It was the week before Thanksgiving, and one of our staff at Second Harvest Food Bank opened his email inbox and recognized the name of one of the senders as a personal acquaintance he hadn’t seen in a few years. He recalled Wanda as a very successful and talented real estate agent, and was pleased to hear from her.

Upon opening the message, however, it immediately became clear that the message wasn’t just a friendly hello. Wanda related that she and her teenage son had been struggling with tough financial times for a couple of years. She told of how she had been making more than $80,000 a year in commissions prior to the crash in home sales, and since had been getting by on just over a quarter of that amount per year in income.

She had burned through her savings, and admitted that one of them had been forced to skip meals recently due to lack of money. “And I can tell you it wasn’t my son…” she wrote. “I never imagined I’d need to ask for help, but would someone like me qualify for help with food?”

Wanda was referred to one of the more than 500 local nonprofit feeding programs that receive food from Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida to help her family get through the tough time. In a nation and community that is as wealthy in food resources as ours, Second Harvest Food Bank is committed to the idea that among all the things that struggling families have to overcome … hunger should not be on the list.

As you take stock of your personal situation this year, please don’t forget about the families who need help with food…. So many find themselves walking through the doors of a feeding program for the first time. Many who felt secure just one year ago are now struggling to feed themselves and their families.

Won’t you help us create hope for them right away? We appreciate any help you can give. Thank you again for your continued support of Second Harvest.

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

The generosity of our donors and this community never ceases to amaze.  On October 30^th, all 12 Central Florida Walmart Neighborhood Market stores kicked off a weeklong food drive benefitting Second Harvest Food Bank.  For the duration of the week, customers and staff donated critical need items like canned veggies, soup, rice and baby food, and filled storefront donation bins to the brim.  The weights are all in – more than 10,000 lbs were collected for our neighbors in need.

The food drive culminated with an event at the 600 S Alafaya Trail location on Saturday, November 5^th.  MIX 105.1 and 105.9 SUNNY FM were on hand all day with rockin’ tunes and giveaways, including children’s bike helmets compliments of Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, and Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus provided free opening night circus tickets to those who donated 10 or more items.  Beyond that, 12 lucky families received brand new children’s bicycles, each donated by one of the Walmart Neighborhood Market stores!

“This time of the year especially, it’s important to our company and associates that we reach out and help those less fortunate in our communities. For the second year in a row, our Central Walmart Neighborhood Markets took up this cause and did a phenomenal job providing much needed food to those in need. We appreciate them for all they do and we appreciate our partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank,” said Cheryl Lester, Walmart Regional General Manager.

Since partnering with the food bank in 2009, Walmart Neighborhood Market stores across Central Florida have donated the equivalent of over 672,000 meals through our Grocery Alliance Program. 

A HUGE thank you to all 12 Walmart Neighborhood Market stores for making the Neighbors Helping Neighbors Food Drive a tremendous success!

Photos from November 5, 2011:

Lauren Moskowitz
Grocery Alliance Program Manager

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.

With the help of amazing local corporate partners, we have come up with a “30 Ways in 30 Days” Calendar. We’ll be counting down our 30 day calendar in weekly blog posts, so make sure to sign up to receive them in your mailbox (on the top left of this page).

You might say “Wait a minute!  You just told me there are 3 easy ways to get involved not 30! Below you can find three easy ways to start spreading the word about hunger right here in Central Florida.

 3 easy ways to get involved:

 1) Attend at least one event on our 30 Ways in 30 Days Calendar

For Hunger Month we have partnered with Cheese Cake Factory, Joe’s Crab Shack, Firestone Live!, Five Guys Burgers & Fries, NYPD Pizza, Mochi Downtown, Third Thursday Gallery Walk, Eden Bar, City of Orlando and Enzian Theater!  Check out our calendar to see how these amazing local businesses are getting involved with Hunger Action Month!

 2) Visit: http://www.CFLHungerAction.org

Our Hunger Action Month website is an online calendar of all the events happening in September. From there you can also sign the hunger pledge and learn about more ways to get involved with Second Harvest.  

 3) Share with your friends, family and co-workers

We hope you love social media as much as we do! Just look for the social media share buttons on all our pages and events. Just click the button and it will automatically share the information you are looking at with your facebook friends or twitter followers. Also, if you pick up a calendar or a postcard at an event, make sure to grab two. One for you and one for a friend.

Did you know that One in Five Central Floridians struggles with Hunger? This story made the front page of the Orlando Sentinel this morning: Nearly a third of Central Florida children may lack adequate nutrition. Join us in changing these statistics by getting involved.

In the great words of Henry Ford: “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”

 Anyone want to try to complete all 30 ways in September? How do you plan on getting involved this September? 

Maria Diestro
Online Services and Communications Manager

1. Food Hardship
A recently released study  showed the hardest hit markets for families not being able to afford adequate food.  The Orlando area ranked #10 in the nation for food hardship with 23.6% of the population struggling — higher than the State and national averages.

2. Childhood Hunger
Orlando has a higher percentage of children in poverty that are of school age than the rest of Florida or the overall United States. One in six children lives on the brink of hunger in Florida. The number is closer to one in four for Central Florida. Orlando: 23.3% vs. overall U.S.: 17%

3. The Meal Gap
A study released March 2011 shows that Central Florida ranks higher than the national average for a measurement of what percentage of the population is in need of food. This study also measured the Gap in terms of dollars needed to provide missing meals over the course of one year. For Central Florida the gap is $84,548,545.00.

4. Poverty Rate
For Central Florida, there are approximately 400,000 people living in poverty, almost 20% of the population. Just over 100,000 of that population are children.

5. Hunger Study
The Hunger Study for Central Florida measures several indicators every four years on the hunger landscape. One key measurement is the number of different people receiving help through our feeding programs. In 2004 the number of people was 298,000. When measured in 2009, it grew to 732,000 people….a 152% increase. This increase outpaces most parts of the country. Florida ranks #1 in Nation for increase in households struggling with hunger . Increase from 2004-2006 period of 8.9% to 14.2 % for 2007-2009.

6. 211 Calls
The number of 211 calls for help in Central Florida increased by 43% from 2009 to 2010. The increase continues in 2011. Food assistance is one of the top three requests.

7. Food Stamp (SNAP) Usage
SNAP usage has increased in Central Florida by 32.8% vs. the State average of 20.8% from 2009 – 2010.  One in six Floridians use Food Stamps. There was a 113% increase in Florida from 2007 -2009 in the number of people who lived in households that had no other cash income other than Food Stamps.

8. Unemployment
U.S = 8.9% rate vs.  Metro Orlando = 10.8%. Surrounding Counties in Central Florida have a rate as high as 12%.

9. Under- Employment
Florida ranks fifth in the nation as a percentage of people that are considered under-employed…. ranging from 21% – 24.9% . While we do not have Central Florida data, we believe this range fits or may be understated due to the heavy tourism base and the tens of thousands of low paying jobs related to that industry.

10. The Perfect Storm
All of the previous nine key indicators add up to a perfect storm of a dire situation. This data paints the picture of Central Florida’s dubious distinction as a geographic area in great need. When compared to other markets across the country, Central Florida, unfortunately, stands out as an area of higher need.

 
A really great way to fight hunger is to attend one of our regularly scheduled “Food for Thought” informational tours at either our Orlando or Volusia Branch locations. You’ll get a sense of how a Food Bank works and what an incredible difference we are able to make for people who are struggling to put food on the table.  We don’t ask for contributions at Food for Thought. Instead, we hope that our guests will be motivated to tell others about our mission, and be inclined to take action at some point in the future themselves. To look at available tour dates and to sign up online, please visit our Food for Thought page.

Dave Krepcho
CEO & President

Sources: Food Research and Action Center (Washington, DC 2010 Study), Center on Hunger (Echo Strategies), Hunger in Central Florida 2009 (USDA and Economic Research Services), U.S. Census Bureau, Florida Impact 2010, Heart of Florida United Way, Florida Department of Children & Families, New York Times / Florida Department of Children & Families, Gallup Poll, 2010

We are so grateful to have so many wonderful organizations coordinate food drives for Second Harvest Food Bank during the holidays. We wanted to take a moment to highlight one of these groups. Central Florida Preparatory students spent a month giving back to various organizations in Central Florida. Below is a small write up and some photos from their month of charity.  

Central Florida Preparatory School Participates in a Month of Charity
 
When Mrs. Ramos asked students, “How can we help neighbors who are distressed with hardship this season?”  She received overwhelming response.  While students recognized a need for shelter, clothing, and monetary contributions, they all agreed that no one should go hungry.  From that class discussion, sprouted wide spread excitement about the opportunity to help the less fortunate in Central Florida.

The entire school, which houses students from Pre-Kindergarten thru High School, took part in a month of charity.  Hundreds of Central Florida Preparatory students participated in a “Tis the Season to Give” Food Drive, which collected nearly 1,000 pounds of food to benefit the many Central Florida Residents afflicted with hunger.  Further students expressed charity through Art, Language, Volunteerism and Self Expression. 

Pre-schoolers drew pictures about charity, while first graders participated in Macy’s “Letters to Santa” to benefit Make-a-Wish Foundation which grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions. 

All food proceeds were donated to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida.  Central Florida Preparatory School is a non-profit non-sectarian private school located in Orange County and in the Southwest Orlando area.  “Tis the Season to Give” Food Drive ran through December, 2010.

Walmart is asking Central Florida residents to participate in a nationwide week-long holiday food drive to benefit local food banks as part of an $18 million initiative to fight hunger this holiday season.

Walmart’s nationwide food drive will be held from Tuesday, November 16 through Monday, November 22, in each of Walmart’s 3,700 stores nationwide. Customers are being asked to bring non-perishable food items to be donated to local food banks.

Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida received a truckload of food last Tuesday, enough to make about 32,000 meals. Second Harvest was one of 10 food banks in the country to receive this donation, it came just in time for Thanksgiving.

View truck photos:

The food donation request is accompanied by a hunger relief campaign that runs through Friday, Dec. 31. It gives local residents an opportunity to visit Walmart’s Facebook page at facebook.com/walmart and help decide which cities should receive $1.5 million in grants to fight hunger.

Participants will choose from a list of 100 communities where hunger rates are the highest. The city with the most support will receive $1 million in grants, and the next five cities with the highest support will receive $100,000 each.  

Please help Fight Hunger in Central Florida by visiting the following link: http://fightinghunger.walmart.com/city/Orlando-Kissimmee-FL and place your vote by clicking the “Like” button.

Recently, one of our Benefits Connection Outreach Specialists shared a story that puts a face on someone in need in Central Florida. It shatters the stereotype of who we think may be in need of something so basic as food.

There are so many reasons why people require food assistance. There are thousands of these stories.

Last year alone, Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida reached 732,000 different  individuals (many of them multiple times) that were in need of food. People suffering from the poor economy, folks under-employed, kids who need proper nutrition, the disabled and senior citizens on fixed incomes.

If you have supported Second Harvest, thank you, we need your continued partnership. If you are checking us out for the first time and considering support, thank you.

It’s through the generosity of many folks that make our work possible. For every dollar donated, we distribute $9 worth of groceries. 96 cents of every dollar goes directly to feeding people…quite a “Return On Investment”. It’s amazing and it’s a fact.

Please join us in being part of the solution to hunger – it’s a rewarding experience. It’s always healthy to put things in perspective.

Dave Krepcho
President/CEO

Are you ready to talk a walk on the wild side? We sure hope so! Because Canstruction is back with a new theme for 2010: ZOO CAN DO IT! Canstruction Orlando is teaming up with the Central Florida Zoo to create the best Canstruction yet!

So you might be asking, what in the world is a Canstruction?

Canstruction is a design/build competition currently held throughout cities in North America.  Teams of architects, engineers, and folks from numerous organizations come together to build large structures made entirely from full cans of food.  Since its inception, 10 million pounds of food have been donated to aid in the fight against hunger throughout the nation.

Orlando has produced an event every year since 1994. Over the years we have collected over 306,000 cans, boxes, or bags of food and raised over $37,000 in donations through the People’s Choice award for a favorite structure. We have had strong support from the Design Community and in particular, the Society for Design Administration and the American Institute of Architects.

This year’s 8 fabulous teams have been busy trying to come up with the best zoo themed structure for the event. I am pretty excited to see what everyone has been working on. The build will begin Sunday, October 17th at 9 am at Orlando Fashion Square! You can come out and watch the teams create their masterpieces.

Lions! And tigers! And bears! OH YES! Well kind of…If you come out between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on the 17th, you will be in for a WILD time as the folks at the Central Florida Zoo will be bringing some of their friends over.  You’ll have to come out to Orlando Fashion Square to see what kind of fun furry friends, or creepy creatures will be there.

The structures will be on display at Orlando Fashion Square all week, October 17-24. The teams will receive awards like Best Meal, Best Use of Labels, Jurors’ Favorite, Healthy Award, People’s Choice, and Best Signage.

Would you like to have a say in who wins the People’s Choice Award and have a chance to win a pretty awesome Central Florida Zoo gift pack? Well stop by the mall all week while the structures are up and vote! You will be automatically entered to win a membership to the Central Florida Zoo for a family of 4, a zip line experience for a family of 4, and 4 zoo shirts!

This is the most important part…what happens to the food after the event? On Sunday the 24th, all the teams will get together to break down the structures. The Second Harvest Food Bank truck and staff will be there to load the food and bring it back to the food bank. From there, our trusty volunteers will sort the food and get it ready to go out to a neighbor in need.

The staff over at Second Harvest is going BANANAS over Canstruction 2010: Zoo Can Do It! We just wanted to say a big thanks to all of our teams, team sponsors, and of course our hard working Canstruction Orlando Committee.
               
So quit “lion” around! Make your way out to Orlando Fashion Square to take a look at these amazing structures.  For more information about Canstruction Orlando, please visit www.canstruction-orlando.org

See you there!

Sasha Hausman
Development Manager