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Help Kevin Gosztola purchase & distribute supplies from the Occupy Supply fund.
Occupy DC may not have it all together on their winterization plan, but at least they have warm food.
Lisa Derrick contacted me late last night after her visit to Occupy Los Angeles. She was deeply upset to see that the occupiers in LA did not have enough food to go around. She told me that people there were consuming less than 500 calories a day, which is much lower than any person, of any size should receive. Not only are they consuming a low number of calories, but the calories that they are consuming are definitely not healthy ones.
There are close to 1000 people there who are lucky to receive one REAL meal a day. They are occasionally fortunate to have local restaurants bring them bowls of rice and supplies to eat with, but this is not a regular occurrence. To make things harder, only packaged food or food from health department certified restaurant kitchens can be dropped off, which is a regulation of the Health Dept. for feeding groups. Lisa is going to be livestreaming today at 3pm Pacific time, 6pm Eastern. I have been fortunate to visit Occupy DC a few times and they have their definite needs, but for the time being are doing well with food. They have quite the kitchen operation, and last night they were serving pasta. Food, however is not something you can do without, and without our help, Occupy LA could be ending their stand soon.
Thanks to many of your generous donations we were able to send Lisa down to Trader Joe’s for a big haul. This afternoon she will be delivering:
- 100 jars of peanut butter
- 20 jars of applesauce
- 30 loaves of bread
- And hundreds of dollars of canned fruit
That’s just the start. Lisa is still shopping and will show all the great things she bought for the occupiers tonight. Click here to help Lisa deliver more goods to the 1000 people in Los Angeles.
Food for #Occupy LA!
In other news: Last night, Jane Hamsher, Matt McKinnon from the Machinists Union, and I went to the 8pm committee meeting on winterization. This was their first meeting so they were really only brainstorming Ideas. We hope to help them out with warm clothing and supplies soon, along with effective strategies to outlast the winter.
51 Comments
Brava, Lisa – and well done Jane, Ryan, Mark — thanks for the report.
There are lot of hungry people in LA.
I volunteer at MEND in Pacoima. I’ve posted several diaries about it here at the Lake — tho some PTB may not have read them, and I’ve had some support from the people who know me here. The problem is how to get the food to the people.
If Lisa is shocked that so many people in LA are hungry, I’m surprised.
LA Occupied has been more organized than some other cities, from what I’ve read on the OWS threads and blogs here.
I didn’t even have the dough to joing FDL, but am a member because some kind soul paid for one for me.
When people are shocked by the statistics of the homeless, I have to wonder.
Mahalo, Lisa and the Lake for all the extrordinary efforts…!
What is this Noise…? Occupy Wall Street kitchen staff protesting fixing food for freeloaders…
So how exactly does one become part of the ‘Professional Homeless’…? 8-(
Done, and thanks to Lisa for her work.
It should not be the responsibility of OCCUPY to feed the homeless. It would be a great thing if they could, but it’s just not possible and hardly fair to the people who cook and those who give money and food because they believe in OCCUPY. Someone should be contacting the many people in the Hollywood community who work on worthy causes and get them to help.
The title would be more encouraging instead of discouraging if it read:
LA Occupy Needs Your Help To Feed The People.
Sugar, not vinegar.
I know, I know, no one wants to be told how to do things.
I’m really just trying to help.
Are you reading this, “Hollywuss, Inc.”?
Or are you still too busy trying to sort out just what is meant by the word “difference”?
I wish that for one second of my socioeconomically challenged existence I could enjoy the luxury of being able to “stop thinking about tomorrow” (I’ll spare you the sordid personal details for now).
Alas, “it’ll soon be here” all the same.
And Heaven forbid Occupy L.A. does end up having to break camp and disperse — has anyone ever thought of what happens to the street people left behind in the wake? I can assure you from hard experience — it ain’t pretty.
(on a national scale, think 1996, o.k.a. the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act).
Fair warning: I’m just getting warmed up here — thus, I hope I can read a report tomorrow stating that Occupy L.A. is now well-stocked and provisioned for the duration.
Hey, just reschedule a few of your upcoming “botox” appointments, and that should just about take care of it…
It is not a weakness to seek winter quarters when conducting a campaign outdoors. That’s why our military planners have winter standowns and spring offensives in Afghanistan. Winter weakens and kills. Hitler failed to understand that and ended up with his troops freezing and starving on the Russsian steppes. Ditto Napolean.
My sweet cherry trees actually need hundreds of winter dormant chill-hours to store the energy in their roots for producing blossoms and fruit in abundance come spring and summer. The occupy movement might well consider the same and maybe keep only a small symbolic contingent, with rotating staff, at their sites throughout the winter while the main force gathers energy (recruitment) in winter quarters.
I’m ducking and cloaking. Thanks for the warning.
There are very many people here who understand being unemployed, underemployed, soon to be homeless.
I understand your are trying to pose your comment to people in Hollywuss, very very few of whom are reading this.
It’s a good place, here at FDL, to vent personal anger, but I will duck a bit, if you don’t mind. :)
You think we should be discouraging the homeless from participating…? I think we should be actively seeking out the homeless… After all, they’ve benefitted the least from this economic morass…! 8-(
Twain, honey is that you? Say it ain’t so.
If it’s so, then please take a moment or two to reconsider your remarks and then please qualify and clarify…
Mike, I read a comment earlier, and I’m sorry I can’t link to it, but in a nutshell, it was a wonderful idea that apparently some Occupies are pursuing, wherein people share shifts. Out in the cold, break for a while to a car or someone’s apartment.
I thought that was an excellent idea.
No frostbite, please.
Have donated.
If packaged food can include fresh food in plastic bags, the 99cent stores are currently selling bags of pears, apples, oranges, plums, carrots all for $1 apiece.
Also quarts of milk, yogurt, loaves of bread, canned foods, nuts, also $1, etc. (including some organic.)
demi, if you’ve ever stood in a breadline, sadly, all too often you end up with a pound of sugar and very little (nutritional) substance.
Trust me on this one, positiveness doesn’t come easy when you’re repeatedly stuck on the receiving end of the discouragement (you’re not the one dishing it out).
It is Twain. Didn’t you read what I said? I said it would be great to be able to feed the homeless but how can OCCUPY be expected to do that? Think about it. There are literally hundreds of homeless people in LA. It’s not a matter of responsibility – it’s a matter of supplies, equipment, etc. If they have no food to begin with, they can’t even feed the demonstrators.
May I please also deign to assume that most posters here know that from me it’s not coming from a proclivity toward vitriol and meanspiritedness for its own sake, but rather from an earnest desire to convey and express um, a bit of the overall sense of frustration that undeniably and unfortunately is a part of what this is all about?
Back off, Bucko. You’re bitching at the wrong person.
Twain, from my (enlighted ;*) perspective, Occupy is the homeless is Occupy. That stated, having read some of your previous comments I think it’s safe to infer that perhaps you’re trying to point out that some sort of collaboration or cooperation between the local food banks and soup/community kitchens and the Occupy L.A. camp might be a good thing to try for? Am I in the proberbial ball park with this?
I’d tell you what to deign to do, but, well, I’d rather just step away.
I spent 6 hours cooking and serving to and for the homeless and poor this morning as a volunteer, and to be honest, my back hurts.
No energy to fight with people.
See Yaz, Pups.
Tut, tut, tut.
I didn’t read her comment as insinuating that at all.
Twain’s a good girl.
Breathe.
Thanks, for saying that. T’is true. I’ve half lived off of the 99 cents only store for 20 years. Pick and choose and you can get some excellent stuff.
Which goes back to something I’ve always believed and argued for: That part of one’s education in the U.S. for young adults should be at least one week’s time somewhere out sleeping rough — mind you, in very limited conditions with safety built into the experience, etc. But enough experience so that everyone knows what it’s like to be deprived of the basic and fundamental needs for daily subsistence.
Even Prince William of the U.K. took it upon himself to learn what it means…I’m no rabid royalist by any stretch; all the same I do appreciate his willingness to undergo some limited “rough-time”.
Nah, you’re a sweet pup compared to some of ‘em on this blog (won’t name names here) ;)
Requiring a super majority to make decisions is a mistake. In concern to avoid the tyranny of the majority a 90% rule sets the group up for the tyranny of the 10%+1 minority. It will eventually lead to paralysis.
The Green Party of California was unable to adopt an agenda for their annual meeting for all three years I was a member of the State Coordinating Committee. I eventually just resigned in frustration. It was impossible to adopt an agenda because the Green Party, foolishly, has a 100% consensus rule.
California has been unable to raise the taxes it needs for decades because of the 2/3 majority rule imposed by Prop. 13 in 1978. The U.S. Senate cannot enact health care legislation or much else because of the 60% rule of the filibuster.
There is nothing wrong with majority rule. Occupy should rethink it’s decision making process before it collapses due to paralysis because of the 90% rule. It’s a bad idea. There is nothing wrong with allowing 50%+1 to make decisions.
Having spent a couple of weeks at OccupyDC, I second TimesTickingAway’s comment. So many of the people who initially came for a free meal were soon working in the kitchen or the medical tent or leading chants during a march. Occupy takes place in a public space. We welcomed everyone. I saw some amazing transformations. One man who arrived from a homeless shelter in the middle of the night when I was on security began by spouting Bible verses at 4:00 a.m. He was welcomed and was soon speaking at the General Assembly.
I hope this question will be taken in the constructive manner in which it is meant, but aren’t there more economical places in LA to purchase food than Trader Joe’s? I ask because it is certainly not the cheapest place to buy groceries here in Chicago and having lived the last three years on food stamps, I know how to stretch a food dollar.
No fight intended, demi. Believe me, I need all the energy I can spare for the greater struggle…
This is an important issue. Our large, productive, incredible movement seeks to show how greed has nearly destroyed our nation. If nothing else, it is merely self-preservation that all who support the movement contribute to the well-being of the occupiers. I have already donated several large boxes off clothing, food (home cooked and packaged/canned), electrical equipment and hardware to OccupyPortland. For this movement to founder due to lack of support would be a telling contrast to the support Egyptians received recently from non-participant but angry citizens in Cairo as they sought to overthrow the corrupt militaristic regime of Mubarek.
Stop yer bitchin’. Sure we are a much more jaded, violent, materialistic, and selfish culture than any other. But that does not have to doom us to corporate serfdom. Contribute something to your local Occupy Movement, and if it is non monetary, or even cooked so much the better! At Tuesday night GA in Portland someone came around passing out a huge amount of home-baked, large peanut butter cookies. They were yummy.
Solidarity begins with you! LA, my former hometown, needs to come through on this. No matter what people say, LA is a progressive city. You are much more than Malibu tiaras or the children of the rich smashing up luxury cars. Feed your Occupiers.
In Austin, so far, we have plenty of food for everyone, thanks to donations. We also have a very high proportion of street people and homeless people, which we didn’t have at the beginning. On the listserve I’m on, a man was clearly resenting that, when hot prepared food arrived and 10 people were by the food table and the servers asked for another volunteer server, no one volunteered. Eventually, the listserve writer volunteered, but he was also clearly resenting the people who were very willing to take but not to give.
These folks also want no prohibitions of drugs or alcohol and aren’t observing the no smoking areas for smoking cigarettes. Someone pulled a knife on someone else Saturday night.
It’s a different element than we started with and it’s keeping away or to minimum attendance a lot of people who were very involved in the beginning. I understand that money donations have also tapered off. I don’t really feel safe or comfortable there at this point. A lot of people are feeling like our occupation has been usurped.
I don’t really know what to do about the situation. Clearly, families with children aren’t going to camp there. The people who worked hard at the beginning and were exhausted don’t seem to have the energy to find a way to work this out.
So while we can say we need to feed the homeless, it also becomes an issue that their proportionally huge presence in Austin and their aggressiveness is turning away a lot of people. I’m deeply saddened by this state of affairs.
I hope it can be worked out so the occupy movement stays strong and doesn’t implode.
Reading postings at the Dissenter, “I am the 99%: Photo of the Day” series will tell you that many of the occupiers are homeless or near homeless who want to change the system.
Thanks to all who have donated/contributed either to food banks or to an Occupy site. If my health continues to improve, I’ll probably be at an “Occupied” location soon.
I’ve said it before and it bears repeating: Generally, personal attacks tend to undermine genuine efforts at communication and constructive discourse, and deep within some archive somewhere I have a documented history highlighting my various attempts to either route around so-called “hot” threads or avoid them altogether.
I just haven’t been posting on FDL for a while for anyone to notice ;)
Timestickingaway, that’s exactly what I’m talking about. If OCCUPY is going to feed the homeless they are going to needs lots of help, food and money. They have lots of decisions to make and plans. Years ago in SF various groups set up on the streets to feed the homeless and finally the city stopped it because they said the food might not be safe. OCCUPY has things to deal with and don’t need the city coming down on them for feeding the homeless.
That’s exactly what I’m pushing to do here in Hilo town, we have a large homeless population that would actually benefit more by being centralized and looking to have the local churches and soup kitchens actively participating…! I’ve already talked to the local Captains of the Salvation Army and the Under His Wings ministry…!
‘Build it and They(donations) will come’, M’dear…! ;-)
…don’t need the city coming down on them for feeding the homeless.
Shame on the City then…!
24-7-365 may not be the way to protest.
Maybe Targeted 2 days at a time 8 days a month.
Be prepared.
Preparation is everything.
Set a healthy table.Farmer Markets is the place to buy food in bulk.
Survival Gear,Tents,Sleeping Bags,Wool Blankets,Mess Kits,Field Jackets,Winter Liners,Wool Caps,Foot Lockers,Easy set up and pack up.Wool is warmer than cotton.Most gear can be found at Army Navy 2nd hand store.If you can’t Occupy buy a set up for a 99er who can.
Different location each week Occupy 2 Days Prepare 5 Days.Incress the number of people every week.Invite a friend another 99er.
Grow the numbers.
Hey, Austin! Wow, I’m so glad you wrote. I’ve got good friends there. My heart goes out to you, and I do understand what you are experiencing.
Personally, IMO (disclaimer: not qualified to give legal advice, etc), I’d say that the “consensus process” as it applies to the various Occupy groups remains itself a work in progress. Many times I’ve seen people burn out because they’ve been saddled with the bulk of the tasks, etc., and I’ve also witnessed troubles with folks addressing and working through various issues at general assembly-type meetings. And you’re correct about Austin having some rather “rambunctuous” street dwellers there — I’ve met some of them at downtown bus stops and such.
I suspect different Occupy sites will appproach matters according to their unique needs, local perspective(s) and circumstances. That, in turn, may need to be addressed at whatever ends up being the national general assembly (i.e. the Philadelphia convention?). Still in flux at this point, I’d say.
This is where it REALLY helps to have a strong bunch of experienced and knowledgeable group facilitators and/or delegates trained in the consensus process, and I’d suggest they are not always easily found or readily available (even in Austin? Hmmm…). Nonetheless, I’d say this is all eventually gonna shake out, and hopefully the end result will serve to strengthen the overall movement rather than otherwise.
I’m not gonna sugar-coat things here, what’s being attempted ain’t necessarily easy; in fact in many ways one could correctly say it’s uncharted territory. But, the alternative is (?)…and alas, the best thing I can suggest is to try to share your concerns with whichever “sister” camp you deem possesses a level of knowledge and experience sufficient to help/assist others. Also, perhaps contact the Rainbow Family of Living Light in the Austin area. They’ve got years of experience working with the consensus process ON AN ANNUAL BASIS (which I admit is perhaps not as challenging), but personally I would approach them for whatever wisdom they have to share, anyway.
I’ll try to write further if/when I can. Meanwhile, I’m very thankful that the “Occupy” movement happened at all — please, everyone — remember where we stood as a nation this time last year — IMO, just a few more conservative Senate members away from…
Not feeding the homeless or anyone who is there at mealtime and wants to eat would go against everything Occupy stands for. We’re the 89%? Everyone but the top 1 and bottom 10% is welcome? Generally the occupy groups have worked with Food Not Bombs, Coalition for the Homeless, etc to help with food if a large number of people who were already on the street are coming for food and the groups need help.
The NY chapter has the most publicity, but I don’t see why LA shouldn’t be able to get more food donations. Someone from Occupy LA should send out twitter feeds when they need food with names and numbers or better yet online ordering of local licensed businesses, and expand their lists and hashtags until they get more food that way.
Some of the Rainbow people are there and are part of the problem right now as I see it. One I talked with at length seems to think his Rainbow experience is the only valid experience of how to proceed. His arrogance and aggressiveness are offending numbers of people.
Please refer to my post to “Greenwarrior” from Austin; IMO “yoself” has some good suggestions, too (especially FNB and while I’m at it I need to also give the Krishnas the credit that’s due them for feeding me in Honolulu. They’re probably still there…
Food is important the other day a friend called me the ant.I don’t think the homeless are grass hoppers I’ve been there.If there not welcome to break bread with the 99ers then I’ll have to rethink my support.I’ll not take food at the Occupiation give my share to someone who doesn’t eat because thay can’t afford the luxury.
Can’t help but jump in, although I rarely post. #OccupyAtlanta, has discovered many, many homeless in the city. To curb costs, as I understand it, the city of Atlanta recently closed 3 separate homeless shelters. The link I provide is an interview with one of those, accepted, fed and sheltered by #occupyAtlanta.
http://occupyatlanta.org/2011/10/27/copper-credits-occupy-atlanta-with-curing-his-addiction/#.TqoImbKd6So
Well, you apparently will need to copy/paste the link, as I am clueless in this format at how to hyperlink it. (Sorry).
I needed a tissue. But I am at times a leaky progressive.
Chicago may have a very different food culture and competition re: food markets! Traders began in Southern California, is headquartered here and traditionally have lower prices than the other markets.
I priced individual jars of peanut butter, applesauce, fruit and loaves bread at several stores before making my purchases. The jars needed to be smaller sized for tents because LA County Health Dept does not allow food (ie sandwiches!) to be prepared on site by the food tent, thus ruling out the super-sized warehouse jars of peanut butter.
I wanted the peanut butter to be wholesome and not made with hydrogenated oil or corn syrup for maximum nutritional benefit. Peanut butters with the latter ingredients were *more* costly at the markets than Traders’ own brand which is only peanuts (and in some cases a little salt). The mainstream market brands of the same type and size were almost 3x the price of Trader’s. Bread is ridiculously expensiveexcept at Trader’s where a loaf is less than at the food warehouse store (and better ingredients!)
Nearly 70 lbs of fruit, 100 jars of peanut butter and 35 loaves of bread (which were shared amongst clusters of tents) went to insure that people had food when they woke up and food to get them through the next couple of cycles of meals,as the food is sporadic.
I still have funds left over for the medical tents which I learned today desperately need the most basic supplies like hand sanitizer, Lysol, single use antibacterial cream packs and band-aids. They also need a blood pressure cuff, liquid Maalox, and Emergen-C or other electrolyte boosters, as well as the tear off paper used to cover exam tables and warm blankets.
It’s weird that Los Angeles isn’t getting donations from hundreds of people who visit weekly. I strongly urge that wherever you are, please when you visit your local Occupy bring a couple cans of food, batteries, a flashlight, a blanket, Maalox, or box of band-aids, etc. Let FDL readers now what you see and learn at MyFDL (my.firedoglake.com). And please consider donating to FDL’s Occupy Supply fund which identifies and matches the needs of Occupys across the country, wiht 100% of the funds going directly to Occupys. Thanks!
Check out the medical aids available at the 99 cent store, nearly all that you listed you’ll find for under a dollar.
Pretty much the same quality as drug store name brands.
Thank you for the direct reply. Since I originally posted that comment, I took a look at your receipt posted above. Am I reading it incorrectly, or did they charge you 1.79 per OUNCE for those peanut butters? I can scarcely believe that is the correct price, for I checked my own shelf containing a (glass) jar of Smuckers (which by the way, contains only peanuts) and it was a 16 ounce jar for which I paid $2.49 (on sale, regular price $2.99). I’m not trying to knock your efforts because they are quite noble in intention, but if those prices are correct, I’d be looking for a better bargain somewhere else. If food really is that expensive in LA, you guys are getting ripped off.
I think it is just some weird printing or typo on Trader Joe’s part. If it were actually $1.79 per ounce, the 200 oz of peanut butter would have cost $358.00, not $35.80.
Oh, nevermind. I thought that said 200 oz, not 20oz. But I am sure that it is $1.79 per jar and she purchased 20 jars.
I hope that’s the case and if so, $1.79 per jar is quite a good price for peanut butter.
you can see the video feed from yesterdays drop off here
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/18148047
“The U.S. Senate cannot enact health care legislation or much else because of the 60% rule of the filibuster.”
There’s something I’ve never understood about that: why not let filibusterers hold the floor until they drop, then vote over their unconscious bodies? The longest filibuster on record is under 25 hours, can they really not survive one fucking day?
Many of you are parents, right? Did your kids ever try that stunt where they clap their hands over their ears and keep chanting “I can’t hear you!” Filibustering seems the Senatorial equivalent of such childish behavior, so how did you deal with it in your kids?
“Shame on the City then…!”
You’re right, of course, but I’m afraid in this case the city is right, too. I don’t doubt that many of the regulations are stupid and ineffective (just playing the odds, here), but the intent is to ensure a safe food supply. In a crowded situation like Occupy one unsanitary street kitchen could sicken hundreds of people. Or worse.