Copyright © 1989 - 2012 Free the Need
Newsletters
Back to School Program
Becoming a Fun Tradition
People Taking Care of People - That's Free the Need
Abundant Holiday Food Giveaways Surpass Expectations
Looking Ahead
A New Program Vehicle
I have been volunteering for 2 years now and it makes me feel good inside. I feel like I’m helping, I’m participating. I would like people to know Free the Need is a group of people who took it upon themselves to find a way to help other people without spending a whole lot of money. This program started with just a few people who wanted to help people, like myself and my family, and then the people that were helped started to volunteer too. So it’s a win-win situation, a chain reaction. It just keeps going on. That’s the wonderful part!
The Free the Need 1996 Ford van has served us well. With over 259,680 miles, it has collected and distributed millions of pounds of surplus food.
In 2009 Free the Need volunteers set out to raise $38,400, the funds to purchase a new replacement van. Free the Need is well on the way to achieving this goal. Thanks to the many generous contributions we are over half way there! We hope to raise all funds needed by May 31st, 2012.
3 Ways You Can Contribute
1) Send a check or money order to:
Free the Need
827 Joost Ave
San Francisco, CA 94127
2) Use your credit card or pay pal:
3) In Kind Donations:
Donate items from our want list, or contribute food, new and nearly new condition clothing & shoes, personal care or household items.
To arrange a drop off/pick up, email us at ftn@freetheneed.org
Over 830 familes were taken care of through our abundant Holiday food giveaways surpassing our original goal of feeding 600 families for the holidays. Through your generous contributions, together this year we have provided families with healthy, fresh food including holiday turkeys and hams. Many new and returning volunteers plus new and ongoing donors participated in the Thanksgiving and December Holiday Food Giveaways that took place in San Francisco, Siskiyou and Jackson Counties.
The holiday community food drives collected hundreds of pounds of canned and dry goods adding staples and variety to the holiday food boxes. Clothing and toys were also welcome additions to the December giveaways. Thank you to the vendors at the produce market, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods of San Francisco, Sears, ShopSmart, Ray's Food Place and JCPenney in Yreka. We would also like to thank Albertson's and Villlage Baker in Ashland, McAndrews Marketplace and Umpqua Dairy in Medford, and the many donors for their continued support.
Individual holiday contributions were central to this year's succes and taking care of so many families. Thank you to all who participated in the Holiday program, it has been a great year and we’ve had a lot of fun!
Anna Kohl has been volunteering in Siskiyou county since 2002. She is an enthusiastic volunteer, often the first to arrive and always with a spark.
Anna demonstrates her community spirit in many ways, she knows nearly everyone in the area and takes care of them through a variety of activities. She assists in organizing the community events so that all the Free the Need volunteers know when the giveaways are happening, what time to be there and what to bring.
Through her love and attention, she takes care of so many people in the community. We are grateful to have Anna as part of the Free the Need team!
See what you helped to accomplish in 2011 and meet the people who make the programs of Free the Need run all year. Along with the businesses who support Free the Need there are generous individuals who make collecting and distributing surplus possible. Behind every food box given away, every backpack filled with school supplies or bag of clothing sorted there is someone who decided to do something to make a change in their community. From one person to another, spreading our surplus, that's Free the Need.
Weekly Surplus - The Core of our Food Program
By Ginger and Mallie
I have been going to the South San Francisco produce market regularly for the past five years. Since my Mom was one of the people who started this weekly process, I’m really a part of the second generation of Free the Need volunteers who do this. It’s fun to see how the market has shifted and changed over time but that the facts remain the same—there is so much surplus available. People recognize us and remember my Mom and her friends from back in ’89, and they continue to give to us because they know about us and what we do: that we distribute food to people who can use it, regardless of race, background, or social status.
Going to the market is one of my favorite parts of food day. We show up, bright and early in the morning, and get to relate to so many vendors willing to donate produce spreading it to people who can use it. It’s a fun cycle and a great way to start the day. Fresh fruits and vegetables are expensive so I know it means a lot to people when they peek into their box and see not only the basics like potatoes and onions, but also things like organic avocados, crisp lettuces, and juicy oranges. I know that providing people with this fresh produce makes a difference in their lives and It feels good to be a part of this cycle of spreading our surplus. ~Ginger
People of all backgrounds and from all walks of life gather to volunteer, some of whom have volunteered for 22 years or more, and some of whom have just started helping out. It is always fun to drive up with a truck full of produce, and unload it in order to make the food boxes, and to appreciate once again the surplus and bounty in our lives. We always have a good time making the food boxes together, playing music and laughing and relating together. Lately we have been making an average of 75 food boxes every week at the San Francisco location.
The last part of our weekly food day is taking the made boxes to a drop off location in the Mission district, where people are lined up eagerly awaiting our arrival. Here we are able to give away food boxes weighing up to 40 lbs with fresh healthy produce, bread and more. It is a gratifying feeling to give away that surplus, and to know it will be well used and appreciated. ~Mallie
The 9th Annual Back to School Giveaway was another great success. Held in August of 2011 in three different locations; Klamath River, Yreka, and Medford, Oregon, over 300 children received Dakine and UrbanSport backpacks and school supplies including all the essentials for a successful start to the school year. The Giveaway also provided dental care products from SunStar Americas and new socks courtesy of Ross Dress for Less. We would especially like to thank REI and Patagonia for all the great clothing, jackets and sporting gear provided this year, as well as SFSmiles and the team of interns at Merrill-Lynch who put on a successful clothing drive.
Many volunteers from the community were in attendance, making for organized and bountiful tables full of the supplies and clothing for children of all ages. Celebrating its’ 9th year, the Back to School Giveaway has become a tradition for so many members of the community. Thank you to all who participated and contributed in this annual event.
My experience at the South San Francisco produce market opened my eyes at a young age to the sheer quantities of produce that go to waste on a daily basis. I love this program because it has taught me that this waste is not necessary and that is it possible to break the cycle of hunger and need; that there is enough for everyone, it’s just a matter of spreading it around.
Free the Need has been a wonderful part of my life, ever since I was a child. It is a fun and gratifying experience to be able to participate in every week, and I look forward to it every time. I enjoy starting the day with going to the Produce Market early in the morning with other volunteers, where we get cases and even pallets of fresh and organic produce from the vendors. This food may have otherwise gone to waste. It is an incredible experience to be able to collect the surplus and utilize it, creating food boxes brimming with healthy food at the house of one of our volunteers, and to give it away to families in need.
"I really like being a part of the Free the Need Back to School Giveaway. It is a great feeling providing backpacks for kids. It’s so much fun seeing all the kids grow each year, they get so excited when they get to pick out their backpack, and get some cool supplies and clothes for school. It really is a super fun day!" ~Ember
Volunteer Highlights
Diane Cheatum - It's a Chain Reaction
I've met the nicest group of people. We have such a diverse group there – all different cultures, religions, backgrounds, I think it’s doing a lot. Plus, I’ve been helped with clothing. You know, people donate clothes to Free the Need. My niece, we dressed her right out of those clothing bags - for a $100,000 a year college. That’s Free the Need baby!
All I can say is let’s keep it up! Just a few people who cared about other people have been able to carry out something this long. I am a Buddhist and I believe in world peace. I think the only way to achieve world peace is through individual happiness. So when I become happy, things around me will become happy. Because that is just the law of the universe. Everybody has to do their own little nitch. That’s what Free the Need is doing. I’m sure there’s many other people working on similar things. But for me, Free the Need is helping me with world peace, because I’m changing things, and people around me will automatically have to change. That’s it! ~Diane
Rachel Rowe - Families Just Like My Own
Anna Kohl - Sparks in Siskiyou County
My first experience with Free the Need was volunteering for the Thanksgiving giveaway, and I’m so glad I had the opportunity. Just the sheer amount of food given away was baffling. Each box was hand-loaded and bursting…I couldn’t believe that those boxes could withstand all that food. The greens, flour, veggies, fresh fruit, canned goods, coffee, bread, and turkey; all of it was distributed evenly with care. Everything looked so tasty, I was glad I had remembered to eat breakfast that morning. The volunteers were busy sorting, organizing, and poking fun with one another…I thought, these families that receive all this, they are going to have such a great Thanksgiving.
When we dropped those loaded boxes into their hands, they brightened knowing that the food was theirs and they didn’t have to fill out a form or figure out some bureaucracy to receive it. One woman was so surprised when we told her we didn’t need to see her identification; she could just go up and get her box. It was a feeling of trust and camaraderie, that these families are just like my own - hard working, sometimes fragile, and grateful to family and community. I couldn’t have imagined a better way to celebrate. ~Rachel Rowe
Only $16,099 to go for a new van!
Want List
$16,099 for a New Van!
Laptop Computer
Desk Top Computer
HP Laser Color Printer
16’ Free the Need Banner
Printed Stationary & Envelopes
500 White T-Shirts, Tanks & Hoodies
Screen Printing for 500 Shirts with Logo
Whole Foods Market is making a significant difference as active participants in the local community by giving back throughout the year. On the Community 5% Day, a total of five percent of the day’s net sales are donated to a local nonprofit organization.
On March 24th, Whole Foods Potrero Hill selected Free the Need as the local nonprofit to benefit from their Community Day! A big thank you to Whole Foods and all the customers for making a difference.
Whole Foods Potrero Hill 5% Community Day
In 2011, Free the Need elected new members to the Board of Directors. A warm and heartfelt thank you for all of your input, guidance and support of Free the Need.
Connie Cummings Gary Grace Avenne McBride Kimberly Kyllo
Board of Directors
