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 …

August 17, 2011

Portraits of Hunger Photography Contest – Submit Your Photos!

Author: Maria Diestro

Second Harvest Food Bank invites you to participate in:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A photography contest that brings light to the invisible problem of hunger in our community and the simple solutions. Read More …

March 8, 2011

Eat Right with Color

Author: Maria Ali

By Kristina LaRue, Nutrition Intern at Second Harvest Food Bank

It’s National Nutrition Month! The American Dietetic Association designated the month of March to communicate the importance of making good food choices. This year’s theme is “Eat Right with Color.” This is the challenge to Americans— eat a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables every day.

Why does color matter?
• Not all plants are created equal—Each fruit and vegetable provides different nutrients and unique health benefits.
• Live it up with color—Eating the same fruits and vegetables over and over again is boring, especially when you are supposed to eat 5 a day. Including a variety of choices will help you to enjoy your food a whole lot more!
• Rev up the flavor—Fruits and vegetables come in all flavors. Add a twist to a dish by including a new taste. Eat the rainbow.
• Red—watermelon, pomegranate, strawberries, radishes, cherries, red peppers, red potatoes, rhubarb.
• Orange/Yellow—rutabagas, sweet potatoes, lemons, pumpkin, yellow tomatoes, apricots, pears, peaches, butternut squash.
• Green—zucchini, spinach, lima beans, collard greens, avocados, artichokes, green apples.
• Blue/Purple—blueberries, figs, blackberries, plums, purple grapes, prunes, raisins.
• White—cauliflower, mushrooms, garlic, onions, potatoes, turnips, bananas.

Take the challenge!

• Next time you are at the supermarket, put a new fruit or vegetable in your shopping cart!
• Make a list of the fruits and vegetables that you currently eat to figure out what colors you might be missing.
• Get creative—find new recipes that include fruits and vegetables. Make a fresh veggie dip, enjoy fruit smoothies, use dried fruits in trail mix.
• Keep ready to eat fruits and vegetables in the fridge.
• Double up. Increase the amount of veggies in the recipe.
• Have fruits for dessert.

Visit eatright.org for more information about National Nutrition Month. For more ideas and fun recipes visit fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov

Maria Ali, RD, LD/N
Nutrition Manager

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.

September 16, 2010

Hunger Action Month Week #3

Author: Maria Diestro

Can you believe that we are halfway through Hunger Action Month? What actions have you taken so far from our 30 Ways in 30 Days calendar? I would love any feedback or ideas you may have on our calendar.

I have been super busy promoting our calendar via our social media channels. I am happy to report that people have been sharing my links daily. If you would like to receive updates from us … like us on facebook or follow us on twitter. We would love to interact with you via these channels.

Since there are 15 more days left of Hunger Action Month, I wanted to give you a quick rundown of some fun and quick actions you can take this week.

Today you can participate in Kraft’s Text to Give campaign. Text the word “MEALS” and your zip code to 71717 and Kraft will donate a meal to Second Harvest Food Bank. This is part of the Huddle to Fight Hunger Campaign. Everytime someone joins the huddle in Central Florida a meal gets donated to Second Harvest Food Bank. And guess what … Florida is in second place! 

On Friday, September 17 fight hunger with just one click. Download Pampered Chef’s Cookbook for a Cause for free and a meal with be donated to Feeding America. Pampered Chef’s goal is to donate 10 million pounds of food this year. You can help them reach this goal by downloading this exclusive celebrity cookbook.

You can actually do this action every day till September 23. Vote for the hunger image that moves you the most! Online voting for our Portraits of Hunger Photography contest has started. We have received over 900 votes already. Remember, you can vote as many times as you want.

We need your help in choosing the top 3 photos. After that, our 3 judges will choose the winner. The winner of Portraits will be announced along with a display of all photo entries at our showcase party. The winner will have their photo showcased at The Enzian Theater for a month!

Here are the details:
Portraits of Hunger Showcase Party
Date: Thursday, September 30, 2010 at 7:30 p.m.
Location: Enzian’s Eden Bar – 1300 South Orlando Avenue, Maitland, FL 32751
Bring a food donation (non-perishable) and receive a free Peroni. 1 free Peroni per person.

Until next week! 

Maria Diestro
Online Service and Communications Manager