By DAVID A. MANN
Attorney General Greg Zoeller urged corporations to help Indiana’s food banks this holiday season during a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
Zoeller’s initiative — which kicked off Saturday — seeks to raise money for food banks around the state, and is being called Feeding Indiana’s Hungry, or FIsH.
FIsH represents 10 food banks that serve all 92 Indiana counties and works with more than 1,500 partner agencies — such as Dare To Care Food Bank.
The Indiana General Assembly kicked in a $300,000 appropriation to the organization in June. At the time, Zoeller said he told many legislators that he would try and use the appropriation as an impetus for garnering more donations from the private sector. “While there are many worthy causes competing for the attention of donors, it is vital we support the food banks, which depend on donations to restock their supplies of food,” Zoeller said from the Clark County Government Building in Jeffersonville. “I know that many companies are struggling to meet monthly expenses and make payroll, but I’m going to ask business people to dig a little deeper into their budgets — if they can — and donate to FIsH.”
Zoeller has held five similar press conferences around the state. He’s also made contact with the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and labor organizations, ferreting out companies and personally asking them for donations.
FIsH Executive Director Emily Weikert Bryant said she was “very, very thankful” to Zoeller for the initiative. She also noted that the organization was trying to negotiate lower prices through bulk purchasing and that many of the products being purchased were locally produced — so the money will go back into the state’s economy.
Brian Riendeau, executive director of Dare to Care Food Bank, said that request for food assistance has risen over the last several months.
“One in four children under the age of 5 lack enough food to live a healthy, normal life,” he said. “The need is great.”
A FIsH fundraising effort by the attorney general’s office last spring raised $28,542. This time, he’s hoping to match the General Assembly’s $300,000 appropriation.
IN OTHER BUSINESS
Zoeller also took a moment to urge consumers to be wary of scams during the upcoming shopping season. Shoppers should “spend a little time to get focused on protecting themselves,” he said.
Zoeller offered tips, including:
• Keep receipts;
• Understand the fine print in sale advertising; and
• Avoid promotions that sound too good to be true.
Charles Mattingly, president and CEO of Louisville’s Better Business Bureau, said online shoppers should “be especially wise.”
Always do online shopping through secure sites that feature “https” in their addresses. Additionally, he said, consumers should make sure purchases are made at Web sites they chose to visit — not through pop-up sites.
Zoeller noted a sharp uptick in the number of credit card scams. There were about 236 reports of credit card scams last year and about 600 this year in Indiana. He attributes the increase to a trend whereby consumers increasingly hunt for bargains — often to their own detriment.
For more tips,
check out Indianaconsumer.com.
