Monday (4/25/2011) from 5pm-9pm is your chance to meet former St. Louis Cardinal Ozzie Smith and raise money to assist an organization providing needed meals & services for the homeless and at-risk persons, proceeds benefit The Bridge.
Both Ozzie’s and The Bridge are neighbors of mine, I can even see the latter from my balcony.
– Steve Patterson
On Wednesday a new Community Resource Room was opened at The Bridge, “a drop-in center providing a variety of services for the sojourners in downtown St. Louis, MO who are currently living without a home of their own.” The Bridge provides many services, including “in excess of 3000 meals per week.”
So when Bridge Executive Director Kathleen Wilder posted plans for the ribbon cutting on Facebook, I knew I had to be there. Here is a short video from Wednesday afternoon:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLk2AxVHkfc
Saint Louis University Social Work student Jessica Mueller led the project, transforming a room once piled with stuff to an attractive room with books and six new computers. Â This project was her practicum. Unfortunately, demand for services exceeds supply. Â If you have time and/or money please consider helping out.
– Steve Patterson
I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, enjoy this cute video I found on YouTube:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CndP1fYC0M
Also, please think about those less fortunate in our city, those having their Thanksgiving  meal at one of various organizations this year.
– Steve Patterson
Last week St. Louis alderwoman Kacie Starr Triplett (D-6) sent a letter to the corporate headquarters of the Little Caesars pizza chain encouraging them to donate pizzas rather than toss them out if not purchased within 30 minutes. Â Here is the full text of her letter:
August 9, 2010
Little Caesars World Headquarters
2211 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, MI 48201
To Whom It May Concern:
It is well known the Little Caesars Pizza brand has sponsored a variety of charitable endeavors, most specifically the Little Caesars Love Kitchen. The mobile kitchen has proved to be an innovative and successful tool to feed communities devastated by disaster. The program brought a hot meal to rescue workers at the World Trade Center site as well as Hurricane Katrina victims along the Gulf Coast and continues to contribute to various disaster relief efforts across the country.
While the Love Kitchen is a great way for Little Caesars’ corporate body to help feed the hungry and the homeless in this country, it seems every restaurant bearing the Little Caesars name can play a better role in fighting hunger in America. It has been brought to my attention Little Caesars employs a policy of discarding unclaimed pizzas 30 minutes after they are made rather than donating them to local charitable organizations. Given the Little Caesars public commitment to “give back to the communities in which it serves”, (see; http://www.littlecaesars.com/news/community.asp) this policy is both surprising and disappointing.
With only a few mobile units, the Love Kitchen is not able to reach more than a small portion of the country at any given time. If this policy was to be reversed and the excess pizzas donated to local homeless services organizations, each Little Caesars restaurant would help to make a greater impact in reducing food waste and hunger across America.
Operation Food Search, a food bank operating here in the Saint Louis area, receives donations from several local restaurants, caterers and food manufactures, including your competitor Pizza Hut (see; http://www.operationfoodsearch.org/). Given the thousands of hungry individuals in the city of Saint Louis alone, it is unfathomable Little Caesars has chosen to discard their excess pizzas rather than committing to donate them to a local food bank or homeless care provider.
If it is a question of liability, the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act protects all food donations made by Little Caesars Pizza (see; http://www.operationfoodsearch.org/donate-today/food/business-food-donations.php). Additionally, if someone from your office would like to know more about the donation process or would like an introduction to local food banks or homeless services providers in the Saint Louis area, I would be happy to make the introduction myself.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Sincerely,
Kacie Starr Triplett
Alderwoman, City of Saint Louis, Missouri
Cc: Saint Louis Local Franchises of Little Caesars
The poll this week is your reaction? Should we pressure private businesses to donate rather than waste or should it be up to them to waste or donate? The poll is in the upper right hand corner.
– Steve Patterson
In a pretty decisive vote in the poll last week readers made it clear the homeless living in the old Tucker tunnel had to be displaced so the failing structure could be replaced:
Q: St. Louis displaced the homeless living under the Tucker bridge, your thoughts? Pick only one:
- The homeless had to go so Tucker can be replaced. 96 [45.71%]
- Larry Rice used the issue just to raise a stink. 68 [32.38%]
- The homeless had to go, but the city could have been more sensitive to their needs. 25 [11.9%]
- Other answer… 8 [3.81%]
- Unsure/no opinion 6 [2.86%]
- Larry Rice was the only person to stand up for the rights of the homeless. 5 [2.38%]
- The city shouldn’t replace Tucker so the homeless can stay in place. 2 0.95%
More thought Larry Rice was just using the issue than genuine concern for the homeless. Two people actually voted to not replace the bridge so the homeless can keep living under the roadway as it collapses!
Here are the “other” answers:
- Move them if need be, then allow them to move back when construction is complete
- Larry Rice put these tunnel dwellers in the tunnel to gain publicity/donations.
- Rice takes advantage of the homeless. They had no rights to the property.
- The city should find a place for these people to live.
- Bill Siedoff is doing a great job. He is very caring
- tunnel is unique, should save for future reuse
- get a job
- Homeless had to go. Period.
b
– Steve Patterson