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.

February 12, 2010

Community Comes Together to Hear Hunger Study Results

Author: Sasha Hausman

Monday night, volunteers, donors, board members, food bank employees, and community supporters came out to the Orlando Repertory Theatre to hear the results of our Hunger in Central Florida 2010 study.  Although the numbers were grave and the statistics were shocking, the feeling in the room was one of hope and promise. 

Guests heard from our President and CEO, Dave Krepcho. He explained the study, talked about the numbers, gave insight on what Second Harvest plans to do about it, and gave examples on what our community can do to help.

Then a special speaker came up to the podium, her name was Annie Busby. She received food from one of our partner agencies, Jewish Family Services. She explained how she was self employed and was doing pretty well, until the economy took a turn. Annie was left with her children, and grandchildren to support. She explained that the food wasn’t just something to eat … it was a sign that things were looking up and that she could get through this tough time.

Annie read a poem that she wrote in dedication and honor to Second Harvest Food Bank

Oh shine on me with greatness, thy one who prepares thy meal, show me thy love; by the bread that you yield.
Give to me the importance of nutrient to my body, so that I can achieve.
Give me supplements to help with my yield, that I will grow strong to face the dawning morn.
Walk with me through the pain of hunger, by filling my stomach so that I know not hunger.
For I was hungry and you fed me, I was alone and you gave me hope. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink.
Thanks for the out stretched hand, thanks for the morsels of food.
From me to you; thank you, that I am stronger because of you.
For I too, am a child of the king, a pilgrim in a strange land.

Thank you to everyone that took the time to learn more about Hunger in Central Florida. If you were not able to make it to the reception, please check out the hunger study results online.

Have any ideas on how to help? Give us a call! (407) 295-1066

Photos from the reception:

 

Sasha Hausman
Events Specialist

February 4, 2010

Behind the Scenes of Hunger in Central Florida 2010: The Data

Author: Brady Koch

We’re always excited and anxious about getting the results of our Hunger in America studies. On one hand we finally get the results of a year’s worth of training, coordination and volunteerism. On the other hand we get a nearly 300 page document that can be overwhelming. 500, 80 questions surveys creates a lot of data. How can we condense this into something that is digestible and still tells the complete story of hunger in Central Florida?

Once we get the results, a group of us involved in the study from the beginning meet to sift through all of the tables, graphs, and narratives to pinpoint the information that Central Floridians care about most. At first we focus on the demographics. How many children, seniors, working adults, and homeless are affected by hunger.

Then we look at all of the questions that see how hunger is impacting their lives. How many people had to choose between gas for their car or buying food? And so on. Finally we look at the information from our partner agencies to see how they are responding to the ever increasing demand.

After weeks of meeting and going back and forth what data to include in the final presentation, we’re ready for our press conference. As you’ll soon see, the results for Hunger in Central Florida are staggering.

While it can be overwhelming to see the face of hunger in our statistics, we hope that everyone can also see that we have a strategy to fight hunger in Central Florida. If you’re interested in learning more, please attend our Hunger in Central Florida 2010 reception on Monday, February 8 at the Orlando Repertory Theatre. Click here to RSVP and for complete details.

Brady Koch
Director of Agency Relations & Programs

February 3, 2010

Behind the Scenes of Hunger in Central Florida 2010: The Volunteers

Author: Brady Koch

In addition to the Salvation Army and the KISS army, one of my favorite armies is the Second Harvest Hunger Study Army of volunteers. To complete the Hunger in Central Florida 2010 study, we utilized the services of nearly 100 dedicated volunteers who were willing to do one of the toughest assignments we have at the food bank: ask people questions.

Beginning in the Winter of 2009, we put out the call to volunteers who could commit to a two hour training, in addition to driving to one of our partner sites and interviewing a random sample of clients for about 30 minutes each.

Our volunteers came from all walks of life. Retirees, professionals, foundation heads, staff, our board of directors, and others all attended the training and were able to ask the 80 survey questions identically to preserve the integrity of the study. We were surprised at how many of our volunteers had participated in the 2006 survey. In speaking with them, they found the process very rewarding.

Hunger in Central Florida took over 500 volunteer hours to complete. Each interview averaged out to half an hour and like I wrote earlier, the most difficult part of the job wasn’t the noise of the location or working in the rain, it was asking difficult questions.

Many of the questions are simple ”how many people are in your family?, what is your age?, do you currently receive food stamps?” Questions like “Have you had to choose between food and medicine in the past month” and “Have your children had to go to bed without eating this week” can really challenge both the volunteer and interviewee. Every time we complete the study, volunteers speak with us about how emotionally draining the survey can be.

That’s why our Hunger Study Army is such a unique group of volunteers. They are not be fighting hunger by working with the food in our warehouse, they are fighting hunger by helping us tell the story of hunger in Central Florida to the community.

You don’t have to wait until our next study in 2013 to volunteer, contact Mindy Ortiz at mortiz@foodbankcentralflorida.org to learn how we can use your help today.

Brady Koch
Director of Agency Relations & Programs

February 2, 2010

Behind the Scenes of Hunger in Central Florida 2010: The Process

Author: Brady Koch

Every four years, all of the Feeding America food banks participate in the Hunger in America Study. On February 8th we will be holding a press conference and reception to share the Central Florida results. Click here to RSVP >>

The Study

The study is broken up into two parts. The first part is a questionnaire mailed to each of our Partner Feeding Programs. We have 530 partner agencies and it takes quite a bit of coordination keep track of who’s completed the survey and determine if it was a paper form or online.

The second part of the survey is much more resource intensive. We have to visit a random group of our agencies and then complete an 80 question survey with a random sample of clients from the people present. Because this is more work than we can accomplish with just staff, we rely almost exclusively on volunteers for the interview.

Once all of the surveys are complete, we turn them in to Feeding America to process the results. One year later, we get a really large email with our results and put together our Hunger in Central Florida 2010 books. It is a long process, but the information learned about local hunger is invaluable.

Brady Koch
Director of Agency Relations & Programs