Inside the Heartland - Second Harvest Heartland

Inside the Heartland
A Publication of Second Harvest Heartland
Winter 2005
RESPONDING TO HUNGER:
THE ON-GOING NEED
From a distance of 10,000 miles, the video clips of tsunami destruction and the
mounting death toll have horrified us all. From the pictures we knew what to do - we
opened our hearts and wallets to help the survivors. The magnitude of
this distant catastrophe overshadows a quieter, less visible disaster here at
home. There are no videos or death tolls reported on TV, but more than
a quarter million Minnesotans are uncertain about when they will get
their next meal. Food insecurity - hunger - threatens the health and
development of many children and it undermines their parents' hopes to
create a stable and secure family life. Tsunamis are cataclysmic, but fortunately they are rare. Hunger is all too common as a recurring catastrophe for those who lack food and a disaster for the society that tolerates it.
Between January 2002 and December 2004, the number of visits to food
shelves and emergency feeding programs served by Second Harvest
Heartland increased 34%, from 972,583 to 1,300,887. In the same period,
the number of agencies supported by Second Harvest Heartland increased from 730 to 850 and the amount of food
distributed increased 15% in one year, from 27 million pounds to 30.9 million pounds.
To learn more about the impact of hunger, Second Harvest Heartland is joining America's Second Harvest in conducting a comprehensive study of hunger in our service area. The study includes a survey of all of our partner agencies and
Continued on page 3...
DISH:
A Benefit Serving Up Gourmet Fare for Hunger Relief
St. Paul's spectacular riverfront at dusk is the backdrop for the second annual DISH on Friday, April 15, 6-10 PM, at
the St. Paul Radisson Riverfront Hotel. This is a benefit for Second Harvest Heartland. The 2005 theme will be A
Latin American Celebration. Top chefs from some of the Twin Cities’ finest restaurants have been challenged to create
authentic Latin American dishes or dishes inspired by Latin American ingredients or preparations. Participating
restaurants include Babalú, Bobino, Chino Latino, Dixie’s, Downtowner Woodfire Grill, El Mesón, jP American Bistro,
Mojito, Sapor Café and Bar, Tejas and Tiburón. Second Harvest Heartland’s Kitchen of Opportunities will also
be participating.
Sponsored By:
Continued on page 6...
From the Executive Director
Dear Inside the Heartland Readers,
In the past twelve months . . .
- Has your household ever had to choose between paying for food and paying for rent or
mortgage? For medical care? For utilities?
- Did you ever not eat for a whole day because there just wasn't enough money for food?
- Were your children ever hungry but you just couldn't afford more food?
Think what it would be like to answer these questions “yes.” Imagine the feelings of sadness, of despair or even guilt.
The answers to sobering questions like the ones above will soon bring home the harsh realities of those in our communities who must face hunger daily. The 2005 Hunger Study consists of sixteen pages of difficult questions, tough for
our interviewers to ask, yet even tougher for those who will answer “yes” to such painful questions.
The answers will help us form a composite, current picture of the state of hunger in 2005. From there, we will work
with our partners to ascertain more effective ways of fighting this insidious problem so widespread throughout our society. Our vision is that one day, in this land of plenty; such horrible questions won't need to be asked.
R. Jane Brown
From the Board Chair
Dear Friends,
Recently my thoughts have been with those a half a world away who are coping with devastation caused by the tsunamis. Their lives are so dramatically changed by this disaster. It is heartwarming to see how many people and nations in the world have reached out with aid and assistance. Compassion and generosity are among the best of human traits, aren't they?
At Second Harvest Heartland, we thank you for your ongoing compassion and generosity. You help us fight hunger
every day. It's a reoccurring battle with very serious consequences for children, adults and seniors. Food is the fuel that
helps us survive and succeed. Many low income, hard-working families rely on a patchwork of school nutrition programs, soup kitchens and food shelves to keep hunger at bay as they struggle to pay rising housing and health care costs.
Ninety-six percent of each dollar you donate to Second Harvest Heartland goes to programs that fight hunger. In the
past year, we've helped distribute more than 30 million pounds of food to your neighbors in need through many community partnerships in Minnesota and western Wisconsin.
The need is not diminishing. Your ongoing support is needed and appreciated.
Bonnie Bassett
Chair, Board of Directors
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Inside the Heartland
10,025
MINNESOTA: LAND OF 10,000 POTLUCKS
“Somewhere between the commute home from work, picking up the dry cleaning and
baking cookies for the kid's school parties, most people forget to save the world…”
Washington Post, January 10, 2004
You can help save the world at home by doing what you already know how to do: organize a potluck. One Big Table Potluck is the search for America's best recipes and a fun
way to raise awareness and money to benefit the hungry. It is as easy as gathering a group of people, inviting them to
bring their favorite dish and donate money to help feed the hungry through your local food shelf or Second Harvest
Heartland. Your guests vote for their favorite recipe and then submit it to Second Harvest Heartland for the
competition.
Second Harvest Heartland is joining America's Second Harvest in celebrating their 25th Anniversary by promoting a
summer of potlucks. Between National Hunger Awareness Day, June 7, 2005, and Labor Day, we want to launch at least
25 potlucks in our area. To help you, we will provide you with a ready-made plan for organizing the event.
After a season of potlucks, Second Harvest Heartland will ask local chefs to determine the best recipes in early
September. Winners will advance to the semi-finals for national competition in October 2005. Recipe Categories
include: Best Heirloom, Best Regional, Stone Soup and Personal Best. Full descriptions of the categories can be found
on our website, 2harvest.org.
For more information, contact us at: 651.209.7929 or visit our website at 2harvest.org.
Minnesota Hunger 101
Responding to Hunger
Continued from Page 1
conducting 500 personal interviews. From the data
gathered, we will learn the factors that cause people to
be hungry in this land of plenty. Survey data will provide demographic profiles that tell us who uses emergency food programs, charitable responses to hunger
and the success of local agencies in meeting food security needs. The information will be provided to policy makers in St. Paul and Washington, D.C.
The surveys and interviews will be conducted between
February and April as part of a national study conducted every four years by America's Second Harvest.
The data will be compiled by America's Second
Harvest and compared to data from the 2001 study.
We will receive and publish the results in November.
The lessons we learn will help us to improve our
hunger relief efforts and improve our hunger education and advocacy programs. The personal stories
gathered during the interviews will help our staff and
volunteers to understand the day-to-day impact of
hunger and strengthen our resolve to end it.
Inside the Heartland
Minnesota Hunger 101© is a unique learning
experience in which participants are asked to take
on the life circumstances of real Minnesotans who
are hungry. The purpose of this hour-long exercise is to help participants understand the complex, intersecting economic and social circumstances that lead to and perpetuate hunger. Taken
as a whole, the profiles accurately portray the challenges that many Minnesotans face in securing
enough food to live healthy lives.
During the hour-long program, each participant
uses the limited resources available to secure
enough food to feed his or her family by visiting a
grocery store, food shelf and food stamp office.
The experience provides the starting point for an
in-depth discussion about hunger and supports a
strong call to action.
This activity is ideal for organized groups such as
church and youth groups, service clubs, employee
volunteer or community service groups. For more
information or to schedule a Minnesota Hunger
101 session, please call Arlene Birnbaum at
651.209.7944.
3
Second Harvest Heartland Programs
The Food Bank
John Livingston is the Food Bank Director at Second
Harvest Heartland and directs the many activities that
support all of our programs. His job is a complex one and
John directs a staff of 29 that makes the Food Bank
operate efficiently. The Food Bank receives product
donations from food producers, grocery wholesalers and
retailers; it manages a large, ever-changing inventory, takes The Food Bank Operations staff at Second Harvest Heartland,
and fills customer orders, and then delivers them to food
John Livingston is in top of the back row
shelves, soup kitchens and congregate dining sites. Under
John's leadership, the Food Bank received, handled and
distributed nearly 31 million pounds of food in 2004.
Under John's leadership, the Food Bank has improved the
management of inventory and increased efficiency in
Second Harvest Heartland receives and distributes gro- ordering, receipting and reporting. The installation of
ceries from four main sources: America's Second Harvest new technology has increased our efficiency with bar
national donors, local donors, US Department of codes, handheld scanners and lift mount scanners.
Agriculture commodities and local food drives.
In addition to receiving and handling food, the Food Bank
also delivers food to many partner agencies that don’t have
the means to pick-up from our warehouses, particularly
those outside the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area. We
recently modernized our fleet with the addition of two
new tractors and two refrigerated straight trucks. The
Second Harvest Heartland fleet of tractor-trailers and
trucks operate eight hours a day, five days a week throughout our sixty-one county service area of Minnesota and
Western Wisconsin.
Before joining Second Harvest Heartland in 2002, John
was the Plant Manager at Minnesota Diversified
Industries, contract manufacturing facility. “Over the past
three years the evolution of operations at Second Harvest
Heartland has been amazing,” John said. “Through the
hard work and dedication of the staff we have been able to
provide an amazing amount of food to our community unfortunately, the need continues to grow faster than our
resources.”
The Flow of Food Through Second Harvest Heartland
1.
Second Harvest
Heartland is alerted that
food is going to be donated through either a call
from the food donor or
America's Second Harvest.
4
2. A pick-up or delivery is
scheduled and the food is
brought
to
Second
Harvest Heartland where
it is unloaded and either
counted or weighed.
3. Pallet tags are generated
which puts the item on the
inventory and it is then
tagged and put away in the
open racking, the cooler or
the freezer.
4. An agency calls to place
an order and a Warehouse
Activity Plan is created.
Inside the Heartland
Kraft Grant to Benefit
Food Rescue Program
Kraft Foods recently awarded
$50,500 to Second Harvest
Heartland's Food Rescue
program, Twelve Baskets.
The grant provides for the
purchase of the truck and also
helps to defray the truck's
operating cost during its first
year.
Second Harvest Heartland’s
five Food Rescue trucks cover
Jeff A. Reed and Darin Zehr
a 1500 square mile area each
from Kraft with Twelve Baskets
day. Sponsoring a truck proFood Rescue Driver Dean Rockney
vides companies with high
visibility in the Twin Cities area and helps Second Harvest
Heartland to defray the costs of distributing more food to
our partner agencies.
Truck Sponsorship Opportunities
Truck sponsorships are an invaluable way for companies and
donors to support Second Harvest Heartland. Sponsorship
funds will help defray the pick-up and delivery costs of the
Food Rescue Program. Sponsorships are available at several
support levels. Companies and donors interested in learning
more about sponsorship opportunities should contact Kristen
Whittenbaugh at 651.209.7921.
5. The items requested
are moved to another
area where they are then
placed with the rest of
the order being picked
by the warehouse staff.
6. The order is then
staged for delivery or
pick-up and received by
an agency.
All photos © Daniel Kieffer
Inside the Heartland
Agency Accolades
The Campus Kitchen at Augsburg College
(CKAC) has been selected by World Hunger
Year to receive the Harry Chapin Self-Reliance
Award. The award is given to “outstanding grassroots organizations in the United States that have
moved beyond charity to creating change in their
communities.” CKAC, a program of The
Campus Kitchens Project, works as a partnership
among Augsburg College, Sodexho Dining
Services and local community agencies. More
than a hunger-relief organization, the Campus
Kitchen is a leadership development initiative
that uses food donations from campus dining
operations, student organizations, and Second
Harvest Heartland’s Twelve Baskets Food Rescue
program in the preparation of meals that are
delivered to community service agencies. Other
projects carried out by CKAC include nutrition
education, youth cooking classes, an adopt-a-family project and a culinary job-training program.
They were featured in the Spring 2004 issue of
Inside the Heartland. Congratulations to the staff
and volunteers at the Campus Kitchen at
Augsburg College for helping to fight hunger in
our region.
Leverage Your Donation
During March and April, all product and
financial donations to Second Harvest
Heartland will be counted toward the
Feinstein Foundation $1,000,000 Challenge
Grant.
For more information, visit
2harvest.org or call Robb Kline, Director of
Donor Relations at 651.209.7936. Your donations go further in March and April - please
contribute what you can!
New Food Donors
Cosco - St. Louis Park
Morey’s Seafood
Noodles and Company
Tony Downs Foods
Twin Cities Jewish Middle School
Twin Cities Jewish Community Center
Industry Shows - Cub Women's Expo
5
Volunteer Spotlight
Best Buy Corporation Tag Team Volunteers are in the
Volunteer Spotlight. In the last year, Best Buy volunteers
have invited Second Harvest Heartland to attend their
Volunteer Fairs and given us opportunities to raise awareness of ways that volunteers can help fight hunger.
Best Buy has sent 12 volunteer teams to help Second
Harvest Heartland in the last 6 months. Teams have provided hundreds of volunteer hours sorting food at our
N.E. Minneapolis Service Center and packing boxes for
our Supplemental Nutrition Programs that serve mothers,
children and seniors from our Maplewood location.
Volunteers bring more than just determination and a
desire to help. When a Best Buy volunteer team accumulates 45 hours of service they can request a Best Buy “Tag
Team” award. Each Tag Team Award generates a $1,000
contribution to Second Harvest Heartland. To date, we
have received six awards from the Best Buy Children's
Foundation to “enhance the quality of life for school age
children” in communities where Best Buy has a presence.
Jonda Hammons, from Best Buy Events and Volunteerism
said, "I have heard nothing but accolades from employees
who volunteer at Second Harvest. They have fun. More
importantly they learn about themselves and their
A group of volunteers from Best Buy at the
Maplewood location
teammates, making Best Buy, the community and Second
Harvest more viable."
The Tag Team award exemplifies the link between corporate volunteers and corporate giving in support of our mission: To fight hunger through community partnerships.
Remember March is Minnesota
FoodShare Month:
Donate Food and Funds!
Donations to Second Harvest Heartland are credited to
Minnesota FoodShare’s total receipts
DISH
Continued from page 1
Along with sampling gourmet food, guests will enjoy tasting wine and bidding at the silent auction. Event sponsors
include Mpls St. Paul Magazine, Smooth Jazz 100.3, Trinity Oaks, Reynolds Vineyard, Target Corporation and Bremer
Bank.
The proceeds from the event will help Second Harvest Heartland to distribute up to nine dollars worth of grocery products with every dollar raised from the event.
Space is limited. Make your reservation today by calling 651.209.7994 or register on-line at www.2harvest.org.
Individual tickets are $50.00 and tables of 10 are $500.00. Additional sponsorships are available.
6
Inside the Heartland
Giving Comes in Many Different Forms
Various Events and Fundraisers held for
Second Harvest Heartland
October-January
Events, Fundraisers and Event Sponsors
Arena 5K
B96 Food Drive
Butterball
Cub Foods Buy a Turkey, Give a Turkey
Second Harvest Heartland Executive Director
Jane Brown (right) receiving a check from the
Minnesota Pork Board with the Karen and David Richter
Family of Montgomery, MN. ( from left to right) Brad,David, Minnesota Pork Board
President Karen Richter and Kate
Great American Bake Sale Presented by
PARADE Magazine and Share Our Strength
Green Mill
Canadian Pacific Railway Holiday Train
Honeysuckle White More to Share
Hormel Hunger Walk
Macy’s Thanks for Sharing
Taste of the NFL
UPN 29 Charity of the Month
Sponsored by the Minnesota Pork Board
Vikings Food Drive
Whole Foods and St. Paul Saints
Twelve Baskets Food Rescue Driver
Dean Rockney delivering
donated Honeysuckle White
Turkeys to Boys and Girls Club
Branch Director Andrew Jones
Thank you to all of these and the month other
organizations that held Food and Fund Drives see last page.
Second Harvest Heartland Calendar of Events
March:
April 15:
May 14:
June 7:
Minnesota FoodShare Month
DISH, see front page for more information
National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive
place a non-perishable food donation by your mailbox and your letter carrier
will deliver it to a hunger-relief organization in your area
National Hunger Awareness Day, see One Big Table Potluck
article on page 3 to see how you can help
Inside the Heartland
7
Food and Fund Drives (November-January)
3MŠ701 Executive SuitesŠAccentureŠAffinity PlusŠAlina Medical TransportationŠAllina Hospitals & ClinicsŠAmcom SoftwareŠAmerican Family
InsuranceŠAmeriprideŠArena 5KŠArizant Healthcare, Inc. ŠAssociated BankŠAssociation for Facilities Engineering, Twin Cities Chapter 13
ŠAugsburg CollegeŠB96 RadioŠBaby GrandŠBattle Creek Middle SchoolŠBest BuyŠBottineau ParkŠBrave New WorkshopŠ Cannon Technologies,
Inc.ŠCatch A TanŠCatcoŠChristmas CocktailsŠCIGNAŠ CiscoŠCity/County Credit UnionŠCMR MarxŠComo Park Animal Hospital and Bird
ClinicŠCooks of Crocus HillŠCore SourceŠCPP North AmericaŠCray, Inc.ŠCrown Iron WorksŠCub FoodsŠDelta DentalŠDeluxe
CorporationŠDepartment of EducationŠDisability Determination ServicesŠDrake ChiropracticŠE.D. Williams ElementaryŠeFundsŠFair
IsaacŠFiduciary Counseling Inc.ŠFinancial Planning Assoc. of Minnesota ŠFindLawŠFirst Evangelical Free ChurchŠFirst Minnesota BankŠFirst
National Book Bank ŠFirstmark ServicesŠFred Shetka & Associates, Inc.ŠFree Range Pickin'ŠGMAC-RFCŠGold'n TreasuresŠGrand MarcŠGrand
Ole Creamery ŠGrand PhotoŠGrand Salon and GalleryŠGrandview TheatreŠGreat Waters BreweryŠGuy Carpenter & Co.ŠHansen, Jergenson,
Nergaard & Co.ŠHard Rock CaféŠHealth PartnersŠHealthEastŠHealthPartners Central LabŠHoliday TrainŠ Holy SpiritŠHouse of BreadŠJass
Secretarial ServiceŠLinder's GreenhouseŠMarshall FieldsŠMcKesson CorporationŠMDA Leadership ConsultingŠMetro DentalŠMinneapolis
Community & Technical CollegeŠMinneapolis Convention CenterŠMinnesota Department of Employment & Economic DevelopmentŠMinnesota
Department of HealthŠMinnesota Department of TransportationŠMinnesota Department of Transportation - Metro District EmployeesŠMinnesota
Diversified IndustriesŠMinnesota House of RepresentativesŠMinnesota LotteryŠMinnesota Pollution Control AgencyŠMinnesota School of
BusinessŠ Minnesota VikingsŠMinnesota West Coast Swing Dance ClubŠMounds Park AcademyŠMount Calvary Lutheran ChurchŠMrs. Kelly's
TeaŠMuska LightingŠNational Book WarehouseŠNations Title of MinnesotaŠNextel PartnersŠNorman G Jensen, Inc.ŠNorthern Con-Agg,
Inc.ŠNorthwest Athletic ClubŠPark Dental Grand AvenueŠPavilion TheaterŠPhotographers GuildŠPicturaŠPotbelly'sŠPromo ModelsŠPublic
Housing AgencyŠRed Balloon BookshopŠRed Prairie CorporationŠRegis CorporationŠRhymesayers EntertainmentŠRick Lupient-SaturnŠRJF
AgenciesŠSchwing AmericaŠShort Elliott HendricksonŠSigma Alpha Mu Fraternity at the U of MŠSodexho @ Bethel UniversityŠSorrayah
StudiosŠSweeney ElementaryŠSylvan Learning CenterŠTake-Away Gourmet, Inc.ŠTargetŠTarget FinancialŠTrade WindsŠTransoma Medical,
Inc.ŠTransport America ŠTreadle Yard GoodsŠTunnel of TerrorŠTwin Cities Public TelevisionŠU. S. Bancorp InvestmentsŠUBSŠUltra TanŠUnited
Day SurgeryŠUnited WayŠUnitron HearingŠUniversity of Minnesota: ParkingŠUSE FCUŠValleyfairŠVeritas SoftwareŠVernon MayŠViking Electric
SupplyŠWausau Insurance CompanyŠWaycrosse, Inc.ŠWeber ShandwickŠWhite Bear Lake Fire DepartmentŠWorld Religion Day Sponsored by the
Baha'is of MinneapolisŠWuollet BakeryŠWyStar Retirement ServicesŠZink Whiskers
If you would like more information about holding a food or fund drive, please call Heidi Yankovec at 651.209.7929.
Nonprofit
Organization
US Postage Paid
Second Harvest
Heartland
Inside the Heartland
Winter 2005
Second Harvest Heartland
1140 Gervais Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55109-2042
Phone: 651.484.5117
Toll Free: 888.339.3663
Fax: 651.484.1064
2harvest.org
“Inside the Heartland” is published
for the partners and stakeholders
of Second Harvest Heartland
throughout Minnesota and
western Wisconsin.
Every measure has been taken to
ensure the accuracy of the names
and information printed in this
newsletter. We apologize if we
have overlooked any organization
or individual.
A member of America’s Second Harvest The Nations’ Food Bank Network and United Way