non-profit dabbling

[Bonsai Jess]

I have a quick question for Grizzly or anyone who'd like to share their thoughts...

For a couple of years, I've been contemplating an experimental non-profit venture simply so I can keep records and measure its effectiveness. What I'm interested in doing is dehydrating large amounts of food (meats, fruits, and vegetables) to preserve and distribute as snack bags to the homeless shelters around here.


I hear a lot of talk about 'hunger relief' but it appears to me that we already have the technology to end this plague. I'm amazed at the hundreds of millions that seem to disappear without making a dent-as many of you know, roughly 25,000 people still die every day from starvation.

Since our planet seems to be quite bountiful, producing two loaves of bread worth of food, per person, every day (about 12 billion loaves created) it's painfully obvious to me that this nourishment is allocated rather poorly.

I don't have any illusions that the snack-bag venture will do much by itself; I'm just hoping that the idea proves to be sound, to possibly attract investors who could magnify its potential one day. Can you imagine? Massive factories built for the sole purpose of dehydrating food for shipment to third world countries. Ships designated for the transport of the non-perishable food. An end to world hunger.

That's my great dream, anyway. My main question is-what do you think would be the best type of company to create for this early stage venture? I used to work at a local brokerage house-Scottrade Financial Services-and I was thinking of just opening a sole proprietorship there to begin record keeping. Since I don't plan to make money from this venture, would a sole proprietorship be most appropriate for me? Or should I consider other alternatives?

Thanks so much for reading, have a great day everyone!


Jess

[GriZzly]

Well first of all I will give my opinion on helping the homeless, then I will give my opinion about your product, because believe it or not you can fail to satisfy the former but be completely successful with the latter.
I hope this was aimed at me because of my sometimes beneficial advice, not because I am considered the forum hobo

Charitable organisations like oxfam and the red cross get involved with the aim to help people. After seeing that the results are sometimes positive, but on the whole do not make a dent to the bigger problem, they form committees to come up with ways to 'help' the homeless. This is then implemented by way of second hand clothing drives, canned foods drives etc and this by its own right is often successful as people prefer to donate items than hand over cash. Unfortunately cold hard cash (along with donated time from volunteers) is the best thing you can give to charities...so that the correct items can be purchased (usually at subsidised prices). Basically what I am saying is that your product may not necessarily be the answer to starvation...but please bare with me because it does not mean your product will be unsuccessful! Most likely your idea will be lapped up by charity bosses hoping that this is the solution they have been waiting for! (even if it isn't)

As you are based in the US I have had to look up the term 'sole proprietorship' to be sure of what I was answering. As I suspected this is the equivilent to what we call a Sole Tradership. As I understand it, the two are the same in that they are unincorporated and you carry personal liability for debts incurred.

I therefore think you need to really consider how the business will operate financially, do you intend to produce a small quantity (say 1000 units) of dehydrated meals and evaluate their performance? If so how are you funding the development of the product, and although you have no intention of making a profit, are you prepared to make a loss?

I would consider trying to find a sponsor for this project, specifically a large national company, or a well known local business. In return for the positive publicity they would receive by being associated with the product, they could subsidise each unit, and because they want the publicity they will be able to give you advice on how to promote the project and possible make some of their resources available to you to assist with your analysis.

Sorry about the long-winded response. If you provide us with more information about your intentions then I am sure I will have lots to say This sounds like a really interesting idea and I wish you every success.

[Bonsai Jess]

Thanks for the response, Grizzly! Please feel free to get as lengthy as you want. I need all the advice I can get.

I therefore think you need to really consider how the business will operate financially, do you intend to produce a small quantity (say 1000 units) of dehydrated meals and evaluate their performance? If so how are you funding the development of the product, and although you have no intention of making a profit, are you prepared to make a loss?

I would consider trying to find a sponsor for this project, specifically a large national company, or a well known local business. In return for the positive publicity they would receive by being associated with the product, they could subsidise each unit, and because they want the publicity they will be able to give you advice on how to promote the project and possible make some of their resources available to you to assist with your analysis.

Your questions are valid and to be quite honest with you, that's information that I haven't quite fleshed out yet. If you would be so kind, I'm completely open to suggestions in every regard. I suppose I originally thought I would need to roll up my sleeves and get working before I could have any assistance from outside sources. Perhaps a great business plan might suffice, eh?



I would like to investigate the possibility of excess food donations from grocery chains: food that's normally discarded due to quality standards. I'm not sure how it is in the UK, but the main chains here have pretty high requirements-for example Publix has a 5-point peach inspection, and if a peach fails one of the 5 steps, it's taken off the shelf. If the food can be donated, the main cost seems to be associated with dehydrating the product, packaging it, and transport/storage. If I'm not mistaken grocery chains have access to these capabilities as well.

You are correct about the sole proprietorship equivalent. After I read your post, I think I tend to agree that it might not be the best route. I would be extremely grateful for any guidance you can offer. Now I'm getting all excited about sponsors and charity bosses, hehe



Jess

[nado]

I like this idea.. but, I have a few comments and questions...

Can food already be dehydrated and then rehydrated again painlessly and while still keeping the nutritional value and at least most of the taste?

Does it require water to rehydrate though? *thinking about 3rd world countries with little drinkable/eatable water.

One major comment I would make is that while feeding the starving is a good short-term goal, ultimately again it's just a "dent". Although I still think that this idea would be good for short-term relief for during a drought or similar disaster.

The big things you'll need to look at and need a heap of funding for is distribution of the food across the world and managing to direct food equally, when needed to the correct parts of the world.

To make a bigger, long-term "dent" I think you need to look at educating people in 3rd world countries. By this I mean we need to educate people on good farming practices for their country. Once a country has enough food to feed everyone then it can begin to develop.

So for this we need education (one-on-one would be good) and rather than sending food, send seed and all the equipment necessary to farm and produc food. (or send both)

One big step in this process would be to ban Monsanto and such companies... they're just there to make a profit off 3rd world countries. (even if on the outset they appear to be helping with GM seed and plants)

Another big thing to be careful with in the whole process of helping other countries is to research what works best for them in their particular countries. No I'm not bagging out the US, but most countries don't like to have a US way-of-life and thinking imposed on them (developed countries included).

So yeah that's my rant for today.

I'd say start with sample food packages and see if people (including yourself) like them, get funding as Grizzly said, but make sure they don't manipulate your vision.

cheers
nathan

[Bonsai Jess]

I like this idea.. but, I have a few comments and questions...

Can food already be dehydrated and then rehydrated again painlessly and while still keeping the nutritional value and at least most of the taste?

Does it require water to rehydrate though? *thinking about 3rd world countries with little drinkable/eatable water.

Nathan,

Thanks very much for the reply.

The foods I dehydrate include fresh meats, fruits, and vegetables...with these, you don't need to do anything after dehydration before consumption-it's ready to eat without adding water. If you remove the moisture content, you can prevent meats, fruits and vegetables from spoiling of age. Ever had beef jerky? Most fresh food can be dehydrated using only a simple oven and a few hours. You can also dehydrate foods out in the sun, but an oven or food dehydrator tends to be quicker and more convenient.

Dehydration removes all the moisture from the food, so it weighs a lot less and typically becomes chewy or crunchy when dried. Believe it or not, when you dehydrate food, science has proven you actually preserve every nutrient without effort. The result of dehydrating food is that the end product is naturally preserved for a long period of time, up to 10+ years. Many people dehydrate produce for consumption out of season.

I was a bit surprised to read your post because your you hit on a few areas I've considered as well (I didn't want to jump in shouting my idealistic notions right off the bat... ) I agree that feeding people temporarily would only make a dent. I'm also with you in moving from providing sustenance to making it possible for education and enrichment. I've often said the same thing you wrote here:

Once a country has enough food to feed everyone then it can begin to develop.

I agree with you 100%. I've been really enthusiastic about this concept because I'm hoping it could bring a dramatic change in myriad areas. Starvation is such a crippling issue for countries in poverty. I believe if we corrected this problem, those third world countries could have a chance to move forward and flourish.


I'm glad you brought up this point too:

So for this we need education (one-on-one would be good) and rather than sending food, send seed and all the equipment necessary to farm and produc food. (or send both)

I'm all ears-this was the way I saw it too. I figured I would just need to start somewhere and I can already see I came to the right place on this forum. I really appreciate the valuable advice and input.

[nado]

ah yep beef jerky etc I get you.

Yeah definately it's a great starting point.

Hope it all goes well, good luck and congrats on taking up the challenge.

cheers
nathan

[Bonsai Jess]

thanks nathan. I feel there may even be a biblical basis for this idea...

LEVITICUS 19
10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the POOR and stranger: I am the LORD your God.

LEVITICUS 23
22 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the POOR, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God.

My belief is that when you want to do things to please God instead of yourself, you trade your abilities for God's, and that's the best trade you can make in the world imo. Faith and patience can accomplish anything.

I know Anthony Robbins is compassionate about feeding the hungry-he accomplished a long-time goal recently to feed 500,000 people on Thanksgiving and Christmas. He's one of the reasons I want to pursue this..