Imagine you are down on your luck, and you have a pet. It’s a heartbreaking situation: You barely have enough money to feed yourself, much less your companion animal. Do you go without food? Do you give up your beloved pet?
In an effort to help countless people who are now finding themselves in just this sort of situation, a no-kill shelter in Idaho, the Animal Shelter of the Wood River Valley, has partnered with The Hunger Coalition to help feed the pets of those in need. The program, Paws for Hunger, provides pet food for those who might otherwise have a hard time affording it.
“These are pets that already have loving homes,” said the animal shelter’s director, Dr. Jo-Anne Dixon. “When a family needs help from the food bank, it’s usually a temporary and very stressful situation. Pets are very much a part of the family support system, particularly for the children. We want to make sure that this part of the support system isn’t broken.” About 30 families receive pet food each month, with about 10 also receiving food for themselves. More than 4,000 pounds of pet food were distributed by the animal shelter in 2009. In 2010, that number has nearly doubled.
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On the New York City Council, a paid sick leave bill has support from 35 out of 51 council members. That’s not just a majority, it’s a veto-proof majority. Yet the bill still hasn’t passed. Why not? In order for council members to vote in favor of the legislation, there has to be, well, a vote. And Council Speaker Christine Quinn is standing in the way.
As Lauren Kelley writes on Poverty in America, Quinn’s stance means that a bill which could help as many as 1.3 million workers doesn’t get the chance for a straight up or down vote. Quinn says she just wants to wait and see what the results of a Partnership for New York City study. But their studies already seem a little dubious, since they put the number of Big Apple workers without paid sick leave at only 375,000, a quarter of the number put forth by Bureau of Labor Statistics data. What, exactly, is this study going to say to influence her mind? Is this just stalling? And is it really right for one person’s questioning to hold up a bill that has such significant majority support?
Groups such as NARAL Pro-Choice New York, NOW (National Organization of Women), and Planned Parenthood have continued to pressure lawmakers to pass the paid sick leave bill, which NARAL NY President Kelli Conlin points out would allow pregnant women to take days off to receive essential prenatal care. Since women also often hold the position of primary caregiver, lacking paid sick days to take care of a child or other family member hits them especially hard, and a single working mother can frequently ill afford to take an unpaid day off.
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Every day, more than 200,000 Americans get sick from the food they eat: cookie dough, spinach, peppers… your plate could be next.
While a bill to make our food system safer passed the House a year ago, it has stalled in the Senate. It has bipartisan support — but we need the Senate to act now.
Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation and co-producer of Food Inc., has joined forces with Consumers Union in the fight to bring this bill to a vote
“We’ve seen what happens when we let Wall Street regulate itself. When we let the oil industry regulate itself. It makes absolutely no sense to let the food industry continue to regulate itself.”
If you agree with Schlosser, sign the petition urging your Senators to help bring the food safety bill S.510 to a vote. Let’s make our food system better and safer today!
Hold the Food Industry Accountable – Make Our Food Safe
