May 26, 2010

Volunteer Day

Author: Sasha Hausman

One of the many things I love about working at Second Harvest is that every employee is given a day to volunteer at one of our amazing partner agencies. A couple weeks ago Maria Diestro and I had the pleasure of visiting the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida to take a tour, learn more about the organization, and of course to help out!

Marty Vevera, the Coalition’s Director of Volunteer Services, showed us around the different facilities and told us more about who they serve and how they do it. We learned that the folks at the Coalition are not only providing a safe place to sleep at night for Central Florida’s homeless … but they also provide  job training, counseling, and learning skills for the little ones. Of course they are also supplying hot meals that either come from gracious volunteer groups, or straight from Second Harvest Food Bank’s distribution center!

After the great tour, Maria and I were put to work … if you could call it that. We had the pleasure of playing with the most adorable children at the Coalition’s Day Care. These children live at the Coalition while Mom or Dad are either busy learning new vocational skills, or working. Maria took the toddlers out to the playground and had a great time playing gas station attendant to all the kids in their play cars. While she was running around outside, I was hanging out with a beautiful 3 month old baby who was just born at the Coalition.

I couldn’t believe how many kids live at the Coalition. When you think about who is homeless, I definitely would not have pictured a sweet and innocent 3 month old baby girl. The average child at the Coalition is 6 years old. It is important to know that these children and their families receive help from the Coalition each and every day. I am proud and honored to say that Second Harvest Food Bank is able to provide food and other resources so the Coalition can spend money on other things like beds, diapers, and new toys for that awesome day care!

Maria and I also finished putting the last minute touches on their successful golf fundraiser and called it a day. Believe me … we were tired! But so happy that we were able to see the good work the Coalition is doing!

Want to know more ways you can help not only the Coalition, but all of our 600 partner agencies? Click here to learn more about ways to get involved.

pictures:

 
Talk to you soon!

Sasha Hausman
Events Specialist

March 24, 2010

Publix Super Markets Central Florida Division and Customers Raised more than $86,000 to support Second Harvest Food Bank

Author: Maria Diestro

This past holiday season Publix Super Markets and their customers raised more than $86,000 through their Food For All program. The Food for All campaign took place in all Central Florida Publix stores from November through December 2009.

Through the fundraiser, customers could make a $1, $3, or $5 contribution while paying for their groceries. The coupon was then added to their total grocery bill.

Dave Krepcho, president and CEO of Second Harvest, said “These donations provide nine times that much in terms of food value to the community. This will go a long way toward feeding families throughout our service area. A truly meaningful donation.”

Thank You Publix for letting us be a part of the Food for All campaign. And thank you Central Florida for being so giving this past holiday season.

February 12, 2010

Community Comes Together to Hear Hunger Study Results

Author: Sasha Hausman

Monday night, volunteers, donors, board members, food bank employees, and community supporters came out to the Orlando Repertory Theatre to hear the results of our Hunger in Central Florida 2010 study.  Although the numbers were grave and the statistics were shocking, the feeling in the room was one of hope and promise. 

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

February 4, 2010

Behind the Scenes of Hunger in Central Florida 2010: The Data

Author: Brady Koch

We’re always excited and anxious about getting the results of our Hunger in America studies. On one hand we finally get the results of a year’s worth of training, coordination and volunteerism. On the other hand we get a nearly 300 page document that can be overwhelming. 500, 80 questions surveys creates a lot of data. How can we condense this into something that is digestible and still tells the complete story of hunger in Central Florida?

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

February 3, 2010

Behind the Scenes of Hunger in Central Florida 2010: The Volunteers

Author: Brady Koch

In addition to the Salvation Army and the KISS army, one of my favorite armies is the Second Harvest Hunger Study Army of volunteers. To complete the Hunger in Central Florida 2010 study, we utilized the services of nearly 100 dedicated volunteers who were willing to do one of the toughest assignments we have at the food bank: ask people questions.

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