November 28, 2011

BJ’s Wholesale Clubs: With an extra serving of kindness, we can all make a difference

Author: Maria Diestro

I am thrilled to introduce our fabulous intern – Sam Greenberg.  Though new to our blog, Sam has been interning with our Grocery Alliance Program since September.  From day one, she has immersed herself in all things GA, and has contributed to a number of projects including new donor rollouts and a 6-county food drive!  Today, she blogs about one of our newest donors, BJ’s Wholesale Clubs, and their Holiday Food Drive … which starts today!

In the spirit of holiday giving, BJ’s Wholesale Clubs is launching a chain-wide food drive that will take place from November 28^th through December 12^th.

Each BJ’s location will have a donation collection bin located near the front of the Club.  Members can look for aisle talkers near critical need items such as pasta, canned sauce, canned fruits and vegetables, and protein-rich items such as tuna fish and peanut butter.

BJ’s is urging its members to break apart their multi-pack or family-sized grocery bundles and donate a few packages to the food drive.  You can also bring in your own non-perishable food donations to any BJ’s Club.  Not a member?  No problem.  Anyone can participate — simply stop by member services to receive a free 60 day trial membership.

If you can’t participate in the food drive, you can help out online. For every “like” or “share” on their facebook page, the BJ’s Charitable Foundation will donate $1 to Feeding America that goes towards assisting food bank transportation costs to make sure that there is no delay helping those in need!

All 7 Central Florida BJ’s Clubs also recently joined our Grocery Alliance Program through their Feedings Communities initiative. Each day, BJ’s Team Members gather unsold perishable food to be picked up 3 times a week by Second Harvest Food Bank trucks, and in turn distributed to our partner
agencies.

We would like to take a moment to say THANK YOU to BJ’s for recognizing the need for local hunger relief, and the importance of ensuring those in need get a well-balanced nutritious meal.  Don’t forget to stop by your local BJ’s Wholesale Club today through December 12^th to help those less fortunate enjoy the season.  With an extra serving of kindness, we can all make a difference!

Sam Greenberg
Second Harvest Intern

 

 

August 31, 2011

3 easy ways to get involved during Hunger Action Month

Author: Maria Diestro

Hunger Action Month starts today!  While we always need your involvement with Second Harvest Food Bank all year round, we do try to make it extra easy and fun in September!

Second Harvest, in conjunction with Feeding America and 205 other food banks nationwide are participating in the Third Annual Hunger Action Month. The goal of this month is to mobilize people to get involved with fighting hunger in America.

Read More …

June 29, 2011

Urgent Action Alert – Your Support is Requested

Author: Dave Krepcho

Special Message – Your Support is Requested
The need for food is at an all-time high in our communities. Children, the working poor, people who cannot find jobs, senior citizens and more are in need. Critical federally funded nutrition programs are at risk of losing millions of dollars of support. Current budget proposals in Washington recommend huge cuts.

What does this mean for Central Florida?
If the current proposals were passed by the Senate in the next couple of months, the equivalent of over one million meals could be lost for Central Florida.

-  There would be a significant decline in the amount of TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program) food.
-  There would be millions less in SNAP (Food Stamps) for our area.
-  WIC (Women Infant & Children) would be cut back significantly impacting women, infants and children. 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:

November 19, 2010

Victory Blog

Author: Brady Koch

I’m pleased to announce that our trio Childhood Hunger programs received a Victory Against Hunger Award from the Congressional Hunger Center, Victory Wholesale Group and Feeding America.

We reached a record number of children through our Kids Cafe, Hi-Five, and Summer Food programs in the last year and it is always a pleasure to be recognized for our work.

A breakdown of the 3 programs:

Kids Cafes
           At 13 After School sites in 3 counties, 164,155 prepared or catered meals were served in fiscal 2009/2010. This reflects a 12% increase over the previous year. An average of 910 children were served daily.

Summer Food Program
           During 51 operational days while children in needy areas lacked access to school lunch programs, 43,188 meals were served at 17 sites in Orange County this past summer, reflecting an increase of 9% over last year. Through a grant from ConAgra we were also able to provide the children with , 15,773 take-home, shelf-stable food packs for the weekends.

Hi-Five Kids Pack Program
          31,245 shelf-stable food packs were provided to needy children at 18 elementary schools last year. These packs are designed to help bridge the nutritional gap that exists during weekends, when children lack access to school cafeterias.

The Congressional Hunger Center (CHC) is a bipartisan anti-hunger leadership training organization located in Washington, DC. In addition to the fellowships they offer, the CHC facilitates the national discussion of finding ways to end hunger in America.

It’s nice to be able to take a break from our workday and be honored, but there’s always more work to get back to. We continue to see more and more children enrolled in our programs and there’s much more to do. Can you help?

Brady Koch
Director of Agency Relations & Programs
bkoch@foodbankcentralflorida.org