Food For Thought

Toledo Launches a Street Paper

A much needed congratulations is in order to Amanda Moore, a dedicated Food For Thought volunteer and now Director and Managing Editor of Toledo Streets, a brand-spanking-new street paper!  What is a street newspaper, you ask?  A street paper is a newspaper that addresses local issues including poverty and homelessness.  What truly distinguishes a street paper is that it is distributed by poor or unhoused vendors.  The vendors purchase the papers from an organization for a fraction of the price that they sell them for.  Toledo Street papers will be sold for $1.  This enables the vendor to be an entrepreneur and by selling the papers after purchase, they are able to keep the profits they receive from patrons.  “For many people, this is the opportunity they need to get back on their feet and into permanent housing, “ states the North American Street Newspaper Association (NASNA). 

By purchasing these papers, you can offer support to hardworking men and women that at one point may have been just like you.  Street papers are not a new phenomenon, and in Portland, Oregon, they have “started to see a new type of vendor — chefs, park rangers and construction workers who have lost stable jobs or crucial part-time work as the economy crumbled….new vendors have high school diplomas or even college degrees.”  Toledo Streets is a way for them to get back on their feet and earn their way to recovery from poverty.

It also provides a way for them to build relationships with their surrounding community and to fight loneliness and depression.  They feel a sense of pride and self-worth by working for themselves.  Many may understand the financial and social ramifications of homelessness, but few notice the impact it may have on an individual’s mental illness.  ” In addition – and perhaps more important -a street paper provides an opportunity for interaction with people. This is critical for people who often begin to feel invisible while in plain view.“  This is precisely why we at Food For Thought focus not only on handing out much-needed nutritional meals, but also strive to establish friendships with those we serve.  We believe that it’s just as important to nurture a person’s heart and mind as their belly.

Please join us in congratulating Amanda and her team and pick up a paper (or five) from the vendors downtown.  As said best by John F. Kennedy, “One person can make a difference and every person should try”.