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| 1/7/2009 10:06:00 AM Email this article • Print this article |
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The House of Shalimar, the winning business in the Local Lover Challenge, decided to earmark its winnings — a $400 donation to the charity of its choice — to the Friendship Donations Network. From left, Lynda Thompson, House of Shalimar manager; Lisa Duggan, Friendship Donations Network coordinator; Sara Pines, FDN founder; and Emma Lou Sheikh, House of Shalimar co-owner. (Photo by Rob Montana) |
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Local Lovers Challenge wraps up, Friendship Donations Network benefits
Rob Montana
Managing Editor
Though it's expected the Local Lover Challenge, the brainchild of Local First Ithaca, was successful in drawing people to local businesses it was a boost for the Friendship Donations Network.
The FDN was the recipient of a $400 donation from the House of Shalimar, the winning business in the challenge. By winning the business challenge, determined by how many Local Lover Challenge cards originated from each business, the House of Shalimar earned the right to pick the charity to which the donation would go.
"The promotion was planned to provide support for local businesses, and we felt we should support the most local charity we could," said Emma Lou Sheikh, co-owner of the House of Shalimar. "I've known Sara (Pines, FDN founder) for a long time, and I can't think of a more deserving charity.
"This is not a gift from the House of Shalimar," she added, "it's a gift from all the participating businesses in the Local Lover Challenge."
The Friendship Donations Network started in 1988 to aid destitute migrant farm workers in 112 migrant labor camps in Sodus with basic necessities. In 1992, the program expanded to include Ithaca and surrounding communities. Currently, FDN provides approximately 2,500 people per week with food through the 25 hunger programs it services, including Loaves & Fishes, Enfield School, Immaculate Conception Church Pantry, Candor Food Pantry and Interlaken Reformed Church to name just a few.
According to information on the FDN Web site, each pantry receives about 1,500-3,000 pounds of mostly fresh food donations daily - fruits, vegetables, assorted breads and pastries, assorted groceries, variety of dairy and deli items, eggs, pizzas and more. FDN donations total 10,000 to 18,000 pounds of food per week, and they get donations of food from numerous sources, including Wegmans, P&C, Tops, Ithaca Wholesale Produce, Ithaca Bakery and Cornell University.
Pines, and FDN Coordinator Lisa Duggan, stressed the food they are able to provide offers plenty of nutritional value, something they are proud of. And, that they are rescuing food that would otherwise go to waste.
"Almost everything we get would be in the garbage if we didn't take the extra food from these places," Pines said, illustrating her point with a story about a catering company that contacted her just before Christmas asking if she would be able to distribute five truckloads of food.
Pines got to work distributing the approximately 7,000 pounds of meat - including filet mignon, leg of lamb, sausages, chicken and ham - 2,000-4,000 quarts of milk and more than 200 cases of fresh produce.
"It was all first grade, fresh food," Pines said. "With the meat, I would say there was at least $15,000-$18,000 worth of food that would have been thrown out."
The nice thing about FDN is that it can keep such donations - especially larger ones like that - from going to waste, while also helping keep area food pantries shelves stocked.
"The donors aren't going to make a bunch of calls to find a place for all of their food," Duggan said. "They can just call Sara and she'll find a place for it."
What the donation means - especially considering FDN's annual budget is $14,580 - is that Pines can make sure volunteers who can't afford to drive their vehicles to help out can get reimbursed - $20 per trip - for their travels, that she can pay for excess produce at Ithaca Wholesale Produce and be able to get pre-paid cell phones for some volunteers that help pickup food. It can also help pay for Duggan's small part-time salary.
"So, it will go for transportation, for Lisa's salary - which is an unlivable wage - and for office supplies, like stamps," Pines said. "Stamps are 42 cents now, so if you buy 100, that's $42."
While Sheikh was happy about making the donation, how does she feel about the effectiveness of the Local Lover Challenge?
"I've been in business since 1970 and in Ithaca since 1972, and I have never seen a promotion like the Local Lover Challenge," she said. "I have never participated in a promotional event that has been this successful."
"Or this much fun," said Lynda Thompson, House of Shalimar manager.
"I felt people were supporting local businesses in a mindful way," added Sheikh. "And our sales beat last years for the month of December."
Local First Ithaca organizers have been getting good feedback to the promotion as well.
"Almost every business that I have spoken to, especially the ones that have been around for a while and took part, was pleased with the way it worked," said Jan Norman of Local First Ithaca. "I've been pretty excited to hear from everybody that took part in the challenge."
There are no promotions scheduled yet, but Norman said it's something the group is working on.
"We don't want to slow momentum, we don't want to shut the door now that it's opened," she said. "It is not our intention to shut the door and then open it back up again next Christmas."
At the end of January, Norman said, the organization will be putting together a steering committee of local people to determine how Local First should direct its next efforts. Members will come from a diverse range, she said.
"It makes to have people on the steering committee not just people from the business world, but all the building blocks from the community," Norman said. "Someone from banking, someone from media and education."
In the lead up to the formation of a steering committee, she said Local First is finishing filling out its applications for membership in Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE). To do so, Norman said, they will have to incorporate the organization, something they are hoping to complete this month.
Once that paperwork is done and the committee is selected, Local First can move forward in helping local businesses thrive in Ithaca.
"What we're hoping to achieve in the community - clearly there are things you can do throughout the year to engage people like the Local Lover Challenge did - but there is so much more that can be done, such as advocating for social justice and public policy that is beneficial to small, local businesses not just corporate ones," Norman said. "We can help business networks grow, help them become more sustainable, and help smaller businesses have access to things that they normally can't if we work together in groups, as opposed to individually."
For more information about Local First Ithaca, visit its Web site at www.localfirstithaca.org, and for more information about the Friendship Donations Network, visit its Web site at friendshipdonations.org, or call (607) 272-6758. Donations of many kinds are accepted.
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Suicide has recently come to Ithaca in a very public, and at times controversial, way. This past academic year, after three years with no suicides, Cornell experienced what is known in the scientific community as a "suicide cluster." OK, so maybe you're like me and you thought this whole JetBlue flight attendant story was good for maybe one news cycle.  |
