andyt andyt:
Food = money, unless you use your matter converter that I don't know about. Time, if you haven't heard, also = money. Time isn't worth much in feeding people if there's no food - back to needing money.
The state will never be able to fund everything everybody wants. It can fund basic requirements to some baseline. It can do so better than people privately funding the same thing.
I gave a long-winded explanation of my own circumstance. That's because I'm living it right now. Winnipeg Harvest is entirely private. It's a charity, and food banks working with them are each independent charities. This system works very well.
Government support has its place. I've been on welfare since New Year's Day. I was on Welfare before that in for most of a year in 2011/2012. Welfare is about money, but it has bureaucracy problems. When I earn so much money that "assistance" is negated to zero, and there's a carry forward amount for two consecutive biweekly pay periods, then I get completely kicked off welfare. That is a strong disincentive to find work. That's how I got kicked off in the spring of 2012, and just got notice yesterday that I'm being kicked off again. However, I already have an appointment to get back on. Of course I would really prefer a permanent full-time job in my field. But would rather find part-time work when I can than accept welfare. But welfare is better than nothing. So here is the bureaucracy problem.
The Computer Lending Library is run by a charity. They get computers from "Computers For Schools Limited", formerly known as "Computers for Charities", which recycles computers from government departments and crown corporations. The community bicycle shops are charities. Most food banks are run by churches, which also have soup kitchens; also charities. I'm saying there's a place for government, and a place for charities.
By the way, all the food at food banks in Winnipeg does not come from government money. Winnipeg Harvest gets major donations from "Peak of the Market", a major food wholesaler. They get entire "gaylords" of fresh potatoes. That's a pallet with a cardboard box that completely fills the pallet. Winnipeg Harvest repackages those potatoes into bread bags. One bread bag per person. There are charity food packages in grocery stores, for donation to Winnipeg Harvest. However, very little of the food I get is from those packages. There's canned food with the label up-side-down, or dented, or otherwise not saleable. Unusual products that just didn't sell, so grocery stores "disposed of it" by giving it to Winnipeg Harvest. Fresh produce that's close to its expiration date. When you get fresh produce from the food bank, eat it right away, because it won't last a week. Often not even two days. Most canned food doesn't expire, but some does. One thing you have to learn when receiving stuff from a food bank, is don't throw it out based on expiration date. Smell it. If it smells rotten, don't eat it. If it smells good, then it's good, even if it's past the printed expiration date.
I've gotten spinach that didn't last one day in the fridge. That went straight to the garbage. But I've received canned meat past its expiration date that was perfectly good. And a lot of really bizarre stuff that I would never even look at if I was buying groceries. I often have to look up on the internet "what is this". One package had a bag of something I thought was puffed wheat. But when I went to put it in my cupboard, it was far too heavy, and far too solid. I looked it up; it was dry pinto beans. Cook that to make refried beans. Turns out they aren't fried, they're boiled.
As I said before, bread comes from day-old stock that a major grocery store gets rid of. Occasionally with pastry.
I have no idea where the repackaged rice or flour comes from.
All this food does not cost money. It's all donations. Mostly things people want to get rid of. Thank "Peak of the Market" for donating fresh potatoes. But everything else disposal of perfectly good food.
Winnipeg Harvest has volunteers sort and repackage food at their warehouse. It's packaged and bundled for distribution to all the food banks throughout the city. Volunteers get a package of food as payment. All this minimizes how much money they require. They are a charity, and that money comes from donations. Not from government.
Ack! Again way to long. I'll repeat the point: government and charity each have their place. Don't even think of turning Winnipeg Harvest into a government operation.
CKA Uber 
