Story from MyFoxOrlando.com:

Homelessness is a real problem here in central Florida and Darden Restaurants  is trying to help out.

Angela Woods from Darden and Dave Krepcho from the Second Harvest Food Bank  stopped by Good Day to talk about the Darden Harvest program to help feed the  hungry in the communities the company has its Red Lobster, Olive Garden,  Longhorn Steakhouse, Capital Grille, Bahama Breeze, and Season 52  restaurants.

One of the recipients is Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida that partners with the Darden Harvest program.

Read more: http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/good_day/051412-darden-restaurants-inc.-foundation#ixzz1usQiJ1UA

Darden Restaurants, Inc. Foundation: MyFoxORLANDO.com

Greetings! As someone who cares about hunger in Central Florida, I wanted to share with you a bit of exciting news. Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida was recently notified that our organization has been awarded the top rating of four-stars from Charity Navigator, the nation’s leading evaluator of non-profit groups.

According to Charity Navigator, the four-star designation is awarded to non-profits that exceed industry standards in organizational efficiency, revenue growth, administrative expenses, and other key management areas.

Thanks to that trust, and to your generous support, our organization continues to make a deep and lasting impact on the lives of struggling families throughout Central Florida. Last year, Second Harvest Food Bank reached a record-setting distribution of 33 million pounds of food which is equivalent to 22 million meals. We continue to fight hunger, and to feed hope in unprecedented ways.

The four-star rating from Charity Navigator is particularly gratifying because it reflects the incredible diligence, dedication, and hard work of our volunteer board of directors and mission-driven staff. This team works overtime to make sure that we live up to our core value of stewardship of resources. You, and the community, deserve nothing less.

We so appreciate the vote of confidence in our programs and services that your continued support represents, and we hope that you feel as much pride in this four-star rating as we do. As always, thank you for your interest and assistance as we work together to help our neighbors in need.

Sincerely,
Dave Krepcho
President and CEO

Last week, Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida was named the 2012 Ruth Herber SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) Program of the Year winner at the annual Feeding America Network Summit in Detroit.

The award is given to the year’s most outstanding SNAP program from the 202 food banks across the nation in the Feeding America network.

The award confirms the excellence of the Benefits Connection Program. Through continual progressive innovation and a dedicated team of Outreach Specialists, BC has become an example of how innovation can fight hunger.

Benefits Connection is a mobile outreach program designed to increase access to SNAP and other benefits for area residents. Armed with the electronic equipment necessary to process SNAP applications, trained food bank specialists go to a network of approximately fifty-four different partner sites every month to help people seeking assistance.

Last year, our Second Harvest BC team, led by Nitza Colon, helped more than 8,500 families supplement their food budgets with nearly $19 million.

Congratulations and thanks for the great work fighting hunger!

Karen Broussard
VP Agency Relations & Programs

Guest blogger and Wine Women & Shoes Orlando committee member,  Jenni Izzo, shares her top 10 reasons to attend Wine Women & Shoes.

By this time next week, Wine Women & Shoes will have already come and gone. Still not sure if you’re going to attend? Let us help you make up your mind. Here are 10 good reasons you should attend the event:

10. Shoe Guys. Our official Shoe Guys will display vendor shoes, jewelry and more.

9. Trips of a Lifetime. Live auction items include trips to Bali Hai, the French Riviera, Greek Islands, Sedona and Venice & Bellagio.

8. Key to the Closet. For just $50 a ticket, you can have a chance to win all the contents of our closet – worth over $5,000!

7. Opportunity to Flaunt Your Favorite Shoes. J from J’s Everyday Fashion will be on-site judging shoes for the “Best in Shoe” contest … so be sure you wear your most fabulous pair!

6. Tons of Other Auction Items. In addition to amazing trips, you could also win a Bentley for the weekend … a head-to-toe makeover from stylist Courtney Karem … or an in-home wine tasting with Chad Robinson.

5. Did we mention the Shoe Guys …?

4. Shop ‘Til You Drop. This year’s marketplace offerings include clothing, jewelry, shoes, cosmetics, purses and other accessories from Bibby’s Jewelry & Accessories, Carlos Falchi, Chloe Lane Boutique, Diana E. Kelly, Ginger, Merle Norman & Boutique, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sole Journey and Sirissima Jewelry.

3. And Of Course, Wine. Taste a variety of wine offerings from Amber Hill, Cline Cellars, Gran Reserva Winery, One Hope, Quintessential Wines, Terrunyo, Trivento Winery and Vintage Point.

2. Fashion, fashion … and more fashion. Saks Fifth Avenue at The Florida Mall has partnered with us to sponsor, style and direct the fashion show – which means you can expect all of the season’s hottest trends, including bright colors, punchy prints and sharp, tailored pieces.

1. Most Importantly, Be Part of the Fight Against Hunger. Wine Women & Shoes is the only event of its kind where 100% of the ticket proceeds go towards fighting hunger in Central Florida. That’s right … that means that while you’re enjoying the afternoon shopping and sampling wine with your friends, you’re also giving back to your community.

Tickets are going fast! Be sure to purchase yours today.

Jenni Izzo

P.S. In case you missed our chair, Kelly Gaines, on Galtime TV. Here is her interview about Wine Women & Shoes:

Every year, we invite our champion volunteers to a donated luncheon and thank them for their support of Second Harvest Food Bank.

Did you know that last year 10,146 volunteers contributed 35,115 hours? This is equivalent to more than 16 full-time staff members! We could not begin to do the work we do in our community without volunteers. This year, we recognized the following companies/organizations/individuals for going above and beyond their volunteer efforts.

Central Florida Letter Carriers Food Drive

Central Florida Letter Carriers collected 376,126 through the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive last year. The food drive for this year is right around the corner. We hope you join us on Saturday, May 14 and help us Stamp Out Hunger >>

Central Florida Boy Scouts
Central Florida Boy Scouts collected 165,166 lbs through their Scouting for Food program.

Travelers Insurance

Travelers is an on-going supporter of Second Harvest. They host a food drive for us and store our red bins in their building all year round. They’re also financial donors and recently started volunteering with us regularly.

CHEP

Andy Kimpel and his team at CHEP are a tremendous help with food shows. They’re a group that shows up and knows exactly what needs to be done without much instruction.

Dean, Ringers, Morgan & Lawton

This group comes in right after work on Wednesday evenings and are ready to help out wherever necessary. They are super helpful and a pleasure to work with.

Andre Reyna Youth Against Hunger Award

This award was presented to Boy Scout Troop 24. This troop has been volunteering with us the past year regularly on Saturdays. They are so helpful and very engaged.

David Pearlman Award

A little background info on our most honorary volunteer award. Dave Pearlman (deceased) was an honorary life member of our board, and one of the earliest pioneers of Second Harvest Food Bank when it opened. He was committed also to collecting and distributing food through the Jewish Family Services organization, whose emergency food pantry bears his name to this day. He was a selfless champion in the fight against hunger, and an exemplary volunteer.

This year, Susan Reimer-Sifford of Darden Restaurants received this award. Susan began volunteering at Second Harvest since 2005. She has devoted countless hours to our organization and we are so honored to have her as the chair of our Board of Directors.
I’d like to leave you with a service quote and a photo album of our champion volunteers.

“The heart of a volunteer is not measured in size, but by the depth of the commitment to make a difference in the lives of others.”

Volunteer Luncheon Photos:

Maria Diestro
Online Services and Communications Manager

There are a lot of myths circulating about SNAP, formerly food stamps, and the people who receive benefits. This misinformation stigmatizes the entire program, but now they are being used as justification for dangerous policy changes and funding cuts that would make it harder for families struggling to get by day to day to put food on the table.

The House budget approved last month proposes to cut SNAP by nearly 20 percent, gutting support for millions of low-income families. The justification for this? The program has grown too much in recent years – too many people are getting benefits.

It’s true. SNAP has grown significantly in recent years. But it is only shocking that SNAP participation grew by 70% from 2006 to 2011 if you fail to mention that the ranks of the unemployed grew by 94% over the same period.

The Agriculture Committees are rewriting Farm Bill legislation beginning this month, and SNAP and other anti-hunger programs are at risk of cuts at a time when they need to be strengthened and protected.

Food insecurity is a national problem that needs a national solution, and that starts with a strong federal commitment to SNAP. SNAP responded quickly and effectively during the recession, working as it was designed by growing in response to growing need to ensure that Florida families, children, and seniors have enough to eat.

We’ve all heard the myths, but what about the facts? SNAP is targeted at the most vulnerable households: 76% of SNAP households include a child, elderly person, or disabled person, and 85% of SNAP households have gross income at or below 100% of the poverty line. And despite what you might hear, benefits are not overly generous—the average participant gets a monthly benefit of just $134. That’s less than $1.50 per meal.

While you’re more likely to hear sensational stories of program abuse, the fact of the matter is that these bad actors are outliers. For every one allegation of SNAP fraud or trafficking, there are a hundred stories of heartbreaking need, but those are the stories you don’t hear, such as single parents trying to make ends meet, senior citizens deciding whether they buy food or medicine and many more.

Our food bank experienced a thirty percent increase in requests for food this past year, without SNAP in place to respond to growing need in the recession, the increased demand on charities like ours would be crippling. We’re struggling to keep up with need as it is, especially with recent sharp declines in federal food donations from The Emergency Food Assistance Program, which is another Farm Bill program.

We understand the importance of getting our nation’s fiscal house in order, and we strongly believe that a good paying job is the best solution to hunger and poverty. But until we restore opportunity and mobility, our nation cannot walk back on our commitment to caring for our neighbors in need.

Taking care of our neighbors is an American value, and feeding our neighbors is a shared responsibility. We see this every day reflected in the generous support of our volunteers and donors. This value is also reflected in our federal budget through important anti-hunger programs like SNAP and TEFAP.

We strongly urge our nation’s leaders to protect anti-hunger programs like SNAP and make needed investments in TEFAP to protect families from hunger and help charities like ours keep up with need in our community. We also ask them and you to look at SNAP with fresh eyes and an open heart.

If you have any doubt that families are struggling, please visit us at Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida and meet the people whose lives are affected by the choices Congress will make in the Farm Bill.

Dave Krepcho
President/CEO
Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida

Guest blog post from Zach McGee, Hunger Awareness Coordinator at Florida Association of Food Banks:

Recently the Florida Association of Food Banks (FAFB) had the opportunity to partner with Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida (SHCF) to grow and harvest nearly 700,000 pounds of turnips to feed the hungry.  This partnership for growing and harvesting was the first of it kind for FAFB’s Farmers Feeding Florida program and is now another method for fighting hunger in Florida.

As hunger continues to be a persistent problem, food banks are finding and developing new sources of food to feed the hungry in their communities. Food banks are also focusing on increasing the availability of food with higher nutritional value, like fruits and vegetables. SHCF’s relationship with Long & Scott Farms is a model example of the huge resource growers and packers are to the vision of a hunger-free Florida.

Since Long & Scott Farms began partnering with SHFB, three things have really changed.  First, the amount of produce being donated continues to increase. Second, the methods that are used for making donations have diversified. And third, the owner, Hank has become so excited about the positive impact his farm is making he is working to grow new opportunities for his farm to help out his neighbors in need.

Long & Scott Farms began donating by allowing gleaning volunteers from the Society of St. Andrew to rescue un-harvested produce from the field. It wasn’t long before the farm realized that much of the produce they could not send to market could also be repurposed to help feed their neighbors.  From farming 1,200 acres, they are able to make frequent and substantial donations through most of the year. This year the farm offered a 20-acre field for the food bank to plant a crop. Realizing the potential to send food all over the state, SHCF partnered with FAFB to help fund the project and also relied on SoSA to help with the labor to harvest.

Although this project presented obstacles and challenges, it was a tremendous success. Seventeen truckloads of turnips were harvested to share and we were able to set a precedent for partnering with growers to plant and harvest food for Florida food banks.

This project will help us to demonstrate to other growers and packers that there are many successful methods which they can use to help us create a Hunger-Free Florida.  

Photo album: I “Turnip” To Fight Hunger

Zach McGee
Hunger Awareness Coordinator, Florida Association of Food Banks

The Summer Food Service Program gives us the opportunity to provide free, nutritious meals to children ages 18 and under while schools and their cafeterias are closed for the season. Community centers, summer camps, churches and other nonprofit organizations may participate in this program. Additionally, for-profit, low income residential complexes may also host summer food sites.

This summer, we hope to sponsor sites in three counties. The program will operate from June 8^th through August 17^th – for a total of 50 days.

Since this program commenced at Second Harvest Food Bank in 2008, 167,030 meals have been served.

To participate, a site must:

• Operate in a low-income area where 50 percent or more of the children in the local elementary, middle or high school qualify for free or reduced priced meals

• Offer adult supervision for participating children

• Be able to feed children on site

• Meet state and local health and safety standards

• Attend orientation at Second Harvest Food Bank in Orlando

The Summer Food Service Program:

• Helps Feeds hungry children and teens.

• Attracts more youngsters to activities that help them learn in a safe environment during the summer months

• Helps parents stretch food dollars

• Saves money on food so community based organizations may provide additional programming or serve more children.

• Gives children and teens a chance to interact with peers, participate in organized activities, and be physically active.

We are seeking to partner with low income residential complexes or motels where needy or displaced families live in Osceola County, specifically along the 192 corridor. If you are interested please contact us.

For more information follow this link: http://www.summerfoodflorida.org/

Santos Maldonado
Childhood Hunger Programs Manager