Stores' donations help new project.Byline: Jack Moran Moran equitable councillor to King Feredach. [Irish Hist.: Brewer Dictionary, 728] See : Justice The Register-Guard When Terry Charles visits the supermarket, he often doesn't take along a list. The other day, he went to the Albertsons store on Marcola Road in Springfield and picked up a few dozen eggs, piles piles: see hemorrhoids. of frozen meats, numerous cheese blocks and several half-gallon containers of milk. He wasn't preparing the world's largest omelette, or shopping for some big holiday party. Charles was just doing his job as a FOOD for Lane County driver, working in a new program that gathers about-to-expire groceries and distributes them to local families who are working to make ends meet. "This is actually a light day," Charles said while loading more than 100 pounds of fresh and frozen food into his delivery truck last Friday morning. The Albertsons on Marcola Road is one of 10 supermarkets in the Eugene-Springfield area that make daily donations to the Fresh Alliance program, a statewide effort that expanded into Lane County in late 2004. Since then, local grocery stories have donated do·nate v. do·nat·ed, do·nat·ing, do·nates v.tr. To present as a gift to a fund or cause; contribute. v.intr. To make a contribution to a fund or cause. more than 520,000 pounds of meat, produce and dairy and deli products, said Deb Buchanan, FOOD for Lane County's food solicitor solicitor, in English law, person duly admitted to practice before the supreme court of judicature. He is the agent of the person whose suit he handles, and is distinguished from a barrister, who argues cases before the judge (see attorney). . The Eugene-Springfield area's three Fred Meyer stores and seven Albertsons outlets donate to Fresh Alliance. Fred Meyer spokeswoman Melinda Merrill said all but six of the company's nearly 50 stores in Oregon contribute to the program, which allows stores to put to good use food that would otherwise be tossed in the trash. "Before we started this, a lot of the food (nearing its sell-by date sell-by date Noun 1. Brit the date printed on packaged food specifying the date after which the food should not be sold 2. past one's sell-by date beyond one's prime Noun 1. ) was just getting thrown away," Merrill said. "Now we're able to get these perishable per·ish·a·ble adj. Subject to decay, spoilage, or destruction. n. Something, especially foodstuff, subject to decay or spoilage. Often used in the plural. items to food agencies and help feed hungry people." A big benefit of Fresh Alliance is that it provides families with far more and better nutrition than they would get from most other donated foods, which typically are frozen, dried or canned. The program "has increased substantially the quality of what we can offer," Buchanan said. "It means people are getting more protein, and that makes a big difference. Rather than living on Top Ramen ra·men n. 1. A Japanese dish of noodles in broth, often garnished with small pieces of meat and vegetables. 2. A thin white noodle served in this dish. , people are getting the nutritious nutritious /nu·tri·tious/ (noo-trish´us) affording nourishment. nu·tri·tious adj. Providing nourishment; nourishing. nutritious affording nourishment. food they need." Buchanan added that most local residents accessing FOOD for Lane County's services are working-class folks "just trying to get through to the end of the month." It's a big help to them to be able to pick up two- to three-day supplies of perishable foods at any one of the regional food bank's 22 emergency food-box pantries. That's especially true in wintertime, when gas and electricity bills spike A burst of extra voltage in a power line that lasts only a few nanoseconds. See power surge, power swell, sag and surge suppression. (jargon) spike - To defeat a selection mechanism by introducing a (sometimes temporary) device that forces a specific result. , and many local residents struggle to keep full-time jobs. "Winter is the hardest time," Buchanan said. "A lot of the jobs in this area are temporary or seasonal, and the minute the holiday season ends, a lot of these people are let go and they find themselves looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. work." With the help of those supermarkets, about half of all the food received by Food for Lane County comes from local donors, and the rest comes from out of the area. Two years ago, only 20 percent to 30 percent came from local donors, the agency said. Buchanan praised the efforts of Albertsons and Fred Meyer, and added that she is hopeful more supermarkets sign up for the Fresh Alliance program in the near future. Charles, FOOD for Lane County's truck driver, particularly likes the idea that people are able to make use of food that otherwise would go to waste. "It's a win-win," he said. "All of this food would be going down the chute if it wasn't for (Fresh Alliance). I hate to think about it going in some landfill. ... I'd much rather see people eat it, because it is good food." CAPTION(S): FOOD for Lane County driver Terry Charles picks up food that is about to reach its expiration date Expiration Date The day on which an options or futures contract is no longer valid and, therefore, ceases to exist. Notes: The expiration date for all listed stock options in the U.S. at an Albertsons in Springfield. |
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