Archive for the 'Photos' Category

May 5, 2011

Second Harvest Receives a visit from Disney’s “Shine On” Prize Patrol

Author: Maria Diestro

On Tuesday, April 19th Second Harvest Food Bank had a very special guest visit our facility. Rumors of two big ears and white gloves spotted in our board room circulated our office emails that morning. By 10 am, everyone at Second Harvest had caught a glimpse of Mickey Mouse walking down our hallways.

As part of a 40-day celebration across Central Florida, Disney is shining a spotlight on organizations that improve the lives of children in our community. Mickey made a surprise visit to Second Harvest to recognize and reward our efforts in the work we do to combat childhood hunger. We were lucky to share the stage with Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida, New Beginnings and the Hope Foundation. All four organizations received a special gift totaling $120,000.

 Second Harvest received $50,000 from Disney’s Helping Kids Shine Grant! We are so grateful to be one of the beneficiaries of Disney’s generosity. With Disney’s support, we are going to be able to provide hundreds of thousands of meals to kids in need. Read More …

February 21, 2011

Hunger and the Daytona 500?

Author: Dave Krepcho

I am no longer a rookie after attending my first-ever Daytona 500. It is an incredible experience – the smell of rubber burning and BBQ pork sandwiches; somehow it all works. People from every walk of life are in the stands that stretch at least a half-mile long and hold 100,000 fans.

And imagine, Lap 3 was a “Lap of Silence” in remembrance of Dale Earnhardt’s crash 10 years ago … 100,000 people standing with three fingers held up with nothing but the roar of engines in the background — incredible dedication among these fans.

So where does hunger come into this picture? Who would’ve thought that Jeff Gordon would be driving a car that is covered with the statement: “Drive To End Hunger”? And that AARP would be the sponsor?! Yes, AARP is making a major commitment to hunger among older Americans.

Their three-year sponsorship will help spread awareness of the hunger problem and also raise money to help programs serving seniors. Feeding America members will support a series of races across the country. On top of it all, Second Harvest will receive a $10,000 donation and all the food left over after the race, that ‘s what I call a special checkered flag!

Dave Krepcho
President/CEO

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Working with Feeding America and Winn-Dixie, Drive to End Hunger presented a $10,000 check to Second Harvest to help feed hungry seniors in Central Florida. Additional donations were collected at the “Winn-Dixie Winner’s Circle,” a food drive at Central Florida Winn-Dixie stores. Below are photos from the event:

February 10, 2011

Italian Feast!

Author: Maria Diestro

Two weeks ago I was invited to attend the Thomson Reuters National Marketing Convention held at the JW Marriott Orlando. The convention hosted over 600 employees from locations worldwide. On this particular evening, the group was participating in a team building activity. You might be asking: How can 600 people participate in one activity? and why was I even invited here in the first place?

Instead of participating in a quick team building game, Thomson Reuters decided to give back to the community through a service project. What better way to get to know your fellow employees than by having a cooking session with them, right? They decided to have a lasagna making contest!

 During the planning stages we were approached to see if we would like to be the beneficiary of the 375 lasagna dinners. Of course Second Harvest jumped on the offer and began planning the transportation and delivery process for the meals.

That night I started off the evening by saying a few things about Second Harvest and the hunger we face here in our  Central Florida community. I couldn’t believe how many people were there! Each team made lasagna dinners which included salads and cannolis. The teams were headed up by a chef from the hotel who helped and instructed them on how to put together all of the components of the meal.

The employees of Thomson Reuters provided dinners for 1,500 people here in the Central Florida community. What an amazing task done in such a short amount of time! The employees that I spoke to were very excited to be giving back in such a large way. It was great to see a company create an event that was so much fun for its employees while also helping people outside of their group in such an important way. Thanks to Thomson Reuters, 1,500 people in Central Florida received a true Italian feast the following night!

pictures:

 

Jen Gibson
Volunteer Services and Food Drive Assistant

February 1, 2011

Target helps add Hi-Five Kids Packs to Tangelo Elementary

Author: Maria Diestro

Last month volunteers from Target visited our Food Rescue Center facility to assemble and deliver the first allotment of Hi-Five Kids Packs to Tangelo Elementary School.

The group of Target volunteers were excited and filled with enthusiasm. The packs were completed in record time. Shortly thereafter, a caravan of cars made their way to the school, where the volunteers were greeted by Principal Tashanda Cannon-Brown and Nurse Gayle Wright.

In addition to donating time and energy into this project, Target also donated the product inside the Hi-Five Packs for Tangelo Elementary. This allows Second Harvest to provide the school with over 400 packs per month through the end of the school year.  

Second Harvest would like to thank Target and its volunteers for their commitment to combating childhood hunger and for making it possible to add one more school to our Hi-Five Kids Pack program. This brings our total number of schools to 19– more than have ever participated.

Target volunteers at Second Harvest’s Food Rescue Center:

January 18, 2011

GROSS … Back in Full Effect!

Author: Maria Ali

It is that time again. The kids are all back in school and Callahan Community Center is swarming with energized children. As parents and many adults in Orlando strive to reach their health goals this year, we are encouraging children to make healthier choices too.

GROSS, our 5-week nutrition education program, promotes fruit and veggie consumption by teaching children how to prepare them in delicious ways. This time we got the 3rd graders involved.

Week one included the white/tan/brown fruit and vegetable color family. Interestingly enough, these 3rd graders were much “tougher” than the 2nd graders. Every single one of them seemed to raise their hand when asked if they like fruits and vegetables.

However, when it came time to actually eat them, some of their faces told another story. By the end of class, I can say everyone did have a smile on their face … including their bananas. 

This was a hit:

Banana Pop!

Ingredients:
• Popsicle stick
• Banana, cut in half with skin still on
• Creamy peanut butter (We used natural version.)
• Topping of your choice: crushed cereal, granola, graham cracker crumbs, crushed nuts, dried fruit, etc. (We used fruity cheerios.)
 
Directions:
1. Take each banana half and stick a popsicle stick carefully into each half (so it looks like a popsicle). Then remove skin. Place in freezer until frozen or at least firm.
2. When firm/frozen, coat banana with peanut butter and dip into topping.
 
Adapted from: http://www.easy-banana-recipes.com/

 Enjoy!

Maria Ali, RD, LD/N
Nutrition Manager