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Second Harvest Newsletters
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Spring 2013
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Together, We Did
By Ann McManus
As many of our readers are aware, Second Harvest Food Bank is a member of the national organization, Feeding America, and is one of the oldest programs of the local organization, Community Action Committee of Lehigh Valley (CACLV). Every Fall, CACLV publishes an agency-wide Annual Report which includes a snapshot of our achievements for the fiscal year. We plan to start presenting you with an expanded version of that report each year
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because, as our supporters, you are directly responsible for the work we do to end hunger in Northeast Pennsylvania. This report will cover our last fiscal year (July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012).
Second Harvest distributed a record 6.38 million pounds of food, valued at $9,265,399*, through our ever-growing network of more than 200 member agencies. Even though member agencies pay a small shared maintenance fee of $0.16 per pound, the largest portion of the more than six million pounds was distributed to members at no cost, thanks to you. Emergency Food Providers (shelters, soup kitchens, and pantries distributing food to people who would not eat were it not for their assistance) in all six counties had more than 99% of their costs covered by your donations to Second Harvest!
Using the food they received from Second Harvest, our member agencies served 69,112 individuals each month. That’s an increase of approximately 4% over the numbers reported in the previous year. Even more telling, perhaps, is the increase in participation at Emergency Food Providers’ outlets. Here, the numbers jumped 29% from approximately 47,000 to more than 60,000 individuals in the same one year period.
Through our relationship with Feeding America, we cultivate relationships with national companies like Kraft and Nestle. We supplement national donations by also soliciting food on a local level. Those efforts were responsible for nearly 900,000 pounds of the food received and distributed. This is a 37% increase in food generated at the local level over the previous year. It represents the commitment of the local community, through producer and grower donations and the hard work and dedication of our staff in the fight to end hunger.
We officially launched a Fresh Foods Initiative and our Free Friday distributions (both of which we talked about in our last newsletter – check our website for the archive) to get more fresh and nutritious items to those we serve. We distributed more than 145,000 pounds of fresh produce, 161,000 pounds of meat, and 120,000 pounds of perishable dairy products.
Second Harvest provides food assistance to vulnerable populations at both ends of the age spectrum. Through the federal Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), which we have happily dubbed SUNShine boxes because they Serve UnderNourished Seniors, Second Harvest distributed 22,544 supplemental food packages to low-income seniors, five-year-olds, and new mothers. Through our Backpack Buddies program, 341 children received more than 17,000 packages of food to tide them over meal-wise from Friday’s school lunch to Monday morning’s school breakfast.
This year, for the first time, Second Harvest provided formal nutrition education through a partnership with Cooking Matters, a program of Share Our Strength. As the first partner agency in Pennsylvania, we conducted six classes to teach cooking and budgeting skills to low-income children, families, and seniors.
Finally, we applied for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamps) benefits for 575 households through our SNAP Outreach Hotline. We also provided assistance to more than 250 households who had previously applied and were having trouble completing the process.
Following, you will see photos and read more about our accomplishments. We are so proud of the work we are doing to end hunger and we are incredibly grateful to you – we know none of this would be possible without your support. Consider these your accomplishments as well.
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Mission Statement
Our mission is to obtain food and distribute it to people in need through area non-profits and to provide research for education and advocacy to end hunger.
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| 2011-2012 Income |
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2011-2012 Expenses
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| 2011-2012 Net Assets |
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Food and Fund Drives:
This year, local individuals and community groups organized more than one hundred food and fund drives to benefit Second Harvest. |
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Members of a local Student Council drop off donations they collected in their school for a holiday food drive. |
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Kornfeind's Market of Coplay organized a fund drive where proceeds from the sale of one of their monthly specials were donated to our Backpack Buddies program. |
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Member Agencies:
Through the efforts of our Agency Relations Coordinator, fifteen new member agencies were approved to be included in our ever-growing network. The agencies are spread out over our six-county service area so we can work to get food to everyone in need. |
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| St. Mark's Open Door Pantry of Allentown is one of the new agencies we added this year. Since becoming a member agency, the pantry is now serving more than 450 people in need every month. |
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Fresh Food Initiative:
With the launch of our Fresh Food Initiative, we are now able to accept and distribute more perishable items.
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Because we are able to accept more fresh produce, we can now include those items, like these bananas, in our monthly SUNShine Box distribution to senior citizens. |
To help us get perishable items to those in need faster, we have initiated a weekly "Free Friday" event to clear Members of a local Student Council drop off donations they collected in their school for a holiday food drive. |
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Cooking Matters:
Nutrition Education is an important part of our mission which we carry out through our Cooking Matters program to teach low-income families how to cook healthier meals with the resources available to them.
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| Out of the six Cooking Matters classes we conducted to teach healthy cooking, we had 60 graduates. The majority of graduates report better cooking skills and healthier eating after completing the course. |
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Volunteers:
For volunteers wanting to make a difference, we have a variety of opportunities for groups ranging from one or two people to more than fifty people. In an average week, Second Harvest has more than 30 volunteers completing more than 100 total hours of work - the equivalent of nearly three additional full-time staff members.
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| Twice a month, we have large groups of volunteers come in to assembly-line style pack food into boxes and bags for our SUNShine Box program for seniors and our Backpack Buddies program for kids. |
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In Memoriam:
Sadly, we had to say goodbye this year to a beloved coworker and friend, Terry Pernsley. Terry, who was a warehouse worker and driver at Second Harvest for the past five years, touched the lives of many and will be deeply missed. Our achievements this year are dedicated in his memory.
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Terry Pernsley, 1960-2013
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Previous Issues of Food for Thought:
Food for Thought Summer 2012
Food for Thought Spring 2012
Food for Thought Winter 2012
Food for Thought Summer 2011
Food for Thought Spring 2011
Food for Thought Winter 2011
Food for Thought Fall 2010
Food for Thought Summer 2010
Food for Thought Spring 2010
Food for Thought Winter 2010
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