Vegan meals and a whole lot of love!

September 11, 2005 - Fresh vegan meals continue to go out to survivors in Mississippi. "Delicious pasta, vegan chili and lemonade are just the thing to satisfy a rumbling stomach," explains Rodney Holden, one of the many volunteers helping the FFL Katrina Relief team.

Meals are being cooked from the Food for Life farm in Cariere, Mississippi and then transported 20 minutes to Claiborne Mall, Picayune. where the National Guard has set up a Water and Ice Station. Survivors drive in or line up for a hearty lunch of rice, bean and potatoes stew, deep fried vegetable fritters, BBQ sauce, peanut butter pudding and lemonade.

Another FFL volunteer, Keith, added, "We also serve breakfast at the Red Cross shelter in Picayune and everyone loves it -- hash browns, english muffins, and strawberry semolina pudding!"

"People are loving our fresh meals, he said. "It is a nice change from the MRE's they typically get. Many people were in tears to see the efforts of the FFL volunteers. Many of those who received it commented that it was the “best food they have had in a long time, even before the hurricane hit!”"

FFL Volunteers serving meals to survivors arriving to pick up ice and water at the National Guard Relief Station. People were in tears to see Food for Life out there in the blazing hot sun giving freshly cooked hot meals to those in need. Some were coming in great anticipation having received the meals on a previous day.

Houston...we have a solution!

FFL volunteers from as far away as Los Angeles and Washington DC are flying into Houston to begin a new relief project in cooperation with the Target Hunger Campaign. Freshly cooked vegan meals will be served to Evacuees from Hurricane Katrina at a hall in the center of downtown Houston - Monday to Friday.

Food for Life Global is partnering with an organization in Houston called Target Hunger (www.targethunger.org) and with the Southwestern Bell Communicator’s Union. Target Hunger’s modus operandi is to use free food distribution as a hook to attract people and then offer them education in community resources, job hunting, and healthcare, etc.

Target Hunger is organizing a massive campaign to educate Hurricane Katrina evacuees in Houston on job resources, living assistance, relocation etc. They will base operations out of the Communicator’s Union Hall (located centrally in Houston). The idea is that FFL will come and serve lunch and people can take the lunch inside the Union Hall, where they will then be given information and assistance.

Simultaneously, Food for Life will be serving breakfast to evacuees at a church (20 minutes from the hall). This has also been arranged by Target Hunger.

Food for Life Global is proud to be a partner in this project. To learn more about Target Hunger, visit: www.targethunger.org

September 8, 2005 - As far as helping hungry people in the devastated Gulf Coast area, Food for Life volunteers from ISKCON temples and from the community in Mississippi, West Virginia, Washington DC, and Florida are doing their part. Food for Life is already sending teams to the stricken Gulf Coast towns of Waveland, Biloxi and Gulfport to distribute sanctified vegetarian meals to Hurricane survivors.

A new team from Houston are now serving hot vegetarian dinners at shelters in Houston with a new team from Los Angeles to arrive shortly. Needless to say, our small efforts have been received with gratitude by the storm-tossed survivors.

More photos and stories will be posted soon.

September 6, 2005 -- Courageous Krishna monks from their farm community in Carraire Mississippi are already venturing into the hardest-hit areas of the Gulf Coast, braving fields of debris, vast stretches of noxious quick mud, and crazed gas-hungry locals to distribute freshly cooked vegetarian meals. Despite reports of people being held up at gunpoint to feed gas-hungry SUVs and pickups, yesterday and today the FFL volunteers journeyed to Gulfport and Biloxi to bring hot meals of red beans and rice, chapattis and lemonade to the starving residents.

Another New Orleans FFL volunteer, Rodney Holden, who lost everything in the hurricane, recently collected supplies in Memphis and transported them to the FFL Camp Kitchen in Mississippi, while another survivor, Dvibhuja Das, whose rental property lost its roof in the storm, is one of many now devoting their full time to food distribution in the Gulf Coast area.

They report a scene of almost total devastation with very little help for the victims. The aged and infirm are hardest hit, often immobilized with no one to help them. The volunteers are going door-to-door in the affected areas near the coast, bringing back striking tales of devastation and woe."

Food for Life Global is continuing to support these efforts as well as many more now getting underway in Texas.

HOW YOU CAN HELP!

Aside from financial contributions, Food for Life Global is also looking for donations of the following equipment:

• One white Delivery van (cheap rental or fully donated) for the Houston program.
• Organic produce and grains (No dairy, eggs, meat or fish)
• Food packaging
• plates, spoons and cups
• Kitchen helpers

Call 301 987 5883 or write to FFL Disaster Relief Center

Concerned people are also encouraged to donate to these efforts through our paypal account.

Help support FFL's Katrina Food Relief: (All donations are tax deductible)

Donations by Check Food for Life Global PO Box 59037 Potomac, MD 20859 USA

All volunteers MUST REGISTER with Food for Life Global

Remote Volunteering / Fund Raiser / Activists

Food for Life is encouraging people to give their time in their local area to help raise awareness of FFL's activities and thus raise much needed money. The relief efforts we are undertaking will continue for at least 3 months -- and that means money is crucial. There are an estimated 1 million people displaced. Someone has to feed these people every single day and that takes a lot of money. Food for Life is doing its part to contribute the massive feeding programs of the Red Cross and various Church groups. Many students have emailed to ask if they can organize a fundraising drive at their campus. The answer is a resounding "Yes." Please help in whatever way you can, whether it is selling t-shirts, approaching your local businesses, or writing an article. We just ask that you keep Food for Life Global informed of all your activities.

Poster, Flyer, & Supporter email signature - Please Distribute

A poster will be uploaded soon. Those interested contact FFL Activism email.

Print the following poster and post it at your local restaurant, temple, healthfood store or community hall.

You can also add this email signature to your outgoing emails. It will lead people to donating online through PayPal.

Webmasters

For the webmaster out there, please place these banners on your web site with a link back to the FFL home page.

Food for Life does not have the expensive PR machine that other relief agencies have and so in many cases the media is not even aware of our efforts. Send them to our web site or give them the following poster. If you see a website promoting relief agencies, tell them about Food for Life.

NEW FFL World Hunger Map

Food for Life Global recently published the FFL World Hunger Map. The map is printed on full color gloss photo paper and will make an excellent display in any temple, church, home, or office. The map depicts all the major regions of the world suffering from hunger and is superimposed with locations of FFL projects. Bordering the 36x24 inch map are pictures of FFL recipients, including shots from the recent tsunami relief program.

Data from the map is based on the official World Food Programme hunger map (www.wfp.org) and includes interesting facts and figures. Did you know that 864 million people in the world today are hungry or malnourished? Even more alarming, every minute of the day, 11 children under the age of 5 die from hunger-related diseases!

Our hope is to raise awareness of this major world issue. The more people are conscious of this problem, the better it will be for those suffering. Food for Life strongly believes that a vegetarian diet is a step in the right direction to reducing world hunger.

The FFL World Hunger Map is available for $5 each (plus shipping). Proceeds will go towards supporting FFL projects around the world. Printing is limited, so order today!

ADVOCACY Package (Updated Package)

Please help get the word out! Print these documents and distribute far and wide in your area.

• New FFL Brochure (Print and distribute)
• NEW FFL Katrina Relief Poster
• New FFL Donor Flyer (Print and post in your local restaurant)
• FACT SHEET - Food for Life Global
• Web Site or Blog Announcement (Tell people about FFL on blogs and community websites)
• Creative Ways to Help (Tips and ideas for advocacy)
• Email Signature (Add this signature to all your email message)
• For webmasters (Place one of these banners on your web site with a link to our home page (www.ffl.org).

Go back to TOP

Food for Life in the News

• Community Alchemist (Dave Dobson)
• UK, East African philanthropists for Easter cycling
• FFL Volunteer Shares her Experience
• Polish Humanitarian meets Health Minister
• Children collect toys for tsunami orphans
• ISKCON serves 250,000 freshly cooked meals to survivors
• Hungarian PM's daughter here
• Opening hearts, wallets for disaster relief funds

APPEAL: Volunteer Coordinator Needed

Food for Life Global continues to receive applications from volunteers wishing to assist FFL in its worldwide projects. We desperately need the expert help of an experienced Volunteer Coordinator. The ideal person needs to have the following qualifications:

• Familiarity with Food for Life projects
• Vegetarian or vegan
• Enthusiastic, determined and straight-forward in dealings
• Able to communicate with a wide range of personality types
• Can work virtually as well as on-site when needed
• Good team player
• Ability to "Rally the troops" and inspire people

If you or someone you know possess these traits, please write to us with references.

Gokulam - Bhaktivedanta Children's Home
607A, Negombo Road
Mabola
Wattala
Tel: (+ 94) 11 294-8398
www.gokulam.org

Volunteering Offshore

Food for Life is encouraging people to give their time in their local area to help raise awareness of FFL's activities and thus raise much needed money. Many students have emailed to ask if they can organize a fundraising drive at their campus. The answer is a resounding "Yes." Please help in whatever way you can, whether it is selling t-shirts, approaching your local businesses, or writing an article. We just ask that you keep Food for Life Global informed of all your activities.

Donations by Check

Send to:
Food for Life Global - Emergency Relief Fund
PO Box 59037 
Potomac, MD 20859, USA 

All donations are tax deductible. Food for Life Tax ID: 52-195-2901

Where You Can Donate

JustGive and Network for Good, both of which are prominently displaying Food for Life on their hunger relief pages and of course at the FFL web site using PayPal. (Note: PayPal does extract a very small percentage of the donated money for transaction fees. Typically $3 for a $100 donation).

Thank you for your friendship.

On behalf of all the Food for Life volunteers, we hope this meets you in the best of health and happiness.

Paul Turner
Director

The Food for Life Global Friends Newsletter is distributed to more than 20,000 vegans and vegetarians worldwide.

(c) 2005 Food for Life Global - Using text or pictures contained within this newsletter without the expressed permission of Food for Life Global is illegal.

Paul Rodney Turner (Priya)
Food for Life Global
PO Box 59037
Potomac, MD 20859, USA
phone: (301) 987-5883
www.ffl.org