Filling Larders for the Needy

Barbara Cone had been living life as a homemaker, devoted to caring for a husband and two children until one eye-opening day about a year ago.

On that bright Friday morning, the 36-year-old Irvine resident left the kids with a baby-sitter and set out with a friend to find out where people go if they are hungry or in need.

“I was a classic ‘I dont-believe-it-can-be-happening-here’ type,” she said. “But we were really surprised, dumbfounded. We went to some of the (social welfare) agencies and talked to them about their needs and who was coming to them. We saw the long lines of people. That was when it really hit home: This shouldn’t be happening in our own back yard.”

Since then, Cone has spent a good deal of her time gathering support for projects to feed the hungry in Irvine and throughout Orange County.

She is coordinating two events--a food drive and hunger walk--that coincide with Hunger Week, Sunday through Oct. 21, which was designated by the County Board of Supervisors to increase awareness about hunger.

Schools, churches and businesses will hold food drives and other activities to help fill the larders of food banks and nonprofit agencies that depend mostly on private donations for survival.

Social welfare workers hope the events will help open people’s eyes to a problem that many do not realize exists in affluent Orange County.

“When we think of hunger, we think of think of Third World countries and emaciated children with big bellies,” said Alison Klakovich, a spokeswoman for Rainbows to End Hunger in Costa Mesa. “We don’t see those pictures here, so we think we don’t have a problem. Our (education) efforts are aimed at shifting what we think hunger looks like.”

County officials estimate that each month more than 350,000 people in the county must get by on inadequate, non-nutritious diets. These people are primarily children, the elderly, the disabled, single mothers as well as mini

mum-wage workers and their families, the officials say.

It was just such numbers that set Cone out to address hunger in the area. And she thinks her efforts may provide a model for others who feel a need to give something back to their community.

Cone said she had always felt a twinge of hurt when listening to stories of homeless, hungry families, but it was not until she had her own children that something inside her clicked.

“I would do anything for my kids and knew all parents must feel that way,” she said while sitting at a computer in her small living room that, for the duration of Hunger Week, is also a receptacle for flyers and buttons as well as for toys belonging to 4-year-old Allison and 2-year-old Daniel.

Last year was Cone’s first attempt at communitywide organizing. She put together a food drive in Irvine, enlisting the help of several major grocery stores and high school students.

“It was a riot,” she says. “We didn’t know what to expect. We did a lot of things we didn’t have to do and left off things that should have been done. But we ended up with 10 truckloads of food in a couple of hours.”

This year Cone has organized another food drive and has received support from just about every major grocery store in the city. She has also organized the first Irvine/Tustin hunger walk, on Oct. 22, sponsored by Irvine Temporary Housing, Church World Service Group, which is a multi-denomination agency, and seven church groups.

Nearly 300 walkers who will ask for cash pledges from sponsors based on mileage are expected to participate, Cone said. Proceeds will go to international hunger relief agencies and local nonprofit groups.

“I felt inspired to do what I am doing,” she said, “but that’s not to say that all mothers at home should be involved like I am. However, it’s important not to let people off the hook. I think we all need to pitch in in some way, shape or form.”

Cone said putting together the yearly food drives gives her great satisfaction, but she is beginning to add to her list of activities. She is a board member of Irvine Temporary Housing and is working on a program there to assist families after they leave the shelter.

She is also writing a handbook, a sort of primer on how to organize a successful food drive, which she hopes to have printed for free so that they can be given away at no cost to all who want them.

“I was never involved in any sort of causes, never volunteered for anything before,” she said. “But it’s an addictive thing. The personal rewards are so great.”

HUNGER WEEK EVENTS

Hunger week is Sunday through Oct. 21, but activities may take place both before and after those dates.

Businesses that will hold food drives during the week include:

* Lucky’s, Vons, Alpha Beta, Albertson’s and Gibson’s Food Emporium stores in Irvine.

* Vardnewport, 3324 W. Warner Ave., Santa Ana.

* Nail Perfection, 1000 N. Bristol St., Newport Beach.

* Lantern Bay Village in Dana Point.

* Monarch Bay Plaza in Laguna Niguel.

* Dr. Gary Peters, a Huntington Beach chiropractor, will accept food donations at his office, 17672 Beach Blvd., Suite E, from Monday through Oct. 27 and is offering free adjustments Oct. 24 for people who donate five items from the wish list below. More information: (714) 847-4995.

In Irvine, Tustin and Brea, there will be receptacles at all county buildings for food donations. Also:

* Peppers Restaurant in Garden Grove will grant a $1 discount on admission to its 21-room haunted house for visitors who bring food donations. The haunted house will be open from Friday to Oct. 31.

* On Oct 22, the Back Bay Hunger Walk will be held. For more information, call (714) 644-1341.

* On Oct 22, the Irvine/Tustin hunger walk will take place. For details, call (714) 733-9611.

* The group Rainbows to End Hunger will give presentations in high schools throughout the county during the week and have challenged students to take on hunger projects.

Social welfare officials say there is a special need for these foods and items: tuna fish, baby food, canned chicken, peanut butter, canned fruits, peaches, oatmeal, hand lotion, toothbrushes, dish soap, diapers, toilet paper and shampoo.