wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

Comments

• [1] Nicole from Morning Heights April 25, 2008 - 10:48AM

  I lived in Egypt for one year. I often had difficulty getting packages from the US through customs. I wonder how your guests are able to send food to Africa without the packages being held indefinitely by authorities?

  
  
• [2] Lina from Brooklyn April 25, 2008 - 10:49AM

  I grew up in Guyana and getting 'barrels' from 'overseas' relatives was common in our community. The barrels would contain clothes, as well as food, and were always welcomed with much anticipation. This practice continues today, even thought many of the 'foreign' foods are now available in Guyana. I live in Crown Heights now, and on my block, there is a shipping company that still sends barrels home- I just saw them wheeling one out a few days ago!

  
  
• [3] Lina from Brooklyn April 25, 2008 - 10:52AM

  One way to get the package through customs easily is to give a bit of the contents to the officer! :) Oh, the strange things I grew up eating as a result of this practice :)

  
  
• [4] Adria from Washington Heights April 25, 2008 - 10:52AM

  I find it interesting that three men are telling a woman that the cost of rice is reasonable in Senegal. If they are like most men, they are not responsible for cooking. Do they know how much food cost either in the US or in Senegal?

  
  
• [5] smidely April 25, 2008 - 10:56AM

  Aaaaaaaaargh!

  
  
• [6] Mike from Brooklyn April 25, 2008 - 10:59AM

  I want to congratulate WNYC for their part in the "global food shortage" hype that has helped whip up hoarding and price gouging around the world.

  
  
• [7] Torkil from Brooklyn April 25, 2008 - 10:59AM

  There could even be instances where you may want to send food to ensure that the whole family benefits from what you send home rather than just the person receiving the money.

  
  
• [8] denise from prospect heights - brooklyn April 25, 2008 - 11:27AM

  Hi Brian,

  In Haiti for the past 3 years our family has been asking that we send food to them instead of money because of extrememly high inflation in prices for staple food like corn, rice, beans, flour, sugar, and cooking oil. They have been unable to purchase the same quantity of food with the dollar for years now. Unfortunately for the people of this struggling nation, as we have learned lately in the news, things have gotten worst.

  P.S. The food is sent by container, where you can send a lot of food for a reasonable shipping fees. Your guest from Senegal may have exaggerated. It would not make sense to ship a fifty pound bag of rice for $120.00. That price is most likely for a container of 100 bags of rice and other alimentation.

  Denise

  Keep caring Brian. You are one of a kind. All New York is grateful to you and specially the immingrant communities for your consistent and exceptional service.