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Location: National Food Drive for Equality
Discussion: Labels for Food
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napkinrick |
Labels for Food
Dec 11 2008, 8:46 PM EST
I found some Avery 05247 labels at Office Depot. They are 1" round, white, permanent labels. They're made for sealing envelopes but I think they'll do just the trick for labeling food.Here's the text that we're using in Napa County: "Donated by your gay / lesbian / bisexual neighbors and their friends. Una donación de parte de su comunidad gay/lesbiana/bisexual." It fits pretty well within the label using Arial 5.5pt type. I downloaded the MS:Word template from: www.avery.com/library 7 out of 9 found this valuable. Do you?
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National Food Drive
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jfermiller |
1. RE: Labels for Food
Dec 11 2008, 11:10 PM EST
Is that... is that in the spirit? I'm not saying I have the answer, just confessing my first reaction.
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SableKitty |
2. RE: Labels for Food
Dec 11 2008, 11:31 PM EST
I like it. Here's why... we are putting food on the plates of people who need it. America needs to know where that food came from. We should not cover up any of the nutritional infomation, but a sticker on the top of a can or lid of a box is good. America needs to know that the GLBT community is generous and good hearted. We care about our neighbors and the health of our neighborhoods. This food drive directly confronts the stereotype that gays are selfish. The more food the better. The economy is bad and people are hurting. They aren't going to turn away a box of Mac'n Cheese because there's a rainbow sticker on the top. If America's foodbanks are filled with soup labled with "Donated by your gay / lesbian / bisexual / transgender neighbors and their friends" then think of the positive impact that will make! 6 out of 9 found this valuable. Do you? |
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jfermiller |
3. RE: Labels for Food
Dec 11 2008, 11:53 PM EST
I fear that some people might turn it away. I don't know if people that need the food from foodbanks should have to deal with this. The orgs yes, the media informed YES, but making someone that already has to deal with humility of going for food handouts have to get in the middle of our struggle... oh convince me cause I have ambivalence.
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jaysays |
4. RE: Labels for Food
Dec 12 2008, 12:03 AM EST
"I fear that some people might turn it away. I don't know if people that need the food from foodbanks should have to deal with this. The orgs yes, the media informed YES, but making someone that already has to deal with humility of going for food handouts have to get in the middle of our struggle... oh convince me cause I have ambivalence."That's a very good point jfer. I hadn't really thought of it that way. I do wonder though - if they will turn the food away because it was provided by LGBT people and/or their friends, then do they really need the food? People are eating from dumpsters or completely starved, oppressed, desperate - it would be sad to see someone so starved and desperate to feed themselves (and possibly their children) say, 'I don't want that - it's gay." Another option may be to provide a note to the organization with the food donated stating pretty much was the sticker says, then placing small stickers on each can or box of a rainbow or something equally as visible. I know I need to figure this out quickly if I intend to act on it! 1 out of 4 found this valuable. Do you? |
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SableKitty |
5. RE: Labels for Food
Dec 12 2008, 12:06 AM EST
No one with hungry kids turns away a good can of tuna fish. There's pride, and there's your kids. I've got no problem helping folks out. I don't even want a "thank you." But they are going to know where the food came from. Religious food banks may balk. But there's pride... and then there's homeless people who didn't eat today. Some food banks may refuse. But most will not. A woman who had to work all day and comes home to her latch-key daughter isn't going to care that our food has a rainbow sticker. She might even say "thank you." Because as much as GLBT rights are important to me, the empty bellies of children are more important. And parents of hungry children know that. They'll take the tuna fish and they'll know we care about them and their childern. And hopefully we'll have one less homophobe to deal with. 8 out of 10 found this valuable. Do you? |
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fcpixie |
6. RE: Labels for Food
Dec 12 2008, 12:28 AM EST
"I fear that some people might turn it away. I don't know if people that need the food from foodbanks should have to deal with this. The orgs yes, the media informed YES, but making someone that already has to deal with humility of going for food handouts have to get in the middle of our struggle... oh convince me cause I have ambivalence."Honey if they don't want to eat that's on them...It is our Humanity that motivates us to give to them because they are in need. It is imperative that they know our compassion is what motivates us. If a church turns food away they need to be held accountable. 7 out of 9 found this valuable. Do you? |
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SableKitty |
7. RE: Labels for Food
Dec 12 2008, 11:42 AM EST
I would like to encourage everyone to participate in the Food Drive for Equality. Regardless if we label our donations or not, this food drive is an excellent way to raise our organizational standing. Please participate. 10 out of 12 found this valuable. Do you? |
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SableKitty |
8. RE: Labels for Food
Dec 13 2008, 3:42 PM EST
Here's a thought - get pink color coding labels and slap them on the can. Write "You're welcome" on the sticker. Leave it at that. It's gracious but open to interpretation. What’s important is everyone participates – stickers or not. The National Food Drive for Equality can do nothing but enhance our reputation. This food drive is a good idea in so many ways – it flings all the negative lies right back into the faces of the conservatives who tell them. I challenge every member of JTI to participate. I know not all of us are loaded with cash. But a can of pinto beans only costs .89 cents at Target. If you normally spend five dollars a week on soda or coffee, then maybe spend that money for the food drive. We need an overwhelming response - so many cans of corned beef hash the food banks don’t have enough room on their shelves to hold it all. What this food drive does (and why I like it so much) is force the religious conservatives to yield a bit of moral high ground. This food drive is much more subversive than it first appears. The religious conservative’s bread and butter is trumpeting their own self-righteous horn. How many of these arguments have you heard? Gays have higher rates of drug abuse, mental illness and/or criminal behavior. The gay lifestyle is risky and dangerous. Gays are vain and selfish. All lies – but repeated ad nauseam. No matter how many evangelical pastors are caught with hookers and meth, they’ll always claim to be paragons of moral virtue. They aren’t. They just have better PR. So reach into your pocket and buy five boxes of Rice-A-Roni. It’s the San Francisco treat! Look on this site for your local canned food collection bin and drop them off. It’s the least you can do and will have more impact than you think. Plus, you’ve put food on someone’s table that might otherwise have gone hungry. 9 out of 11 found this valuable. Do you? |
HeathenMonkey |
9. RE: Labels for Food
Dec 13 2008, 5:28 PM EST
a little rainbow sticker with no words on it. words antagonize. just a rainbow in the corner. makes a statement without saying anything. nothing to reject or fight over then.
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Knottrek |
10. RE: Labels for Food
Dec 14 2008, 1:52 PM EST
There was a brief time when I was a kid that my family survived on donated food. We were desperate, we were hurting, and we were hungry. (we got some food from next to the dumpsters behind the local grocery store, the store workers set edible things aside in a clean box) When we got bags and bags of donated food, we knew exactly where that food came from and who donated it. I've never forgotten.I don't see how a politely worded sticker could offend or humiliate anyone. Believe me, when you need food and you receive it, it soothes the soul to know who to thank. I will always be grateful to the group who gave my family food. 8 out of 10 found this valuable. Do you? |
J-Me |
11. RE: Labels for Food
Dec 15 2008, 12:17 PM EST
I feel like this makes the community look kind of self-centered. Why can't we just do something good because it's good to do??! We need some kind of credit for it?I've been volunteering as an "out" person for years, and I've never expected anyone to walk away with the feeling "wow, gay people are nice and do a lot of great things for the community"... for a couple of reasons: 1) it's selfish 2) it's asking to be stereotyped (and I don't find ANY stereotyping to be acceptable) Not trying to be antagonistic, but we really should be doing this just because it's something good to do... Doing these things with any sort of expectation is selfish and unrealistic. 2 out of 9 found this valuable. Do you? |
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SableKitty |
12. RE: Labels for Food
Dec 15 2008, 2:30 PM EST
"I feel like this makes the community look kind of self-centered. Why can't we just do something good because it's good to do??! We need some kind of credit for it?J-Me, you are completely right. But bear with me for a moment, ok? You are correct – good deeds are best done anonymously. The good deed is done for the benefit of the receiver, not the giver. But most of us in the GLBT community already do a lot of good deeds. Almost every gay person I know is a civil servant of some sort… a social worker, a cop, a teacher, a firefighter. Everyone is involved in some sort of charity – to fighting Aids in Africa to providing latch-key kids with after school activities; we like to help out society. But we have this really negative public persona. Filth and propaganda is constantly flung at as from the right. Just read the comments section of your local newspaper. The Contra Costa Times even printed a letter (the week before last) from a woman who claimed “numerous studies” had proven gays were more prone to mental illness and drug abuse. She ended the letter saying “the truth must be known about the gay lifestyle, silence equals death.” I found it audacious, to say the least. We need better press. Think about the U.S. Marine Corps “Toy’s For Tots” program. A great program and I credit the devil dogs for it. But they sure as hell take advantage of the good PR it generates for them. I remember my first Gay Pride parade in Long Beach, CA. At the parade, I saw a billboard that read: “Good People are Gay – Gay People are Good People.” I was 21 years old and I’d never heard that before. All my life, I’d heard horrible things about homosexuals – I’d never heard that good people were gay. J-ME, this is a protest. It’s us flexing our gay muscles. It’s us showing America what we can do, and America’s food banks benefit. This is a Win-Win, for everyone. 9 out of 11 found this valuable. Do you? |
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MiDerecho! |
13. RE: Labels for Food
Dec 15 2008, 7:12 PM EST
Just my 2 cents. I could understand the hesitancy in making the food donation specific to any group. It may be true that to give in the spirit of doing good may be preferable. Also, understand, that some of our straight allies might feel they're not getting their share of credit, I hope that isn't the case as the issue is about feeding people, regardless of sexual identification. And unbelievably enough, it may even turn food pantry clients off, to that I will only acknowledge their freedom to go elsewhere for their food, but having worked in organization that serve everyone who is hungry, no one question where the food comes from. With all that said, what's wrong with a little PR? We need to show that the gay community is more than our sexual lives. That we have historically been socially aware and active. This is not a bad thing. Being subtle has it's place, but I'm afraid the more subtle our action, the stronger the opposition to our rights will become. We have been subtle for 40 years now, after the Stonewall riots, and sadly, even with the strides we've made, we still struggle for true equity. Labels for Food, IMO, is a subtle way to get what we need. Fostering alliances by feeding the hungry and making people, organizations, the press aware of the concerted effort, is not going to hurt us. 6 out of 8 found this valuable. Do you? |
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J-Me |
14. RE: Labels for Food
Dec 16 2008, 1:01 PM EST
I guess my issue with this as a project stems from something a bit different. This, to me, seems like another advertisement of "gays have $$$", which is blown out of proportion, has nothing to do with gays as individuals, and has nothing to do with our necessity for equal rights.I suppose the appeal of this is that it's a small contribution that makes people feel as though they're part of some greater movement. I don't feel as though this is something that's going to break down barriers, start meaningful conversations... I guess what I'm advocating for is being OUT with the things that we do everyday rather than organizing an easy thing that only requires $$$ and little time or effort in an attempt to get good gay press coverage. I know I'm not going to win anyone over, but personally, I think the motivation behind this is selfish and arrogant. I think it's a good cause, and I'm not saying we shouldn't donate food to feed people. I just think perhaps our intentions are misplaced. 2 out of 6 found this valuable. Do you? |
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MiDerecho! |
15. RE: Labels for Food
Dec 16 2008, 4:06 PM EST
"I guess my issue with this as a project stems from something a bit different. This, to me, seems like another advertisement of "gays have $$$", which is blown out of proportion, has nothing to do with gays as individuals, and has nothing to do with our necessity for equal rights.I'm not sure how this makes gay people seem "selfish and arrogant", please explain. Would it be less so if we offer food distribution only to those in the gay community? It may be obvious that we're trying to gain good press, but hardly selfish to feed a hungry family. Let's look at this from another perspective. Not all gay people have money. I have worked with plenty of gays that are not rich, or for that matter, would not be considered middle class. The demographic of the client will differ depending on where the food drive is held of course, but in most cases, the demographic will be minority poor, which translates into poor people of color. Would it not be novel to present our position, the gay community that is, as all inclusive? Why can't we take the steps to assure that clients of food banks are made aware that the effort is not necessarily that of the rich giving to the poor, but rather a concerted effort made by gay people of all races and economic backgrounds coming together to make a difference? That we, as a community, are trying to help each other in these times of economic hardship being felt by many in our country. The GLBT community has the opportunity here to grow as well. Many in our community do have a lot of money, but many of us don't. It's may fall on us to look at ourselves and "reframe" the way we present ourselves. Although many of us already work in many community services as was pointed out by SableKitty, we do so without any recognition. Perhaps we need to show another aspect of the gay community. To be continued...Jeesh...I'm long winded. :) 6 out of 8 found this valuable. Do you? |
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MiDerecho! |
16. RE: Labels for Food
Dec 16 2008, 4:17 PM EST
One notable aspect and image from the movie MILK I thought inspiring and walked away with was that although it was acknowledged that Milk was a sexually active person, it was not necessarily central to the story, what was central was that he was trying to make a difference as a gay man, not only for gays, but for the community at large. It was refreshing to have a gay person presented in that way.I'm not in any way implying that sex is a bad thing, or ignoring the fact that much of the opposition to us is that we have same-sex sex, that would be foolish. Only saying that it was great to see a gay person as an exalted figure. Much like King and Ghandi were. He's a gay hero! We need more people like him. We need to be more like that. Not many of us can, I know, but imagine the effect we will have on future gay generations. This is a good thing. 6 out of 7 found this valuable. Do you? |
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J-Me |
17. RE: Labels for Food
Dec 16 2008, 6:19 PM EST
Again. I'm not saying that we SHOULDN'T donate food to people. I'm not saying we should let people starve. The labels are the problem. I find it to be tactless to be forcing a message onto people who are so desperate that they have to go to food banks. There are much better forums for bringing up gay issues rather than exploiting the poor. I just find the intention here to be quite classist. It's not the ACT of giving food that is selfish. It's the intention behind it that's the problem. What "WE" are trying to gain from this is selfish. Like I said... I don't think donating food is a bad idea. People do it all the time, all year long. If we want to make a difference in the world, this is a good start, but it's got nothing to do with our rights and it's naive to think that donating food is going to have a huge impact. Those of us who are out and volunteer, need to be out while volunteering. Make some sort of personal connection. Throwing a can with a rainbow sticker on it into a tub is impersonal and easy. We shouldn't expect that it will bring about a great change for us. Hopefully, it will bring about change and help those who need it, and THAT is the point of doing this. 1 out of 5 found this valuable. Do you? |
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MiDerecho! |
18. RE: Labels for Food
Dec 16 2008, 7:59 PM EST
"Again. I'm not saying that we SHOULDN'T donate food to people. I'm not saying we should let people starve.OK good point. Maybe. I agree we, as in society, need to be helping each other. But the point IS to present the gay community in a different light. What about donating food to faith based organizations, with or without stickers, but letting the organization know that the food is from a gay based organization named "Food for Equality" or something like that? The premise being that we need to gain allies. The act may not win everyone over and might still be construed as selfish, yet trying to gain attention for a cause may be inherently selfish. It's much like fund raising for any cause, one has to let the people your trying to gain alliance from (or money) what your cause is, otherwise it might be considered deceptive. I agree that those of us who are out, need to be out while volunteering, but that's easier said than done for many still. Many still feel they cannot safely come out. Oppression is not an easy experience to process. Like I said, I worked as a social worker in an organization that was faith based and had a food bank among other services for the poor, many of us that worked there were openly gay, it didn't matter to most clients, many of whom were also gay. This idea though is different only in that the point is that as it's being spearheaded by gays. I still don't understand how this would be perceived as "classist" or exploitative toward the poor. Yes I guess if the premise of your argument is that we somehow feed into the myth that only rich white men are gay, well it would be ours to make certain that this isn't the case. In fact that has been my argument in this and many other entries on here, we need to make the effort to change that image. But it will only change when we stop allowing that image of our community to live on. 5 out of 6 found this valuable. Do you? |
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SableKitty |
19. RE: Labels for Food
Dec 16 2008, 11:21 PM EST
Perhaps there is an aggressive edge to labeling our food as “Queer.” We ARE sending a message. But the message isn’t intended for the recipients of the canned goods. They can accept the free queer peanut butter, or turn it down as they wish. Our message is to the Christian Right-wing, who do not believe in our power to organize for anything other than a beer bust. We are sending them a message – loud and clear: We have an impact beyond our own community. This is what we can do when we all work in concert. And I completely reject the notion that it is somehow demeaning to receive a jar of peanut butter with a rainbow sticker on it. How can that possibly be demeaning? Because the food came from queers? The food DID come from queers. Why shouldn’t the recipients know that? Do you think faith based charities don’t put literature in their donations? You bet they do. If someone is so bigoted as to refuse free peanut butter because it was given by queers, then tough for them. My donations can go to someone who needs to feed her family and doesn’t hate me. 7 out of 8 found this valuable. Do you? |
