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

September 20, 2010

My Word by Dave Krepcho: We Can Make a Difference

Author: Dave Krepcho

Source: Orlando Sentinel

Many people today are overwhelmed and frustrated with what seem to be unfixable problems, or things out of their control. Just look around at the Gulf oil spill and its long-term effects, a Gainesville pastor’s stance on the Quran, congressional issues and so many more examples, including in our own personal lives. Wouldn’t it be great if we could find something we could wrap our own hands around and make a difference?

There is a pressing problem that we all can rally around and do something about: hunger in our community. The ongoing economic situation, unemployment, under-employment and plummeting retirement accounts and property values have all created a perfect storm for emergency food assistance among a large portion of the population.

Last year, Second Harvest Food Bank’s Hunger Study showed that about 25 percent of Central Florida’s population received food assistance. That’s 732,000 people, and nearly 300,000 are children. That’s a problem. What can you do about it?

September is Hunger Action Month, an effort to fight hunger. The only way we can close the gap is with continued community assistance. You can seek out a number of local organizations that could use your support in terms of volunteering, financial assistance or food donations

At Second Harvest Food Bank, we offer you “30 Ways in 30 Days,” with activities ranging from food drives and a Junior League Harvest Hustle to our Portraits of Hunger photo contest.

All are designed to provide support for people in need and offer a variety of levels of engagement. If you can’t take action in September, the problem will still be here in October.

Everyone can help. Here’s one poignant example: One day an elementary-school girl named Alli saw some of her classmates Dumpster diving. That night, she cried to her mom that they must do something about the situation. Alli came up with a plan and in a few months raised $5,000 to help start a new Second Harvest Kids Café downtown.

To this day, that café continues to provide thousands of meals to children. Alli’s a reminder to all of us — young and old, wealthy or not — that each of us can find a way to take meaningful action in the fight against hunger. It’s a problem that can be solved.

We can make a tangible impact upon hunger relief because every can of soup, box of cereal, volunteer hour or dollar donated translates into one of the most basic needs of every person — food. Please consider taking action; it’s good for the community, and it’s good for the soul.

Dave Krepcho is president and CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida.

July 16, 2010

A Better Way to Identify Hungry Children

Author: Brady Koch

A teacher looking at a classroom full of children on the first day of school might have a difficult time determining who would be in need of food assistance. The free and reduced school breakfast and lunch program, our Hi-Five weekend program, and our Kids Cafe afterschool program all help get food to these children.

There are common warning signs to look for like lethargy, inability to concentrate, and aggression, but it can still be challenging to identify the need.

A new study published this month in the journal Pediatrics, by University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers examined whether the time-consuming, 18-question Household Food Security Survey provided by the federal government could be shortened and still be effective in identifying hungry children.

They found that there were two questions you could ask that would be as effective as the entire 18 question survey.

Simple Two-Question Survey Can Better Identify Hungry Children

This is a great start to brainstorming exercises we’ve started internally to find ways to enhance our childhood programs.

What do you think of the findings of this study?

May 4, 2010

Pietopia

Author: Sasha Hausman

I had the great pleasure of attending the Great American Pie Festival April 24th and 25th in Celebration. Which basically meant good bye Pound for Pound Challenge, hello delicious pie!

Apple, pecan, key lime, cherry, French silk, you name it … I tasted it! So you might be asking, “So what does this have to do with Second Harvest?” Well the folks at the Pie Council and Village Inn care so much about Second Harvest Food Bank’s Kids Café program, that they dedicate some fun activities to raise funds for our afterschool program.

There were buckets spread out throughout the festival for pie lovers to drop donations into. There was a great booth set up where kids can give a dollar to participate in a “Pie Walk” similar to a cake walk, where they could win a free Village Inn Pie!

Finally, the Pièce de résistance…the 4 ft in diameter pie! Have you ever seen anything more beautiful in your life???

It was a chocolate cookie crust with a chocolate ganache and cream cheese filling…with fantastic local grown strawberries, raspberries, and wild blueberries in a glaze with fresh whipped cream on top!

Each piece of this pie was sold for a donation to Second Harvest. It was a hit! All of these great fundraisers brought in over $500!

In food bank math, we are able to provide up to $4,500 in buying power to feed our neighbors in need. We are so happy and thankful to have such a great partnership with the Pie Council and Village Inn!

Check out this great video to see the other yummy things that went on during the weekend!

Are you interested in coming out to the Pie Festival next year? Keep checking our events page every so often so you don’t miss out on the fun!

In the mean time, take a look at our other events coming up…we’d love to see you there!

Until next time!

Sasha Hausman
Events Specialist

January 13, 2010

Participants in Second Harvest Food Bank’s Kids Cafe learned the fine art of Pie Making (and Pie Eating!)

Author: Maria Diestro

Central Florida children served by Kids Cafe – an after school nutritional program operated by Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida – became bakers-in-training on Tuesday, January 10 at Midway Safe Harbor Center. Midway Safe Harbor Center is located in Sanford, Florida.

Yesterday, a group of around 50 kids learned how to make and enjoy homemade pies! The American Pie Council’s Board was also there to teach the basic cooking skills and prep work, such as rolling dough.

Pie making is geared toward elementary-school age children. The American Pie Council will be making pies again in April for the Great American Pie Festival.  For more information, visit the American Pie Council.

Watch a video of the kids at work:

Photo Slideshow of Pie Making:

Maria Diestro
Online Services and Communications Manager