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Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Wasting In the Land of Plenty
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Thursday's column asks the impolite question:

Has Philabundance gotten too successful?

There's no denying it's doing more to feed the hungry than ever before, but its gotten away from doing the work that got it famous.

Who knew that it no longer stops by restaurants to pick up extra food?

I didn't.

At a time when food prices are rising and food-bank reserves are falling -- and at a time when the average person is wasting a pound-a-day of food -- I tracked down Pamela Rainey Lawler, to ask if she thought there was any opportunity for an agency to do the work she did 24 years ago when she founded the food recovery agency.

She talks about a version 2.0, with blogs and e-mail mobilizing a stripped down army of candy stripers.

I also talked to some restaurateurs, who said some things I didn't get into the column.

Derek Davis, owner of Derek's Restaurant in Manayunk, said he hadn't seen Philabundance workers in a few years  - and he used to make 50 dinners a month for them to give away.

Jeff Benjamin, co-owner of Vetri and Osteria, made a similar observation about Philabundance going in another direction. So did Cary Borish of Marathon Grill, who said he gets hit up for all sorts of fundraisers -- but no one asks has ever asked if he had any extra food they could distribute.

I also talked to Jon Weinrott, owner of Peachtree and Ward, the caterering company. He said he typically makes 10 to 20 percent more food than customers say they need - industry standard - because neither he nor they ever want to run out of food at an affair.

The customers pay, and get to take home extras. Who knows what happens to the food then, he asks. But he's been mulling over a plan where the customer could agree to donate the unopened portions back to Peachtree & Ward, which would work with an agency like Philabundance to get it to hungry people. There would be a tax write-off. Everyone would win.

Maybe the time for that is ripe. 

Posted by Daniel Rubin @ 6:58 PM  Permalink | 2 comments
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Comments
Posted by Tactful 08:20 AM, 05/23/2008
Good post, Dan. Glad to see you're not ignoring the blog, in favor of your MSM column. I like the polish of the column, and the edge of the blog. Keep blinqing!
Posted by Blinq 09:25 AM, 05/23/2008
marry me.
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About Daniel Rubin

Since joining The Inquirer as a staff writer in 1988, Daniel Rubin has reported from 27 countries, but most of them were small. He's a metro columnist and has been the European Correspondent for Knight Ridder Newspapers. For two years he sat at home and wrote Blinq, the paper's first daily blog. Now we make him come to work. Dan began newspaper work in Norfolk and Louisville, Ky., after getting his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Northwestern University. He has lived in all four commonwealths, most recently in Pennsylvania, with his wife, twin teenage sons and a large, slobbering cowherd.

Visit Blinq 1.0 here.

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