Archive for May, 2010

May 26, 2010

Volunteer Day

Author: Sasha Hausman

One of the many things I love about working at Second Harvest is that every employee is given a day to volunteer at one of our amazing partner agencies. A couple weeks ago Maria Diestro and I had the pleasure of visiting the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida to take a tour, learn more about the organization, and of course to help out!

Marty Vevera, the Coalition’s Director of Volunteer Services, showed us around the different facilities and told us more about who they serve and how they do it. We learned that the folks at the Coalition are not only providing a safe place to sleep at night for Central Florida’s homeless … but they also provide  job training, counseling, and learning skills for the little ones. Of course they are also supplying hot meals that either come from gracious volunteer groups, or straight from Second Harvest Food Bank’s distribution center!

After the great tour, Maria and I were put to work … if you could call it that. We had the pleasure of playing with the most adorable children at the Coalition’s Day Care. These children live at the Coalition while Mom or Dad are either busy learning new vocational skills, or working. Maria took the toddlers out to the playground and had a great time playing gas station attendant to all the kids in their play cars. While she was running around outside, I was hanging out with a beautiful 3 month old baby who was just born at the Coalition.

I couldn’t believe how many kids live at the Coalition. When you think about who is homeless, I definitely would not have pictured a sweet and innocent 3 month old baby girl. The average child at the Coalition is 6 years old. It is important to know that these children and their families receive help from the Coalition each and every day. I am proud and honored to say that Second Harvest Food Bank is able to provide food and other resources so the Coalition can spend money on other things like beds, diapers, and new toys for that awesome day care!

Maria and I also finished putting the last minute touches on their successful golf fundraiser and called it a day. Believe me … we were tired! But so happy that we were able to see the good work the Coalition is doing!

Want to know more ways you can help not only the Coalition, but all of our 600 partner agencies? Click here to learn more about ways to get involved.

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Talk to you soon!

Sasha Hausman
Events Specialist

May 25, 2010

What to expect at Taste of the Nation Orlando

Author: Maria Diestro

Taste of the nation is almost here! 

We have 34 restaurants participating in Central Florida’s favorite foodie event this year. I bet some of your favorite Central Florida dining spots are on this list .

Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation event is put together by a volunteer committee group. I attend the meetings as a representative of Second Harvest Food Bank. Both beneficiaries, Coalition for the Homeless and Second Harvest Food Bank help out with the planning of the event. If you are attending, make sure to stop by our tables.

To enable you to fully enjoy the endless supply of wine, beer and delicious cocktails, Orlando World Center Marriott is generously offering Taste of the Nation guests a discounted rate for rooms on the night of June 5th! Click here to take advantage of this fabulous deal. The code will show up automatically on the page.

Everyone has worked so hard these past few months bringing this event together. I can’t give away everything that we have planned … but I can give you a sneak peak of what to expect. 

Here is a small food preview: 

      -  Chef-carved Rosemary and Dijon Crusted Roasted Pork Loin Served with a Wild Mushroom 
          and Sun-Dried Tomato Pearl Barley Risotto
      -  Chef Jean-Louis’ Bananas Foster
      -  Greek Tuna Tataki in Lettuce Gyros with Sumac, Onions and Avocado Tzatziki
      -  Roasted Beet Brownies with Gorgonzola, Spicy Cashews & Vanilla Honey

We also have some very unique auction items this year. Don’t forget to make your way around the silent auction. You never know what you will find!

      -  New York Yankees 27 World Championships ticket replicas
      -  Tickets to the Rachael Ray taping in New York plus plane ticket
      -  A  trip Chicago: flight, hotel, and dining included
      -  Chefs tables from Taste of the Nation participating Restaurants
      -  Many more!

100% of ticket sales help ensure no kid in America grows up hungry.

Hope to see you at Taste of the Nation Orlando! If you want to find me … look for the person twittering, facebooking and taking photos.

Click here to buy tickets!

Maria Diestro
Online Services and Communications Manager

Don’t forget to check-in. I will be leaving tips throughout the night!

May 11, 2010

Meet Our Brevard Branch

Author: Greg Higgerson

For many years, Second Harvest Food Bank provided food to partner feeding programs in Brevard County through the Brevard Community Food Bank—which operated as a program of Catholic Charities.

In 2000, Catholic Charities decided to get out of the food banking business as a program, and offered SHFB a chance to take over the operation when they left.   With the support of the local United Way, the Catholic Charities program transitioned over to SHFB’s Brevard Branch in July, 2000.  

For ten years, the new Branch has served 80 Brevard County feeding programs, and has increased food distribution by 390%.

Get to know our Brevard branch:

Greg Higgerson
VP of Development

May 11, 2010

A Trip to the Cabbage Patch

Author: Maria Ali

Last week, our Product Sourcing Manager, Kirsten Langan, and I went out to one of our donor farms to help glean cabbage with the Society of St. Andrew (SoSA).

Let me tell you, it was some hard work! But I’m so happy we were able to collect 6,850 pounds of fresh vegetables to bring back to our community and provide to those in need. We were joined by an AmeriCorps group and a few other volunteers, one being a mom and her two sons.

The USDA reports that 96 billion pounds of food is wasted in this country every year, while more than 35 million Americans don’t get enough to eat. Wow!!! There was much more cabbage that could have been picked, but we only had so many hands, not to mention so much strength left. Each pile of cabbage that we picked had to be carried by hand back through the field to the truck.

Cabbage is full of water, which contributes to its weight. It’s a great vegetable that supplies nutrients that help to reduce the risk of certain types of cancer, including breast, lung, stomach, and colorectal cancer. It’s also a great source of vitamin K, vitamin C and fiber. ½ cup cabbage only has about 16 Calories and provides almost 3 grams of fiber. It’s good stuff!

So thank you to SoSA, AmeriCorps, and the family that volunteered. Those 2 little boys earned 100 pennies…they’re mom rewarded them 1 penny for every head of cabbage they collected. If you’re interested in getting involved with SoSA visit their website:  www.endhunger.org .

Every extra helping hand provides healthier food to those who are hungry.

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Maria Ali
Nutrition Manager

May 4, 2010

Pietopia

Author: Sasha Hausman

I had the great pleasure of attending the Great American Pie Festival April 24th and 25th in Celebration. Which basically meant good bye Pound for Pound Challenge, hello delicious pie!

Apple, pecan, key lime, cherry, French silk, you name it … I tasted it! So you might be asking, “So what does this have to do with Second Harvest?” Well the folks at the Pie Council and Village Inn care so much about Second Harvest Food Bank’s Kids Café program, that they dedicate some fun activities to raise funds for our afterschool program.

There were buckets spread out throughout the festival for pie lovers to drop donations into. There was a great booth set up where kids can give a dollar to participate in a “Pie Walk” similar to a cake walk, where they could win a free Village Inn Pie!

Finally, the Pièce de résistance…the 4 ft in diameter pie! Have you ever seen anything more beautiful in your life???

It was a chocolate cookie crust with a chocolate ganache and cream cheese filling…with fantastic local grown strawberries, raspberries, and wild blueberries in a glaze with fresh whipped cream on top!

Each piece of this pie was sold for a donation to Second Harvest. It was a hit! All of these great fundraisers brought in over $500!

In food bank math, we are able to provide up to $4,500 in buying power to feed our neighbors in need. We are so happy and thankful to have such a great partnership with the Pie Council and Village Inn!

Check out this great video to see the other yummy things that went on during the weekend!

Are you interested in coming out to the Pie Festival next year? Keep checking our events page every so often so you don’t miss out on the fun!

In the mean time, take a look at our other events coming up…we’d love to see you there!

Until next time!

Sasha Hausman
Events Specialist