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 …

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

August 31, 2010

Hunger Action Month is Here!

Author: Sasha Hausman

Hi all!

Can you believe that Hunger Action Month starts TOMORROW?? Food Banks all around the country are gearing up for an exciting September filled with many different events and programs. Of course Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida is no exception.

Our call to action this year is “30 Ways in 30 Days”. We are giving everyone in the community 30 different ways they can help fight hunger in Central Florida.

Why is Hunger Action Month important?
Approximately 1 in 5 of our population—732,000 people—needed food assistance in Central Florida last year. This is a 152% increase from 2006. The only way we can close the gap on hunger is with the community’s help. The need is tremendous in Central Florida…but so is the impact you can have.

So how can I help?

OK, here’s the deal…be sure to check out our Hunger Action Month Microsite. On this site, you will find everything you need to know about the activities happening throughout September. You will also find a downloadable copy of our “30 Ways in 30 Days” Calendar. Print it out and check out the action each day!
 
Here are some highlights…

• Hunger Action Month Kick-off: September 2nd at CRAVE Restaurant from 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm. We will be sharing our 30 ways calendar and explaining what everyone can do to take action this September.

• TAKE THE PLEDGE! The food bank that receives the most amount of pledges will receive a truckload of food from Feeding America. Take the pledge here and don’t forget to tell your friends!

• JOIN THE HUDDLE! Kraft Foods is sponsoring the “Huddle to Fight Hunger”. Along with many other initiatives, they are giving each food bank 1 meal for everyone who joins the huddle and gives a zip code in their service area. So be sure to join the huddle and give a Central Florida zip code!

• PORTRAITS OF HUNGER SHOWCASE: The winner of our Portraits of Hunger Photography contest will be announced along with a display of the photo submissions that we received for the contest. Bring a bag or box of food donations (non-perishable) and receive one ticket for a free bottle of Peroni. One free Peroni per person. We hope to see you at Enzian’s Eden Bar on Thursday, September 30! Program starts at 7:30 p.m.

I hope everyone is excited for Hunger Action Month! We would love it if you could send our Hunger Action Month e-card to your friends to let them know all about what they can do to help this September.

My personal “way” I am helping out this month is by BOGOing. Whenever I go food shopping, I will buy one for me, and get one for a family in need. I can’t wait to see what your “way” is.
 
Happy Hunger Action Month!

Sasha Hausman
Development Manager

August 5, 2010

Portraits of Hunger 1940

Author: Brady Koch

Earlier today I ran across an image of a Surplus Commodities distribution in October of 1940 in a collection of early color photography. For those of you who’ve ever volunteered at a food pantry, this looks strikingly familiar.

Speaking of photographs, we’re looking for submissions to our 2010 Portraits of Hunger competition. It’s a great way bring visibility to the invisible face of hunger. You are only limited by your vision for a hunger-free Central Florida.

If you would like to shoot photos at our facility please contact Sasha Hausman at shausman@foodbankcentralflorida.org to make an appointment.

There will be an online contest where the top 10 photographs will be voted on by the public for Portraits of Hunger. The top 3 photos will then be displayed at our Portraits of Hunger Showcase party. Photographs will remain on our website throughout the month of September.

Be sure to browse the rest of this Depression-Era color photography collection:  http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2010/07/26/captured-america-in-color-from-1939-1943/

 

Brady Koch
Director of Agency Relations and Programs