Earl Knauss got a lesson in food waste when he received a neighbor’s gift of three bushels of red peppers that had been cast aside by a farm because they were misshapen.
“I discovered that odd-shaped, blemished, and imperfect vegetables were dumped or destroyed,” says Knauss, of the Rotary Club of Hamburg in western New York state.
He asked the farm’s owner for more of the unsalable produce and collected 18-gallon totes of vegetables that he sent to food pantries. The Farm to Family project has since expanded to include three farms, and the Hamburg club formally adopted it in 2018. From May to December, Rotary members and friends work alongside Knauss delivering vegetables to about 3,000 families. In 2022, they provided more than 100,000 pounds of vegetables to 23 distribution sites.
Among them is the Resurrection Life Food Pantry in Cheektowaga, where pantry director Kim Reynolds says the site would not have many fresh vegetables without the program. “Our clients rely on Farm to Family to fill that gap,” she says.
Peru
Much of the milk produced in Peru never leaves the farm: It’s consumed directly by farming families, fed to calves, and used to make artisanal cheeses.
The Rotary E-Club of Fusión Latina Distrito 4465 teamed up with the nonprofit CEDEPAS Norte to help subsistence farmers in the country’s northern highlands. Last year the club delivered stainless steel presses and molds to open two cheese production facilities. A global grant of more than $50,000 helped pay for the equipment, training, management, and marketing.
“So far there are 21 new employees and 63 families served, and 25 pregnant cows were gifted” through the Peruvian government program Agroideas, says Club President Fernando Barrera, who lives in Trujillo.
Italy
A rising number of young people with eating disorders prompted the Rotaract Club of Terre Cremasche and the nonprofit Consultorio Insieme Crema to conduct workshops for people ages 20 to 35.
Beginning in April, the series covered three topics: body image, mindful eating, and wellness and sustainable dining. The sessions were developed in collaboration with counseling centers and psychologists.
“The aim is to guide participants in critically examining their eating habits and the emotional and historical significance of meals,” says club member Emma Prévot. The club funded much of the program with a gala cocktail reception in the town of Crema’s civic museum, housed in a 15th century convent.
Rotary District 6440 earned and received the Jim Pickett award at the December 2nd ShelterBox Ambassador Conference held in Las Vegas for their tireless work for the global disaster relief organization ShelterBox USA.
ShelterBox provides emergency shelter and household supplies to individuals around the world who have been forced from their homes. The United Nations reports that now more than 110 million are forcibly displaced across the globe, the most in history.
Because of the sacrifice and dedication of the Rotary District 6440 team, in tandem with other ambassadors, ShelterBox provides lifesaving shelter and supplies to families made homeless by disaster, climate change, and violence.
This award puts our Rotary District 6440 on a pedestal for great humanitarian deeds.
In 2006, Jim Picket became an Ambassador for ShelterBox USA. Jim was the top fundraiser for ShelterBox USA in 2017, raising over $337,880 with his presentations in Washington state. At his death, he was the most successful fund raiser to that date in ShelterBox USA history.
So this is no small award and we are proud to share this honor with the Rotary District 6440 and announce it to the communities that make up our district area.
ShelterBox has helped more than two and a half million people since its founding in 2000 and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 and 2019. This past year, 2022, the UN award ShelterBox their top Peace Prize award. ShelterBox is a 4* rated charity at Charity Navigator and is an official Project Partner with Rotary International.
With the help of our District Team, this global charity continues to help more and more. With your help ShelterBox will achieve the goal of assisting 450,000 at a cost of about $14 million for the 2024 year.
We need your continued (and new) support, as well as finding those Rotarians who can become club champions: this would entail just receiving a monthly email with updates about ShelterBox and presenting this information to your club. [This is our goal for this coming year…]
To contribute financially, visit www.shelterboxusa.org or call 805 608 2400. Be sure to include a Rotary Club name and District 6440. Legacy giving and corporate giving are available as well.
Please contact us for further information regarding how you can be a part of this life changing/ transformation from disaster into hope: donnalee127@gmail.com.
<<<Pictured with the award are Donna Lee Gulley, Northbrook Rotary and Ross Spencer, Long Grove Rotary.
Brian, Gary and Andy (Northbrook) and Ron (Glenview Sunrise) were the first to drop off today and saw the empty floor. Ray (Deerfield) and Elke (Northbrook) were the last to drop off and saw the massive pile of coats collected so far this week.
This rivals the Illuminate Northbrook week in volume – and we have more coats coming on Saturday!! We are at 1329 coming into this week. Passing 1500 will be a breeze. We have a fighting chance at reach 1664 – which would be DOUBLE the official tally from last year. 1664 – 1329 = 335. It is possible!
Bottomline for all four Rotary clubs (and Satellite and Interact, if practical): Please make sure your club is represented.
It’s not just the sorting and boxing, it’s the clean up and preparation for the barrel collection on Monday morning and final deliveries on Monday afternoon. Slated for coats this week (in the sequence they will be dropped off):
WINGS (Elk Grove),
World Relief (Carol Stream),
World Relief (Chicago),
Ethiopian Community Association (Chicago), Chi Welcome (Evanston).
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