December 8, 2010

You cared, people were helped. Thank you.

Author: Dave Krepcho

Your support of Second Harvest Food Bank has made an impact in lives of thousands of Central Florida seniors, children, and families this past year.

Here’s a look at our accomplishments:

- Second Harvest distributed 24,764,248 pounds of food to more than 500 partner feeding programs in our 6 county-wide service area.

- Our Kids Cafe program served, prepared or catered meals to 164,155 children at 13 kids cafe’s in 3 counties.

- During the summer, we served 43,188 meals for school age children at 17 sites in Orange County through our Summer Feeding program. Through a grant from ConAgra we were also able to provide the kids with 15,773 take-home, shelf-stable food packs for the weekends.

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

- An amazing 1,227,100 pounds of non-perishable grocery products were collected in fiscal 2009/2010 through our Community Food Drives.

- Our Benefits Connection program secured over $14 million in food stamp benefits for Central Floridians. In addition to food stamp benefits, our specialists also signed clients up for Medicaid and Cash Assistance, and provided referrals to a network of collaborating agencies.

- Second Harvest Food Bank set up an online advocacy center and urged congressional leaders to fully fund and pass Child Nutrition Reauthorization. The Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill was passed last week in Congress!

Whether you volunteered, gave a special gift, contacted your elected officials, or simply were part of our online community, YOU helped thousands of Central Floridians this year. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Dave Krepcho
President & CEO

July 21, 2010

Almost a third of U.S. children are overweight, but many are also hungry?

Author: Maria Ali

Almost a third of U.S. children are overweight, but many are also hungry? Does it make sense?

Click here to read more: Eating Nutritiously A Struggle When Money Is Scarce

This article highlights some of the complexities of hunger in America. It’s not just about getting enough food, but getting enough of the right kinds of food, as well as understanding the importance of making the right choices.

It can be very challenging to eat healthy on a tight budget, but have we considered what price we are paying to not eat healthy? What price are our children paying? What affect has it had on our communities?

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack stated  there is a similarity between low-income families trying to stretch scarce food dollars with high-calorie processed foods, “and youngsters who are just flat out not getting fed because their parents don’t have the resources to feed them.”

Elaine Livas, who runs Project SHARE, a food pantry in Pa., expressed that there’s something else to consider. As the nation becomes more health conscious, she’s noticing less healthy food coming to her pantry. She’s getting more sugar-coated cereals, for example, than the high-fiber ones she used to receive. “We can’t really complain that the poor are heavier, when what we’re donating is our kind of castaways,” she says.

What are your thoughts?

Maria Ali, RD, LD/N
Nutrition Manager

June 17, 2010

Summer of Hunger Article

Author: Brady Koch

We’re entering our second week of the Summer Food Service Program and are starting to see children lining up at our lunch sites. It’s certainly a good thing that these kids in need are able to locate and travel to a feeding site, but it’s also a raw reminder of the state of childhood hunger in our community. Unfortunately it’s a problem that all communities across the United States are facing.

AOL News published an article that provides a comprehensive look at our children that are out of school and out of food. The nationwide challenges detailed in the story are mirrored here in Central Florida

Record Number of Kids Facing Summer Of Hunger

 WASHINGTON (June 16) — With the school year ending in communities across America, more than 16 million children face a summer of hunger.

While classes were in session, they relied on free or discount cafeteria meals subsidized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But they will not be reached by the patchwork summer food programs financed by the USDA, which feed fewer than one in five of the total number of kids poor enough to qualify.

The children caught in the gap will likely spend the next few months cadging leftovers from neighbors, chowing down on cheap junk, lining up with their families at food banks that are already overmatched or simply learning to live with a constant headache, growling stomach and chronic fatigue. When school rolls around again in the fall, they will be less healthy and less ready to learn than their peers.

The problem is not new, of course, but indicators for a crisis are lining up. Federal studies show that “food insecurity” for children peaks during summer, said USDA spokeswoman Jean Daniel, adding, “That’s a cutting-edge research term for hunger.” Demand for food stamps is already up. Demand at food banks is already way up. Donations, however, are down.

Read complete article.

February 24, 2010

The Haunting Calls Keep Coming

Author: Dave Krepcho

At Second Harvest, we’ve seen a large increase in the number of calls from individuals requiring food. In addition to the 21 million pounds of food we distribute during a year, we receive an average of 20 calls per day from people seeking assistance.

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

January 20, 2010

State-side Relief for Haiti

Author: Dave Krepcho

Although we are not chartered as an organization to do international relief, we found ourselves very busy these past few days in helping with the Haitian relief effort – domestically.

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:

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