The economy of Latvia is an open economy in Europe and is part of the European Single Market. Latvia is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) since 1999, a member of the European Union since 2004, a member of the Eurozone since 2014 and a member of the OECD since 2016. Latvia is ranked the 14th in the world by the Ease of Doing Business Index prepared by the World Bank Group. According to the Human Development Report 2011, Latvia belongs to the group of very high human development countries. Due to its geographical location, transit services are highly developed, along with timber and wood processing, agriculture and food products, and manufacturing of machinery and electronic devices.
A soup kitchen, food kitchen, or meal center, is a place where food is offered to the hungry usually for free or sometimes at a below-market price. Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoods, soup kitchens are often staffed by volunteer organizations, such as church or community groups. Soup kitchens sometimes obtain food from a food bank for free or at a low price, because they are considered a charity, which makes it easier for them to feed the many people who require their services.
Tet is a Latvian internet service provider, telecommunications, technology and entertainment company. It has also been an electricity service provider since 2017.
Project Open Hand is a California nonprofit organization that provides medically tailored meals and groceries to elderly and homebound people in San Francisco and Alameda County. Founded in 1985 to deliver meals to people with AIDS, it also took over food banks in the 1980s and 1990s and in the 21st century extended its services to include people with other acute and chronic conditions and to serve lunches to seniors. Its headquarters are at 730 Polk Street in the Tenderloin; its CEO is Paul Hepfer.
A food bank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. Some food banks distribute food directly with their food pantries.
Project Angel Food is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Los Angeles County which provides free meals for people too sick to shop and cook for themselves. Project Angel Food serves the majority of Los Angeles County; South Los Angeles and Metro Los Angeles are the two largest service areas for the organization. As of 2017, their clientele is 39% Hispanic and Latino, 29% African-American, 21% non-Hispanic White, and 11% from other races.
ISNA Canada is a non-profit organization in Canada that offers many programs and services to the Canadian community at large. During the COVID-19 pandemic, ISNA Canada re-adjusted its services and programs to serve the community through virtual programs and drive-thru community experiences. ISNA has three centers in Canada, located in Mississauga, Toronto and Yellowknife.
Latvian Independent Television was a major private television company in Latvia, founded in 1996. LNT featured TV series, news and entertainment programmes, airing 24 hours a day in Latvian. It went off the air on March 1, 2020, and was replaced by TV3 Life.
Redwood Empire Food Bank (REFB) is a food bank on the North Coast of California which belongs to the Feeding America network. Its mission is to end hunger in its community.
Humanity First is an international charity that provides disaster relief and long term development assistance to vulnerable communities in 52 countries across 6 continents. The organisation is run by volunteers with diverse skillsets across the world and has access to thousands of extra volunteers worldwide. Volunteer staff in all areas often pay their own expenses to support the international projects.
Animal feed is food given to domestic animals, especially livestock, in the course of animal husbandry. There are two basic types: fodder and forage. Used alone, the word feed more often refers to fodder. Animal feed is an important input to animal agriculture, and is frequently the main cost of the raising or keeping of animals. Farms typically try to reduce cost for this food, by growing their own, grazing animals, or supplementing expensive feeds with substitutes, such as food waste like spent grain from beer brewing.
Mary's Meals, formerly known as Scottish International Relief (SIR), is a registered charity which sets up school feeding programmes in some of the world's poorest communities, where hunger and poverty prevent children from gaining an education. It was founded in 2002 and has grown from its first feeding operation of 200 children in Malawi, to a worldwide campaign, providing free school meals in hundreds of schools and feeding more than two million children daily. Mary's Meals is named after Mary, the mother of Jesus, by its founders, who were inspired by their Catholic faith, although the charity is not a Catholic organisation.
The 2008–09 Chinese economic stimulus plan is a RMB¥ 4 trillion stimulus package announced by the State Council of the People's Republic of China on 9 November 2008 as an attempt to minimize the impact of the financial crisis of 2007–2008 on the economy of China. Critics of China's stimulus package have blamed it for causing a surge in Chinese debt since 2009, particularly among local governments and state-owned enterprises.
The 2008 Latvian financial crisis, which stemmed from the global financial crisis of 2008–2009, was a major economic and political crisis in Latvia. The crisis was generated when an easy credit market burst, resulting in an unemployment crisis, along with the bankruptcy of many companies. Since 2010, economic activity has recovered and Latvia's economic growth rate was the fastest among the EU member states in the first three quarters of 2012.
Leket Israel, The National Food Bank, a registered nonprofit Israel-based charity, is the leading food rescue organization in Israel, serving 175,000+ needy people weekly. Leket Israel rescues surplus agricultural produce and collects excess cooked meals for redistribution to the needy throughout Israel via its network of 200+ nonprofit organization (NPO) partners.
Hunger Task Force, Inc. is a non-profit, anti-hunger public policy organization in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Hunger Task Force works to end hunger in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin by providing direct food delivery services, and works to end future hunger by advocating for fair and responsible administration of federal nutrition assistance programs.
Our Children Foundation (OCF) is a non-profit organisation that provides free education for underprivileged children in India’s rural and semi-rural villages. Founded by Neil Carlo Del Mundo. The goal of Our Children Foundation is to provide institutional reforms that improve disadvantaged people’s access to, success in, and opportunities from quality education in a sustainable manner. Our Children School is OCF’s first project, which focuses on establishing and reopening education centres in areas with inadequate access to schooling in West Bengal.
Food Angel is a Hong Kong–based food rescue organization. Food Angel was launched in 2011 by the Bo Charity Foundation. The organization is supported by local and international food donors, sponsors, and charity partners.
Northern Illinois Food Bank is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that focuses on providing food to those in need in northern Illinois. Partnerships and donors allow for more than 71,000 people to be fed each week through different programs. Northern Illinois Food Bank operates in 13 counties surrounding Chicago. The organization has four distribution centers located in Geneva, Rockford, Park City, and Joliet, which distribute food to pantries who then allocate the food to people.
The Capuchin Soup Kitchen (CSK) is a religiously affiliated soup kitchen and non-profit organization located in Detroit, Michigan. It was founded by the Capuchin friars to provide food for the poor during the Great Depression and is sponsored by the Capuchin Franciscan Province of St. Joseph. While it was initially established as a soup kitchen, CSK now includes a food and clothing bank, a drug rehabilitation program, and an after school and summer youth program. Through its various ministries CSK serves approximately 560,000 individuals each year.
