys chose Freestore Foodbank to support back in October. This brought an incredible nonprofit to my attention in a powerful way, and I look forward to more opportunities to support Freestore, be it with time, talent or treasure.

Lauren: Thank you so much for having us!

Freestore Foodbank website: http://www.fsfbmedia.org/

Poll/donation update

As you recall, the results of our philanthropy poll were tied, and we split $100 between the Freestore Foodbank and WVXU.

Those donations were finally made (yargh, physically getting to the bank is such a pain) and both organizations thank you for voting them your favorite Cincinnati causes.



If there is another cause you'd like to see represented when we do another poll, feel free to leave it in the comments.

The poll is closed! Your favorite cause is...

Our poll to determine which Cincinnati cause deserves our $100 is closed as of noonish.

Two entries, WVXU and the Freestore Foodbank, each scored 12 votes on the poll, leaving them tied for first. I'll divvy the money up between the two-- $50 for two worthy local causes. Huzzah!

There were many other awesome cause suggestions in the comments section, so I have a feeling we'll be revisiting our donation poll idea soon. Uhhh just let me come up with another $100 and we'll talk.

Thank you to the ~35 people who chimed in! If you have other causes you'd like included next time, feel free to leave a comment on this post.

Poll: $100 donation to a Cincinnati cause

In the past few years, I've managed a couple of other blogs that ran basic text ads on them. When I specifically ran them on my Year of Philanthropy blog, I promised I'd put any money I made off the ads toward something charitable.

Google doesn't cut you a check until you reach $100, though... and after essentially forgetting about the account, a check showed up in the mail today.

So! Tell me where to put the money!

There is a poll in the middle column of this blog, right under the RSS link and search bar. I've listed 6 off-the-top-of-my-head suggestions:

• WVXU, which I listen to every single morning and could scarcely live without
• Freestore Foodbank, which helps feed Cincinnati's hungry and poverty-stricken
• Cincinnati Historical Society, which I feel is rather self-explanatory
• National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, a point of pride for Cincinnati
• Cincinnati Parks, because I particularly take Krohn Conservatory for granted
• Heritage Universalist Unitarian Church, my spiritual home

Alternately, you are welcome to write in an additional option, which will count for a vote. Simply leave a comment on this post (the button is at the TOP of the post, which is stupid) to do so.

This poll will run until next Friday (October 9th) until noon. Thank you for your input and I'll share the results in a little over a week!

P.S. [edit] If the poll gets 100+ votes, I'll double the donation.