Ask the DW/LJ Brain Trust

[serene]

Can any of you point me to a reputable charity that uses its proceeds to feed children and families? My standard giving goes to MSF/Doctors Without Borders and Public Radio, but I'm looking for something more focused on feeding people. (Also, I welcome opinions on the two I usually give to; are there better uses of my admittedly small funds?)

Comments

[bcholmes]

For what it's worth, I think that MSF is one of the more reputable NGOs operating in Haiti.

I donate to a group called Canadian Feed the Children, which appears to be the Canadian sister to Feed the Children in the US. I have reservations about Canadian Feed the Children (they're CIDA-funded, for example), but I continue to support them.

[gramina]

Have you considered

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Have you considered <a href-"http://www.heifer.org/">Heifer International</a>?

You may want something that's more immediate, but for the teach-fishing types, I really like them.

[gramina]

Of course, that should be Heifer International. Teach me to use the preview button!

[waywardcats]

Do you care about location or religious affiliation? If you are interested in helping local people, then there is always Glide Memorial Church and it's meals program. http://glide.org/Meals.aspx

For my foreign charitable efforts I tend to prefer Kiva or other microloan providers. They are not food specific, but the funds go to specific people and because they are loans and not charity help them to have access to credit and services which are often hard to access.

There is also a new site offering direct microloans or donations to Haiti. Zafen.org. They have a number of food projects available right now. https://www.zafen.org/en/projects

[eagle]

I personally support Oxfam. They're one of the really big NGOs, with all that entails (including overhead, a bit too much marketing, and a sometimes corporate-style structure), but they focus specifically on food issues and try to help build infrastructure to keep feeding people in addition to providing immediate food.

Another one to consider is The International Rescue Committee, who's specific focus is on helping refugees from armed conflicts with whatever they need, including food, medicine, political support, and the like. They tend to be first responders to places like Somalia when internal warfare breaks out.

[eagle]

Oh, and there's a summary of all the charities that I support and why on my web site. MSF is a great charity to donate to, in my opinion. Probably the best of all the international aid organizations.

[firecat]

I donate to Oxfam. If you want to donate locally, Charity Navigator gives the Alameda County Community Food Bank http://www.accfb.org/ four stars out of four.