Mark Oakes Blog

NEW STUDY PAINTS A DETAILED PORTRAIT OF FOOD INSECURITY
IN DYER COUNTY

County’s Food Insecurity Rate More Than 21 Percent

Memphis, TN (April 5, 2011) – Mid-South Food
Bank and Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief
organization, recently released a landmark study, “Map the Meal Gap,” providing the
first detailed look at the food budget needed by families struggling with
hunger in Dyer County each year.

“We know hunger exists in every state across the nation, but it
looks different from county to county, and therefore, so do the solutions. The
results of this study show that the best way for us to help people facing
hunger is to understand who is hungry and why they are hungry at the community
level,” said Estella Mayhue-Greer, president & CEO of Mid-South Food
Bank.  “We will work with our community partners in Dyer County to be
sure we are doing everything we can to help people in need.”

The study takes a look at ‘meals’ in a whole new way, using
county-level data on food costs from The Nielsen Company to break down the food
budget shortfall of county residents into an approximation of the meals missing
from the tables of people at risk of hunger in Dyer County each year. “Map the
Meal Gap” shows that this shortfall represents an estimated 1,338,248 meals in
Dyer County on an annual basis.

Map the Meal Gap shows that in Dyer County, 21.3 percent
of the population, or 8,010 people, are food insecure. Food insecurity means
there was limited or uncertain access to adequate food sometime during the
year.  Significant findings about this group include:

• Only 54 percent of food insecure individuals qualify based on income for SNAP (Food Stamps) and other federal nutrition programs.

• 27 percent of the food insecure population in Dyer County do NOT qualify for federal nutrition programs and often must rely on charitable food assistance programs such as the Food Bank’s Feed the Need Mobile Pantry.

• “Map the Meal Gap” was also able to compare food costs across counties, showing Dyer county to have food costs that are slightly higher than the national
  average of $2.54.  The average cost of a meal in Dyer County is $2.57.

According to Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey data
analyzed as part of “Map the Meal Gap”, people struggling with hunger estimate
they would need about $56 more each month on average during the months that
they are food insecure to address the shortages in their food budget.
This means an additional $3,436,540 is needed to meet food needs in Dyer County.

A summary of the findings, an interactive map of the United
States, and the full report are available on Feeding America’s web site
at www.feedingamerica.org
The findings of “Map the Meal Gap” are based on statistics
collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Census Bureau, and food
price data from The Nielsen Company. The study was supported byThe
Howard G. Buffett Foundation and Nielsen.

“Map the Meal Gap” was conducted using well-established,
transparent methods. Data were analyzed by Feeding America in partnership with Dr. Craig Gundersen, Associate Professor of Agricultural and Consumer Economics at the University of Illinois, Executive Director of the National Soybean Research
Laboratory and member of Feeding America’s Technical Advisory Group.

# # #

Mid-South Food Bank

Mid-South Food Bank’s mission is to fight hunger
through the efficient collection and distribution of  wholesome food, and
through education and advocacy.  A member of Feeding America), Mid-South
Food Bank supplies food and other grocery items to 325  charitable feeding
programs in west Tennessee, north Mississippi and east Arkansas. For more
information, go tohttp://www.midsouthfoodbank.org. Find us on
Facebook at facebook.com/MidSouthFoodBank or follow on Twitter at
twitter.com/MSouthFoodBank.

Feeding
America

Feeding America is nation’s leading domestic
hunger-relief charity, our network members supply food to 37 million Americans
each year, including nearly 14 million children and 3 million seniors. Serving
the entire United States, more than 200 member food banks support 61,000
agencies that address hunger in all of its forms. For more information on how
you can fight hunger in your community and across the country, visit http://www.feedingamerica.org.
Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/FeedingAmerica or follow
our news on Twitter at twitter.com/FeedingAmerica.
Marcia Wells

Vice President,
Communications & Development

Mid-South Food Bank

239 South Dudley St.

Memphis, TN 38104

901-405-0073 direct

www.midsouthfoodbank.org

Selling Real Estate is simply one of the BEST JOBS a person could have.  Especially when there are special parts to the job that can really be enjoyable.

Meeting people from all over the country (and the World actually) is one of those high ranked perks that come with the job.  And it is so fun.

I find myself actually having to change the entire sales approach for those “out of towners” and it makes for an exciting day.  Unless you are from Dyersburg, or the South, many have never heard of Termites, Don’t understand the concept behind a “Septic Tank”, wonder why we have central air conditioning, find it odd that the Washer and Dryer are not items standard or left behind with the sale of a home, don’t understand the difference between a street and a road, are scared to death to talk about tornado’s, or Flood Insurance and are surprised that we don’t like to ”Bicker” over the sales price once everyone is agreed.

Newcomers to our community are surprised when they discover we have a local volunteer fire department in almost all communities, and a volunteer orchestra and choir group.  That the “Master Gardner” class offered locally does make you a “Master Gardner”, and that our “Y” does not have an indoor heated pool.

Newcomers are cautious when I ask for their permission to postcard their new neighborhood with their names and children’s ages.  And they comment on how nice everyone appears and that their neighbors have actually introduced themselves and tried to neighbor bond.

So, I hope it is easy to see that working with “Newcomers” simply broadens the experiences I have in Real Estate and I THANK GOD everyday for the people that want to move into our community, for they add new flavor, new life into our small sleepy town.

Mark

Harbor at San Diego

Traveling back home this past Wednesday from four days in PARADISE (San Diego California) was very tough.  Giving up that great weather, perfect mexican food, and good friends is always a hard thing.  But the closer I got to Dyersburg the more excitement I felt for bringing what I learned during the convention back to work in my office.

I didn’t find a new religion, nor had some out of body experience.  To be honest I didn’t learn anything actually I could consider new.  Simply put, I was reminded of the basics that come with my profession and I saw how far I’d strayed from what I have always known to work.  THAT WAS THE EXCITEMENT I FELT.

WHY?  Because I know it is easier to focus and concentrate on what works in Real Estate than trying to re-invent yourself or the wheel.

Personal contacts, Relationships, simple communications, Follow up on everything, and Customer Support are all such important parts of my daily business.  Somewhere, somehow I’ve let them either be deligated to someone that works for me, or put on the back burner where I have not kept my eyes on it.

I hate to admit this but I was so excited on a deal I got with “Thank You” cards in bulk.  I had a flashback to like six years ago when I purchased 1000 cards and didn’t think I would ever need more.  I need more already.

So, a tip that works for anyone in business.  Take two hours each and every day and focus on what makes you money.  From 9am to 11am, focus on what makes you successful.  I guarantee you that if you call me betweens these hours I will be busy reconnecting with another client, sending out a THANK YOU for a referral, asking my last client for a referral, or simply following up with a friend…..

Mark