This was our sixth Produce to the People mobile drop that we have enlisted our partner agencies to be a part of. With this program, Second Harvest Food Bank drops off ten pallets of fruits, vegetables and bakery items at a mobile location. These items usually have a short shelve life span or are perishable. 

The majority of the produce we received was from the gleaning that the Society of St. Andrews volunteers collected. New Covenant Church received two pallets of potatoes and three pallets of oranges that were recently gleaned from farms. The remaining pallets for the agency’s distribution were two pallets of bottled juice and four pallets of assorted bread and bakery products.  

700+ families showed up at New Covenant for the normal Saturday distribution only to find that there were an additional 11 pallets of fresh items waiting for them to take home. Both New Covenant Church and its clients were extremely happy to be receiving this additional food.

Because of our Partnership with our Partner Agencies, donors and people like Society of St. Andrews, we were able be a part of the Fight to End Hunger.

Slideshow:

Erin Gray
Agency Relations Manager

Not only is it sad that these folks are hungry and cannot afford food, but it is distressing once you find out who they are. Many are grandmothers watching their grand kids or great grand kids, some are single mothers working full time and still cannot make ends meet and then there are the Iraq and Afghanistan veterans that are foreclosing on their homes and cannot afford to eat.

These calls haunt the folks at Second Harvest who answer the phones. Fortunately, there is somewhat of a hopeful side to this blog, we are able to refer these folks to one of our many partner programs so they can be helped.

If you ever wondered if your involvement in the cause mattered, wonder no more. Thank you for your support.

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

Our tables were busy for the entire day. I’m sure the cold and the rain helped encourage people to come inside for a few hours to learn about the public benefits they may qualify for. After seeing the impact this event has for the clients first hand, we will definitely continue to participate in Project Homeless Connect.

Brady Koch
Director of Agency Relations and Programs

It took about 500 hours of volunteer work to construct and shape the 44 tons of food into the Disney character structure. All 115,000 cans that it took to make the structure will make its way back to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. The food will be sorted and shared with other Feeding America food banks in our network!

We were so happy and honored to be at such a wonderful event, Kermit and Ty Pennington (host of ABC’s Extreme Makeover) were even there! A big thanks to Disney and all the volunteers who helped create, build, and pack up the giant structure!!

Pictures:

Video from DisneyParks Blog

 
Sasha Hausman
Events Specialist

Guests heard from our President and CEO, Dave Krepcho. He explained the study, talked about the numbers, gave insight on what Second Harvest plans to do about it, and gave examples on what our community can do to help.

Then a special speaker came up to the podium, her name was Annie Busby. She received food from one of our partner agencies, Jewish Family Services. She explained how she was self employed and was doing pretty well, until the economy took a turn. Annie was left with her children, and grandchildren to support. She explained that the food wasn’t just something to eat … it was a sign that things were looking up and that she could get through this tough time.

Annie read a poem that she wrote in dedication and honor to Second Harvest Food Bank

Oh shine on me with greatness, thy one who prepares thy meal, show me thy love; by the bread that you yield.
Give to me the importance of nutrient to my body, so that I can achieve.
Give me supplements to help with my yield, that I will grow strong to face the dawning morn.
Walk with me through the pain of hunger, by filling my stomach so that I know not hunger.
For I was hungry and you fed me, I was alone and you gave me hope. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink.
Thanks for the out stretched hand, thanks for the morsels of food.
From me to you; thank you, that I am stronger because of you.
For I too, am a child of the king, a pilgrim in a strange land.

Thank you to everyone that took the time to learn more about Hunger in Central Florida. If you were not able to make it to the reception, please check out the hunger study results online.

Have any ideas on how to help? Give us a call! (407) 295-1066

Photos from the reception:

 

Sasha Hausman
Events Specialist

CVS/Caremark

Without the support of corporate partners like CVS/Caremark our job would be much harder. Volunteers help us get food into the hands of needy families quicker and more efficiently. In today’s society there is a renewed spirit in helping fellow Americans. Feeding America is glad that CVS/Caremark show their spirit of giving through involvement with our organization and member Food Banks.  

Photo Slideshow:

Sasha Hausman
Events Specialist

Once we get the results, a group of us involved in the study from the beginning meet to sift through all of the tables, graphs, and narratives to pinpoint the information that Central Floridians care about most. At first we focus on the demographics. How many children, seniors, working adults, and homeless are affected by hunger.

Then we look at all of the questions that see how hunger is impacting their lives. How many people had to choose between gas for their car or buying food? And so on. Finally we look at the information from our partner agencies to see how they are responding to the ever increasing demand.

After weeks of meeting and going back and forth what data to include in the final presentation, we’re ready for our press conference. As you’ll soon see, the results for Hunger in Central Florida are staggering.

While it can be overwhelming to see the face of hunger in our statistics, we hope that everyone can also see that we have a strategy to fight hunger in Central Florida. If you’re interested in learning more, please attend our Hunger in Central Florida 2010 reception on Monday, February 8 at the Orlando Repertory Theatre. Click here to RSVP and for complete details.

Brady Koch
Director of Agency Relations & Programs

Beginning in the Winter of 2009, we put out the call to volunteers who could commit to a two hour training, in addition to driving to one of our partner sites and interviewing a random sample of clients for about 30 minutes each.

Our volunteers came from all walks of life. Retirees, professionals, foundation heads, staff, our board of directors, and others all attended the training and were able to ask the 80 survey questions identically to preserve the integrity of the study. We were surprised at how many of our volunteers had participated in the 2006 survey. In speaking with them, they found the process very rewarding.

Hunger in Central Florida took over 500 volunteer hours to complete. Each interview averaged out to half an hour and like I wrote earlier, the most difficult part of the job wasn’t the noise of the location or working in the rain, it was asking difficult questions.

Many of the questions are simple ”how many people are in your family?, what is your age?, do you currently receive food stamps?” Questions like “Have you had to choose between food and medicine in the past month” and “Have your children had to go to bed without eating this week” can really challenge both the volunteer and interviewee. Every time we complete the study, volunteers speak with us about how emotionally draining the survey can be.

That’s why our Hunger Study Army is such a unique group of volunteers. They are not be fighting hunger by working with the food in our warehouse, they are fighting hunger by helping us tell the story of hunger in Central Florida to the community.

You don’t have to wait until our next study in 2013 to volunteer, contact Mindy Ortiz at mortiz@foodbankcentralflorida.org to learn how we can use your help today.

Brady Koch
Director of Agency Relations & Programs

The Study

The study is broken up into two parts. The first part is a questionnaire mailed to each of our Partner Feeding Programs. We have 530 partner agencies and it takes quite a bit of coordination keep track of who’s completed the survey and determine if it was a paper form or online.

The second part of the survey is much more resource intensive. We have to visit a random group of our agencies and then complete an 80 question survey with a random sample of clients from the people present. Because this is more work than we can accomplish with just staff, we rely almost exclusively on volunteers for the interview.

Once all of the surveys are complete, we turn them in to Feeding America to process the results. One year later, we get a really large email with our results and put together our Hunger in Central Florida 2010 books. It is a long process, but the information learned about local hunger is invaluable.

Brady Koch
Director of Agency Relations & Programs

We have already provided five truckloads of food and beverages working alongside Department of Children & Families at Sanford International Airport. The first food these Haitian U.S. citizens receive when on U.S. soil is directly from Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. We do not know what to anticipate when the refugee population starts to arrive in the U.S. and its impact on Central Florida.

The folks were so grateful for the food and also to be out of harm’s way. When I had the chance to provide food to the flight crew of the C-17 military transport in the middle of Saturday night, it was certainly one of those “mission moments” I’ll never forget.

To see our military being used for humanitarian reasons was very heartwarming. And to see that the average age of the nine member flight crew was about 27 years old was really a surprise!

That crew could not have been more polite and respectful despite flying for hours and under pressure to get back to Port Au Prince quickly. It made me proud to be an American.

Below are some pictures:

Waiting the arrival of the first Military transport filled with hundreds of people from Port Au Prince.A diversity of ages arrive ranging from orpaned babies to senior citizens.

Expressions of hope, exhaustion or just dazed by the experience.

Bonsoir madame. People were so grateful for the airlift.

Haitians being greeted on the tarmac.

Second Harvest Food Bank volunteers John and Rob. It was a 20 - hour day of disaster relief.

Collaboration with our great partners, Dept. of Children & Families, made this relief effort successful.

The first food they enjoyed on U.S. soil proudly provided by Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida

Military transport plane at Sanford Intl. Airport. Arriving throughout the week from Port Au Prince.

Dave after feeding the crew of the C-17 Military transport plane. Proud to be an American. (average age of the crew: 27 years old, excluding Dave!)

Second Harvest, A Feeding America Member: On site providing relief within hours.

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