Steve Johnson

Stamp Out Hunger

Update: 5/14 3:52 p.m. Did opportunistic thieves help themselves to some of the Stamp Out Hunger donations in Los Angeles? Unfortunately, yes. There were isolated reports on Saturday of unofficial vehicles driving down streets and taking off with the food bags, which were intended to be donations for the National Association of Letter Carriers' annual food drive.

"It's sad to think that someone would even do that, but that's the world in which we live," says Richard Maher, Los Angeles spokesman for the Postal Service. "It's not that much ... but we have had some instances of theft."

There are two ways to view this kind of thievery: that the crooks were creeps trying to get some free Cheerios. Or, the nicer but sadder interpretation is that the people who took the food were poor and hungry, a reality in Los Angeles and across the United States. (Which, of course, is why Stamp Out Hunger exists.)

"That's what I like to think, that maybe somebody really needed it for their family," Maher says. "It's too bad that they don't go through the proper channels, because that food goes right to the food bank in a local community."

Original post, published 5/11: If you normally regard your mailbox as a receptacle for bills, this Saturday you can consider it a force for good, helping to feed hungry people throughout Los Angeles. May 12 marks the return of the letter carriers' Stamp Out Hunger food drive, a nationwide effort to stock the pantries of food banks, which continue to experience high demand by Americans needing help feeding their families.

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Jewish Federation

the 2011 Community Service Day

If arts and crafts with Bubbe isn't your thing, maybe you'd like to help plant a Food Forest in Studio City. Or you can dig in the dirt with the Florence Firestone Community Gardeners. Or if you want to get in on some kitchen action while making new friends, then go to Ronald McDonald House and help cook a truly happy meal. The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles has a menu of volunteer opportunities this Sunday, March 25, for its Community Service Day.

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Follow Evan on Twitter @evankleiman and read her KCRW blog Good Food.

United Nations

Children in Cité Soleil, Haiti receive meals

On Saturday, the U.S. Department of State released a fact sheet on the work they have been doing to improve food security in Haiti following the devastating earthquake in January of 2010. While there is still incredibly depressing news being released since the disaster, there are some positive elements coming out in regard to food security, thanks to the work of USAID.

Prior to the earthquake, according to the report, eighty percent of the Haitian population was already below the poverty line, and one in every four children was, "chronically undernourished." And though the majority of Haitians were working in agriculture, more than half of the food consumed in Haiti still had to be imported.

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Flickr user istorija

The equivalent of a lot of marijuana

Remember "toys for guns?" Well how about "joints for food?" The Associated Press reports that a medical marijuana dispensary in Santa Cruz County, CA has found a unique way to rake in canned food donations for the holidays -- by giving away their primary commodity. The Granny Purps dispensary in Soquel has been handing out a free marijuana cigarette for every four cans of food donated by its patients. Each patient was limited to three cigarettes per day.

The promotion took place between November and Christmas Eve, and during that time, Granny Purps acquired 11,000 pounds of canned food -- despite having a mere eight employees. They gave away 2,000 cigarettes, and all of the food was donated to the Second Harvest Food Bank.

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N. Galuten

Chili cheese dog

Yes, we are a big country with many different people -- but there is something wrong when we are both fat and hungry. CNN is citing a federal report telling us that U.S. hunger levels continue to be at a 15-year high. Why 15 years? Because that's as long as the Department of Agriculture has been tracking it.

Because of a lack of resources, around 14.7 percent of American households were referred to as "food insecure" in 2009. That means that 17.4 million households had trouble feeding at least one member of their group. Of that group, over a third were listed as having "very low food security." That's 6.8 million households.

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Taste of the Nation Los Angeles had its annual event yesterday at the Culver City Media Park, and as usual, there was a lot of good food and drink. All ticket sales, as well as money received from charitable donations and the silent auction, went directly toward fighting childhood hunger.

There were demonstrations and stage appearances from chefs like Michael Voltaggio, Ludovic Lefebvre, Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken, as well as a a huge selection of prizes available through auctions and raffle tickets. All told, it was a highly successful and well run event, with food lines never lasting longer than three or four minutes. Visit the Taste of the Nation website for more information about the cause, and take a look at our photo gallery after the jump.

N. Galuten

Bottega Louie's torchon foie gras with organic apple gastrique & marcona almond brittle

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This Sunday, February 28th, Tom Colicchio's Craft restaurant will be the location for a kickoff reception for the Hungry in America Project, a documentary from filmmakers Lori Silverbush and Kristi Jacobson that examines the issue of hunger in America. The event is hosted by Bryan Lourd and Colicchio, who is an executive producer of the Project and Silverbrush's husband. Mario Batali is also a producer of the film.

Hunger will not be a practical issue at the fundraiser, as guests will be served small plates from the Craft menu and dishes from guest chefs Nancy Silverton (Mozza), Suzanne Goin (Tavern, Lucques, AOC) and Michael Voltaggio (The Dining Room at the Langham).

Tickets to the event are $250, and VIP tickets will run you $1,000. The event is from 6 - 8 p.m., with the VIP reception starting an hour earlier. Tickets are available through the FEED Foundation website.

Hunger in L.A. County is on the rise, and on Valentine's Day weekend you can help during We Feed LA's Somebody Loves Me Homeless Food & Clothing Drive. Brian Pasquale, founder of We Feed LA, an organization which feeds and clothes the homeless, encourages volunteers to contribute in any way they can--and that doesn't necessarily require culinary skill. We Feed LA encourages you to bring homemade or store-bought dishes, drive and distribute packaged food, or serve as an assembly line Cupid.

We Feed LA

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Via LA Observed comes a report from the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank on Hunger in L.A. County. Given the state of the economy and California's 12.4% unemployment rate, it shouldn't come as a surprise that a record number of people received food assistance last year. The report shows that almost 1 million L.A. County residents got assistance from food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters served by the Foodbank in 2009. That's nearly 1 in 10 residents. Of that, children make up 40 percent. In the last 4 years, the total number of people needing food assistance increased by 46 percent and the number of children needing help more than doubled. According to the report, "48 percent report having to choose between paying for food and paying for utilities, 46 percent choosing between food and rent, and 42 percent between food and transportation."

LA foodbank

Mario Batali volunteering at Kids Cafe in Carson

Why do so many people, especially children, go hungry in a country this wealthy? If you missed the post on Daily Dish, here's the YouTube trailer for Hungry In America, a documentary currently in progress from filmmakers Lori Silverbush and Kristi Jacobson. The film is produced by Tom Colicchio (Top Chef, Craft) and Mario Batali (Mozza, Babbo). Colicchio is Silverbush's husband. The feature-length documentary will consider school lunches, the state of America's food system, and the food stamp program. The film does not yet have a release date, but will be out sometime next year. You can sign up for updates on the Hungry In America website.