While local newspapers have gotten a lot of mileage out of poking fun at the “Food 4 Porn” name, it also has garnered invaluable publicity for the project, and according to store owner Deirdre Krasner, that’s all that counts. But while Krasner appreciates the media attention, she points out that the food drive is not a publicity stunt.
“There are people starving in the United States. It’s abominable. It’s just not right,” Krasner said. “If we can do something small, and it makes a difference, that’s just great.”
“Food 4 Porn” is not the first philanthropic venture Playtime has spearheaded. In recent years, the store has made cash contributions to victims of the Indonesian tsunami, sent a shipment of condoms to an Australian town where the pharmacist refused to carry birth control, donated boxes of sex toys to liberated Iraqis and supplied food to food pantries.
“We need the food,” said Kathi Delucca of Starfish food pantry in Plainfield, N.J. “If someone wants to share with the needy, then how could we refuse? It’s in the spirit of giving.”
While Delucca is grateful for the helping hand, other have not been. The U.S. military has refused a donation of sex toys intended for female troops, and local charities have actually turned down offers of food simply because the source is a sex shop.
Krasner hopes her charitable work will help to dispel some of the very stigmas that would prompt such foolish attitudes.
