GROCERY LIST: Welfare cutbacks have channeled more...

GROCERY LIST: Welfare cutbacks have channeled more of the needy to private charities in Orange County, and among those most affected is Share Our Selves in Costa Mesa. The volunteer organization now is helping to support 1,400 people, the highest number in its 23-year history. . . . On any given day, the organization dispenses 348 ounces of peanut butter, 4,464 ounces of jelly, 5,859 ounces of chicken noodle soup, 558 pounds of tomatoes, 558 pounds of spaghetti, 558 grapefruits, 279 pounds of frozen corn, 1,674 hamburger patties, 558 quarts of powdered milk and 558 loaves of bread.

KICKOFF: During its last campaign, United Way of Orange County raised $19.3 million on behalf of its 1,000 member agencies, somewhat below a record $21.4 million raised in 1990. Still, that’s not bad for a recession year, says spokeswoman Lucianne Amaral, and she expects the new campaign to exceed that amount. . . . The campaign begins at an invitation-only breakfast Friday in Irvine where diners will get the pleasure of seeing corporate executives flipping pancakes and pouring coffee.

BOREDOM: Latch-key kids in Irvine now have an alternative to simply hanging around after school waiting for their parents. Dial Irvine Kid Phone at (714) 756-WARM is open school-day afternoons to take calls from bored or lonely kids 5 to 15 years old. . . . For the most part, callers just want someone to talk to about what’s on their minds, says coordinator Linda Zuba. “We call it a ‘warm line’ because hot lines are usually more crisis-oriented.”

SAY WHAT? There was such an overload of callers to the county’s child abuse hot line--about 126 calls a day--that 25% were hanging up or being put on hold for up to 40 minutes. One of the big reasons: frivolous complaints. . . . Social workers say one straight-faced caller reported a mother “abusing” her children by giving them food from McDonald’s. . . . Grandparents call to complain about their grandchildren’s rearing. And many exaggerated complaints come from child custody combatants.