Archive for the 'Hunger News' Category

January 20, 2012

Fashion for Compassion

Author: Jen Gibson

What could be better than an event encompassing wine, women, and shoes? Nothing in our eyes! Coming up on April 28, 2012 we will be holding our Second Annual Wine Women & Shoes Fundraising event at Rosen Shingle Creek.

For those of you who weren’t able to attend last year it’s an afternoon filled with fabulous fashion, delectable hors d’oeuvres, and of course sensational wine. The afternoon begins with shopping at designers and boutiques around the room as wine is poured and hors d’ oeuvres are tasted. “Shoe guys” float around the room and showcase shoes and other accessories on shiny silver platters. Read More …

January 19, 2012

Agency Spotlight: Agency Relations Doing Client Intake

Author: Erin Gray

One of the duties of Second Harvest’s Agency Relations Department is to not only monitor but make sure our partner agencies are receiving everything they need from us.  Our Agency Relations team thought it would be a good idea to volunteer with our agencies to get a different perspective of how the agencies serve their clients in need.

The first Agency Relations Coordinator to volunteer and write about this experience is Paula Assal.

Read about her experience below:

Read More …

January 19, 2012

Volunteers Make a World of Difference

Author: Mindy Ortiz

One of the coolest things about my job is getting to meet all the different people that volunteer with us. We have quite a range of volunteer opportunities at Second Harvest. Our board members, committee members and event helpers are all volunteers. So besides important tasks like strategy, planning, and running the food bank’s mission, our volunteers spend lots of time sorting food at our Food Rescue Center.

On average, we can have close to 50 volunteers on a daily basis. This week alone, we have volunteers  from Universal Orlando, Marriott, Panera Bread, Nike Outlet, UCF, Walt Disney World and Dean, Ringers, Morton and Lawton helping out at our Food Rescue Center.

All of these volunteers come in to help us sort and pack up donations. They help us organize, check expiration dates and basically make sure that what is going out to our partner agencies is safe and of quality. I can’t imagine what we would do if we didn’t have these volunteers. Read More …

January 17, 2012

Holiday Food Drop

Author: Santos Maldonado

Early on the bright and crisp morning of Saturday, December 17^th, three large Second Harvest trucks filled with 52,464 pounds of emergency food boxes and fresh produce got ready to roll toward six Orange County public schools. Second Harvest staff and management gathered in the parking lot to work out last minute details. Dave Krepcho, Second Harvest President and CEO, was first to rumble out of the lot and toward Hungerford Elementary School.

At the schools, families of students were already lined up in anticipation, as enthusiastic volunteers prepared for an orderly distribution. The energetic volunteers, young, old and in between, had been recruited and organized by Orange County Public Schools Food and Nutrition Services. They worked like a finely tuned orchestra, handling every surprise with patience, smiles and lots of laughs. Read More …

January 4, 2012

Hope-makers

Author: Greg Higgerson

Among the many things we’ve learned at Second Harvest Food Bank over the years are a couple of simple truths about people. First, that most people in our community are generous, and tend to want to help others who are less fortunate.

Second, that in order for someone to reach the point of actually ‘taking action’ to help someone else, one has to first be made aware that the problems are real—and that they represent true hardship for those who face them every day. Once that awareness and a connection with the heart is made, resources and assistance begin to flow, plain and simple. And lives are changed as a result.

Real Radio 104.1 broadcaster Jim Philips has sometimes been called a ‘king-maker’ in reference to his ability to affect public opinion around political candidates. His passion for helping the community, however, just might earn him the moniker of ‘hope-maker’ as well. Philips and his on-air crew have been passionate supporters of the Second Harvest Food Bank mission for a number of years, and continue to lend it an extraordinary amount of credibility and awareness among thousands of faithful radio listeners. Read More …