August 9, 2010

Food Stamps Reach An All-Time Record

Author: Brady Koch

40.8 Million Americans are now participating in the food stamp program.

Here in Florida, it’s now called Food Assistance Program (FAP). We’re seeing the increased need in our Benefits Connection team. Last year we generated $14 million in annualized food stamps for Central Floridians. In July, we served more individuals than ever before and the demand is continuing to grow.

Article from The Boston Globe: Food stamp use hit record 40.8m in May

Want to see how our Benefits Connection program works? We were fortunate enough to be profiled on WFTV recently.

Watch WFTV’s Family Connection report: http://www.wftv.com/video/24443772/index.html

Brady Koch
Director of Agency Relations & Programs

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.

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.

January 7, 2010

New Year, New Program

Author: Brady Koch

Happy New Years!

Many of us have made a commitment to live a healthier life in 2010. For me, I’ll be involved in the Pound for Pound Challenge. For the food bank, it involves hiring a Nutrition Manager.   Next week I will begin to sort through all of the applications we’ve received for the new Nutrition Manager position we’re hiring at the food bank. This blog gives me the unique opportunity to include you in our program development process from design to implementation to evaluation.

 Before we begin any new program we complete a thorough research process that includes needs analysis, best practices studies, and pilot programs. One of the greatest benefits of our membership with Feeding America is access to the nationwide network of food banks throughout America. Combining ideas from the network and listening to the needs of our own agencies we are able to take this list of possible nutritionist tasks and whittle it down to a program with a specific strategic plan and outcomes. Here’s what we’ve determined to be our areas of focus for our Nutrition Manager:

•  Nutrition Education for Program participants: The food bank’s Strategic plan has an entire section devoted to our commitment to address the Childhood Obesity challenges faced specifically by children in food insecure households. Research continues to prove that children in low-income households consistently have a high rate of obesity. One of the main reasons for this is that the foods that are the healthiest happen to also be the most expensive. If the closest food store to your house is the gas station or convenience store, then your dollar is going to stretch even thinner. 
• Nutrition Analysis of our program food: Every year, about 10% of our food is acquired through our Power Purchase Center in order to provide participating agencies menu consistency. Our Nutritionist would be able to analyze the food we purchase and determine possible alternatives to make sure the items we can select for purchase is nutritionally optimal.

Like any of our programs, the Nutrition program will evolve with the community’s needs. It’s especially exciting to get the person in the position and see them run with the program that we’ve been honing for months. I’ll be sure to fill you in with another progress report once we hire the best candidate!

Brady Koch
Director of Agency Relations & Programs