For last minute holiday shopping, we here at Poor Taste can’t stand the thought of searching around crowded department stores just to find out the gift we wanted to buy our dear secret Santa is sold out everywhere. We also believe the spoiled younger ones don’t need another expensive toy they’ll be done playing with in a week. Instead, we believe the idea of baked hams and homemade apple pies are the most satisfying about the holidays. And for the families out there that can’t fill their fancy dining sets with pounds of food, we believe in helping out. Here’s a list of charities for that extra cash you’ve got laying around and that present you know someone will really love: the gift of a good deed.
Farm Aid
Donating to this cause will help keep alive the things this country was based on: family and farms. Also, keep good music alive, Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp performed at their first charitable concert in 1985 and they continue to headline yearly concerts now. Not only will giving to Farm Aid help people in immediate need, it will also help increase the amount of quality food produced through educational and financial farming techniques.
The Land Connection
With the mindset of locally grown is best, this organization’s goal is to educate and expand the community and its environment’s healthy and fresh food choices for farmers and consumers alike. Whether you decide to donate dollars, volunteer your time, or purchase the organization an item from its wish list, don’t forget to buy a 2011 Farmer-Annotated Calendar, too, wish features twelve vividly colored months of local food.
Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps has offered ways to better poverty in a personal way since 1979. The organization helps families in poor communities all over the world learn to feed themselves by showing them better farming and irrigation techniques, getting them the livestock they need, and literally teaching them to fish.
Common Threads
Most of us just learned how to make PB&J as a kid, but Common Threads teaches low-income kids to cook wholesome meals. The program not only helps kids get learn to feed themselves, it helps further their education and cultural understanding. Donations will go to classrooms, supplies, groceries, and instructors.
Purple Asparagus
With a main focus on healthy snack options and school meals for children, this non-profit educates and advocates for nutritious growth and living for families and communities in Chicago.
The Food Project
Bringing local produce to urban areas covered with concrete and cars seemed impossible at one time but youth volunteers just east of Boston are making it possible on 37 acres of farmland. Donations help with seeds and supplies, and also help bring farmers markets to urban neighborhoods.
Meals on Wheels Association of America
Sure, we all love delivery and in this weather, it’s a luxury. But not all of us need it. Those facing poverty are not the only ones who face the threat of hunger. We can’t forget about our respected elders, because about 6 million senior citizens in the U.S. may be experiencing it. Donations will help provide food and transportation to one of the organization’s 5,000 programs.
Freedom from Hunger
Good food practices and a healthier lifestyle start with education. With a little bit of time and money, this organization’s Saving for Change program helps women in some of the poorest countries to make better decisions for their families and themselves.
Feeding America
By providing groceries to over 200 food banks across the U.S., this organization is the leader in fighting domestic hunger. Donations help collect and distribute the food, advocate for food safety and hunger awareness, and in turn feed over 37 million low-income individuals a year.
Alternative Gifts International
Food shortages is Cameroon are causing malnutrition and increasing poverty rates. By creating a grain bank, locals can thrive off farming and, in turn, better their families’ lives and health. Donations for the program help provide the grain to the communities and receive training processes on how to start and manage a grain bank. The organization provides numerous programs addressing hunger and sustainability.
Global Crop Diversity Trust
Every crop is different. In order to better a system of agriculture and sustainability, this trust works to keep crops and seeds alive through rescue, understand and long-term conservation. The future of agriculture depends on crop diversity, and donations fund the organization’s effort to preserve the plants that assure a diverse agricultural future.
United Nations World Food Programme
If you want your donation to work on a global scale, look no further than the WFP. The organization is the largest fighting against hunger, and they’re usually the first responders in major emergencies. The agency fed 4 million people after the January earthquake in Haiti, but they’re still on the ground helping to establish long-term food security. Remember, the need doesn’t go away with the news coverage, so donate today. Bonus: They have four beautiful eCards to choose from for your last-minute holiday shopping.
Rather help locally? See our San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York Food Banks and Charity Guides.
Photo: The Food Project
