Archive for July, 2010

July 23, 2010

Chase Donates Two Refrigerated Trucks to Second Harvest Food Bank

Author: Maria Diestro

On Thursday, July 22 Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida was presented with two refrigerated trucks from Chase. These trucks are part of a $5 million national grant to Feeding America and its nationwide network of food banks. We are so proud and fortunate to be a member of the Feeding America network.

The presentation of the trucks involved numerous phone meetings with Feeding America and Chase team members. Chase covered all the set-up expenses. All three teams worked very hard on putting together an informative and inspiring presentation.

The event turned out to be a huge success! Second Harvest Board Members, Central Florida Chase representatives, city representatives, partner agency representatives and local supporters were all present.

Chase Central Florida Market Commercial Banking President Michael Dosal presented the keys of the trucks to Dave Krepcho, president and CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank. Orlando City Commissioner Robert Stuart spoke on the importance of corporate citizenship in helping to solve local problems. Second Harvest Food Bank’s board chairman, Susan Reimer-Sifford touched on the importance of fresh produce to people who can’t afford enough food. 
 
These two new state of the art refrigerated trucks will help Second Harvest Food Bank move an additional 2.2 million pounds of fresh foods to feed people in need each year. In addition to the trucks, Chase also donated funds to operate the trucks for the first year!

On behalf of Second Harvest Food Bank, I would like to thank Mike Dosal, Commissioner Robert Stuart, our board of directors, Chase Team members, Feeding America, our partner agencies and all our supporters who attended the truck presentation.

Video of the trucks:

Photos from the event:

Maria Diestro
Online Services and Communications Manager

July 21, 2010

Almost a third of U.S. children are overweight, but many are also hungry?

Author: Maria Ali

Almost a third of U.S. children are overweight, but many are also hungry? Does it make sense?

Click here to read more: Eating Nutritiously A Struggle When Money Is Scarce

This article highlights some of the complexities of hunger in America. It’s not just about getting enough food, but getting enough of the right kinds of food, as well as understanding the importance of making the right choices.

It can be very challenging to eat healthy on a tight budget, but have we considered what price we are paying to not eat healthy? What price are our children paying? What affect has it had on our communities?

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack stated  there is a similarity between low-income families trying to stretch scarce food dollars with high-calorie processed foods, “and youngsters who are just flat out not getting fed because their parents don’t have the resources to feed them.”

Elaine Livas, who runs Project SHARE, a food pantry in Pa., expressed that there’s something else to consider. As the nation becomes more health conscious, she’s noticing less healthy food coming to her pantry. She’s getting more sugar-coated cereals, for example, than the high-fiber ones she used to receive. “We can’t really complain that the poor are heavier, when what we’re donating is our kind of castaways,” she says.

What are your thoughts?

Maria Ali, RD, LD/N
Nutrition Manager

July 19, 2010

Katharine McPhee Visits Second Harvest to Launch Summer Food Program

Author: Maria Diestro

ConAgra Foods Foundation has donated $5 million to Feeding America over the next five years to fund a new program at 23 food banks called Hunger-Free Summer.
 
Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida is one of the lucky recipients. This summer we’re distributing a total of 15,000 kids packs to our Summer feeding sites in addition to the lunches the kids are already receiving because of this grant. The goal of this program is to provide at least 25 percent more meals for children struggling with hunger during the summer.
 
The kick-off event for this program was in Orlando at the New Image Youth Center, one of our summer food sites. New Image Youth Center feeds around 25 kids weekly. 
 
Feeding America’s entertainment council member Katharine McPhee helped launch this amazing program. She spent the morning doing national and local media interviews. When it was time for lunch, she personally gave each kids at New Image Your Center a summer meal. Almost every child in the room was grinning from ear to ear. She even took the time to walk around the room and chat with them. 
 
View a montage of photos from that day.

 
To top everything off, Katharine McPhee spent the afternoon writing a song with the children. We captured video of this process. She makes it look so easy to do.
 

We are so grateful to have the support from ConAgra Foods Foundation, Feeding America and Katharine McPhee. 
 
Maria Diestro
Online Services and Communications Manager
 
p.s. We love the song and can’t seem to get it out of our heads!

July 16, 2010

A Better Way to Identify Hungry Children

Author: Brady Koch

A teacher looking at a classroom full of children on the first day of school might have a difficult time determining who would be in need of food assistance. The free and reduced school breakfast and lunch program, our Hi-Five weekend program, and our Kids Cafe afterschool program all help get food to these children.

There are common warning signs to look for like lethargy, inability to concentrate, and aggression, but it can still be challenging to identify the need.

A new study published this month in the journal Pediatrics, by University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers examined whether the time-consuming, 18-question Household Food Security Survey provided by the federal government could be shortened and still be effective in identifying hungry children.

They found that there were two questions you could ask that would be as effective as the entire 18 question survey.

Simple Two-Question Survey Can Better Identify Hungry Children

This is a great start to brainstorming exercises we’ve started internally to find ways to enhance our childhood programs.

What do you think of the findings of this study?

July 7, 2010

Hunger in Central Florida by Abbey Brunault

Author: Maria Diestro

We would like to share a video made by 11-year-old Abbey Brunault about Second Harvest Food Bank. Learn more about Abby in our previous post “Every Cause Needs A Champion.“

 Thank you Abby for taking the time to learn about hunger in Central Florida and for being a hunger champion! 

Maria Diestro
Online Services and Communications Manager