This morning I went to a Sri Lankan Buddhist temple in Pasadena to help prepare sandwiches for their "homeless feeding project". Volunteers meet on the third Sunday of each month to prepare sack lunches for distribution in downtown Los Angeles.
Compassion Project Los Angeles for contact information, address and calender. Temple members and volunteers also participate in aid programs for Sri Lanka. If you're interested in any of the temple's activities call Oliver Gamage at 818-231-2024.
The temple is in a converted suburban house on a quiet residential street near the 134, 210 and 110 junction. If you live in the area consider donating some fresh tomatoes, lettuce, sliced bread, etc or donate your time as a way of cultivating community goodwill.
The sack lunches are prepared in the temple basement, it takes about 2 hours. You don't have to be there the entire time, just drop in and help for an hour if you can. It's a small assembly line process, so if like doing this sort of thing, the repetition can be very relaxing. The atmosphere is familial and congenial, all are welcomed, so don't be afraid or shy about knocking on the door to offer help.
They also have a "Recycle for Charity" program, simply drop off your cans and bottles at the temple. Temple members take the recyclables to a center and use the money to buy books and supplies for poor children in Sri Lanka.
I know that school gardens in Los Angeles and surrounding areas grow fruits and vegetables. I think it's a nice idea to have children grow food for the purpose of helping to alleviate hunger and malnutrition in their own communities. The next time I meet with someone from a local school garden program I'll ask about it.
I've heard of school gardens that want to participate in food aid programs, but that can entail additional work that they're not prepared for. So, why not piggyback with another organization that is set up to do another aspect of the production and distribution chain?
I can introduce these ideas but practically speaking it takes interested parties who are already involved with different infrastructures to interact with each other.
Part of my job is having an extensive network and connecting infrastructures. At any point in the chain I will hear, "now that we have this, what do we do with it?" or "we need this, where do we get it?" So I keep a list in my head, on my blog, my notebook and my cellphone.
In a future posts I'll discuss a technology transfer conference in Algeria, drought tolerant farming and linking school gardens in California with school gardens in North Africa. Obviously, this is a big example of connecting infrastructures.
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