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O.K., we never quite got the food to Florida like  we hoped.

We got no answer from the radio station.
We got no answer from the tv station.
We got blown off by the Red Cross.

And I could see the cup as half full or half empty that a few vendors contacted me to help....but nowhere near the number who advertise everyday on our listserv.

But the thing that bothers me the most is the absence of a plan or any apparent ownership by GIG, CSA, or whomever else collects dues from us.

I did hear from a number of very concerned, delightful people across our country, and a number of very gracious thank you's from Floridians as they came back online...if only for the thought.

Bottom line...we all need to be packed up for a crisis, be it weather, earthquakes or terrorism. Not paranoid, just prepared. 

So I'm writing to ask 2 things: 

What would you suggest keeping in a crisis kit (the way we keep a crisis kit in all of the schools in the district where I work, in case the kids and staff are delayed from leaving.) I'll summarize the ideas. I'm thinking...if the power goes out, if we can't cook.

And if we could get CSA or GIG or whomever to step up to the plate, I've got an idea about how to organize for future crises...a compilation of suggestions from you all.
1. CSA, GIG or whomever would have a list of vendors willing to participate.
2. FEMA, a crisis team, the Red Cross, hospitals, would have the contact number for CSA, GIG, etc.
3. A person in need asks for gf food and the call is made to the contact person. I'm not keen on the person having to walk into a healthfood store for free food, but if they're at a hospital or a shelter, it's kind of obvious there is a true need.
4. CSA, GIG, etc. contacts the vendors and our list serv or other listservs for celiac AND THE GENEROUS PEOPLE WHO EMAILED ME FOR WEEKS, bless you all, would contact the vendors and agree to pay for some of the food being shipped to the person in crisis.

And those vendors who could afford to do so would send their own donations or absorb shipping. Those who are small and could not, no one would know, but both would actually get business from this and the cd in crisis gets food shipped to where he/she can access it...with his name on it, paid for by us donors.

I'm sure there are folks out there who would volunteer to be the contact person. I just have a bee in my bonnet over not hearing anything from our organizations. The only one I asked personally was CSA. 

Let's be pro-active together.
Send my your ideas and I'll put it out there.

Lin

* Please remember some posters may be WHEAT-FREE, but not GLUTEN-FREE *