Inside the Heartland - Second Harvest Heartland

Inside the Heartland
A Publication of Second Harvest Heartland
Winter 2006
Minnesota Families Face a Tough Choice –
Heat or Eat
b
Bishop Peter Rogness
F
or most of us who live through Minnesota winters, the news that heating costs will jump brings a groan.
The winter heating bills will take a bigger bite than before and we’ll have to scramble to cover them. Maybe
put something off a few weeks or splurge less often.
But for some, it’s far more traumatic. Put yourself in a lower income bracket and suddenly there are no splurges to
do without and nothing to put off for a couple of weeks - unless it's groceries. If rent and heat take up virtually all
of a person's meager income, "heat or eat" is not a catchy phrase; it's a cruel and real life choice.
The mission of Second
Harvest Heartland is
to fight hunger
through community
partnerships.
If a child or a parent of ours found themselves in that circumstance, we would move quickly to get them fed. If we lived in a small village, neighbors would bring over a hot dish or chop
some wood. Our basic human values of compassion and charity—values arising out of all
faith traditions—would give us no choice!
But we live in a large, complex society, and most of us live with people in our own social strata.
We don’t see the poor child, sister and parent. Yet this winter thousands of them will face this
very cruel choice—heat or eat—and we as a compassionate society ought not let that happen!
Continued on page 2...
Partnerships: The Housewarming Project
Second Harvest Heartland has teamed up with Twin Cities
Habitat for Humanity in an innovative pilot program. Our
Housewarming Project provides low-income Habitat homeowners with a variety of household supplies, staple foods and available
fruits and vegetables to stock the empty fridges and cupboards of
their new Habitat home.
Anyone who has purchased a house can attest to the unexpected
expenses involved in furnishing and moving into a new home.
Expenses which often exhaust limited resources. With the supplies
provided through the Housewarming Project, new homeowners
receive four forty-pound boxes of food and household items valued at more than $300. "Food and shelter go hand in hand as our
most basic needs," said Jane Brown, Executive Director of Second
Harvest Heartland. "We are thrilled to be able to help in this small
way as hard-working families take possession of their new homes."
In the year before purchasing a home, Habitat families must save
for a down payment and closing costs, learn about home maintenance, insurance and property taxes and perform 300-500 hours
of “sweat equity” alongside
Habitat volunteers. “The median salary of a Habitat family is
around $27,500,” explained
Susan Haigh, President of Twin
Cities Habitat for Humanity.
“There is no commercial mortgage product for people in that
income category, so families
turn to Habitat.”
This spring, Lillian, a working,
Lillian and Caitlin Mosman, a
single mother of three children
Homebuyer Assistant, looking at
who also has temporary cusHabitat home plans.
tody of two nieces and a
nephew, will become a Habitat homeowner. Currently, they all live
in a two-bedroom apartment. Lillian looks forward to her rehabilitated, four-bedroom home, where everyone will have some space
to call their own. Despite working full-time, raising six children
Continued on page 2...
Inside the Heartland
1
Second Harvest Heartland to Determine the Need
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that up to one-fifth of America’s food is wasted. While America
throws away the equivalent of 130 pounds of food per person annually; domestic hunger is on the rise.
In November 2005, the USDA reported that an estimated 38 million Americans
– including 13 million children - are food insecure, an increase of 2 million people from 2003 to 2004. In that same time period, Minnesota experienced an 11.8%
increase in the need for emergency food.
Food banks, like Second Harvest Heartland, are part of the solution. The annual
value of food that is wasted is estimated at around $31 billion. John Arnold,
Executive Director of the Second Harvest Gleaners Food Bank of West Michigan,
said, “…food bank food really is the only thing out there that appears to have the
capacity of driving the cost of meeting the need down low enough to be something
that communities can actually afford to do.” Every dollar that Second Harvest
Heartland receives allows distribution of about $9 worth of food.
Second Harvest Heartland distributes about 30 million pounds of food annually
to 800 agencies in metro, suburban and rural communities in 59 counties of
Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Thirty million pounds is a lot of food, but it
is not enough to meet the need.
Second Harvest Heartland is scheduled to break ground
on a 6,800 square foot freezer/cooler expansion this spring.
Once completed, our Distribution Center will be able to
receive and distribute an additional 700 pallets of food.
To find out how much is enough, Second Harvest Heartland is conducting a gap analysis to identify the total amount of food needed
to provide emergency help to the estimated 306,000 hungry and food-insecure people living in our service area.
“Once we identify underserved areas,” said Jane Brown, Executive Director of Second Harvest Heartland, “we will work with member
agencies and community partners to acquire more resources to distribute sufficient amounts of food.” Potential strategies include identifying additional food shelves in rural areas, expanding the freezer/cooler capacity of our member agencies and increasing the amount
of food donations Second Harvest Heartland is able to receive and distribute.
35% of the clients served by Second Harvest
Heartland’s member agencies report having
to choose between paying for food and paying
for utilities or heating fuel.
— Hunger in America 2005, Second Harvest Heartland
Heat or Eat
Continued from Page 1
Regardless of one’s political philosophy, basic human compassion demands that we use every means we can to eliminate this choice. Government programs must step up, private businesses and agencies must adjust policies, personal
generosity must flow to those in need.
In the Saint Paul Area Synod where I serve, one facet of
our mission is to work to see that no one is forced to live
in poverty. In 2004, dozens of leaders of religious bodies
in Minnesota signed A Common Foundation declaring that it
is a fundamental value and right of every person to have
their basic needs met. Minnesota has long prided itself on
being a state that finds ways to care for all people.
The dilemma that faces those who live in poverty this season
is a challenge to all of us, to our values and to our tradition.
Bishop Peter Rogness, Saint Paul Area Synod,
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
2
To find out more about alleviating hunger in your community, log onto
www.2harvest.org.
Hurricane Relief and Recovery Update:
In addition to helping fight hunger in our 59 county service area, last fall
many donors requested that their contributions aid victims of Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita. To date, these donations have helped Second Harvest
Heartland send 524,000 pounds of needed grocery supplies to Louisiana
and Mississippi. Additionally, these funds covered the expenses for Food
Bank Director, John Livingston, to travel to Louisiana for two 2-week
stints at the request of America's Second Harvest. John worked alongside
the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army and FEMA to source and
distribute millions of pounds of urgently needed food and grocery products to the victims in southern Louisiana. Our deep appreciation goes to
our generous donors who made this disaster relief possible and also to our
many donors who have helped us continue to fight hunger locally.
The Housewarming Project
Continued from Page 1
and recovering from a knee injury, Lillian will soon complete her
sweat equity hours. "If you want it bad enough, you'll find a way,
using vacation hours, using whatever you've got."
The Housewarming Project is expected to serve 60 Habitat families in its pilot year. Second Harvest Heartland looks forward to
many years of partnership with Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity
and families like Lillian’s.
Inside the Heartland
Donations:
Giving Comes in Many Different Forms
Events and Fundraisers held for Second Harvest Heartland
The 2005 Hormel
Hunger Walk
raised over
$100,000 for the six
America’s Second
Harvest food banks
serving Minnesota.
The annual event
takes place on
Thanksgiving
morning at the
Mall of America.
The concert series sponsored
by Blue Cross and Blue Shield
of Minnesota significantly
increased seasonal donations. Contributions at the various concerts, online
and by mail totaled $191,000. Additionally, Blue Cross matched each
dollar up to $25,000 for a full amount of $216,000.
Thanks to everyone who gave so generously.
Donor Highlights:
The 2005 holiday season was made brighter for many Minnesota families due to the generosity of our donors. In particular, we would like to
thank Target and Target
Technology Services for purchasing and assembling 1,000 holiday
meal bags, Cub Foods and their
Amport Foods
customers for donating 1,600
Beumer Properties
turkeys and Cargill employees for
Famous Dave’s Corporate Kitchen
providing 130 turkey certificates.
Waymouth Farms
New Donors
November - January Events
and Fundraisers:
Butterball
Stuck on the Truck B96 Food Drive
Northwest Athletic Club Arena 5K
Hormel Hunger Walk
Cub Foods Buy a Turkey, Give a Turkey
Canadian Pacific Railway Holiday Train
Tom Hunter Benefit CD Release Parties
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Concert Series
Rock for Rolls Drive105 Food Drive
Cub Foods and Minnesota Wild in the Aisles
White Castle Cookies for Charity
United Way Emerging Leaders Food Drive and Celebration
Vintner Ball
Food and Fund Drives
Between October - December - 240 food and fund drives were held in
support of Second Harvest Heartland. They raised $62,082 and
donated 91,255 pounds of food. Emergency food providers throughout
our 59 county service area thank you, and so do we.
Folk singer, John Gorka, and
Second Harvest Heartland’s
Executive Director, Jane Brown,
promoting the Canadian Pacific
Railway Holiday Train. Event
attendees contributed $6,740 and
2,578 pounds of food in addition
to the $10,000 donation from
Canadian Pacific Railway.
Food Bank Director, John
Livingston, addressing the
crowd gathered at the
Midway Cub Foods in St
Paul for Wild in the Aisles.
Minnesota Wild goalie,
Dwayne Roloson, and
defenseman, Nick Shultz,
competed to collect the most food from the store’s aisles. Team
Roloson won the contest, but Second Harvest Heartland benefited
from both teams’ efforts with a grocery donation worth $5,320.
Second Harvest Heartland has an annual operating budget of $6.2 million, which covers expenses incurred for: receiving and distributing about 30 million pounds of
perishable and non-perishable food; transportation costs; community programs; advocacy; our purchase program which supplements donated food; and the
administrative costs to support these efforts. We are indebted to the individual, foundation and corporate contributions that allow us to serve our mission – to fight
hunger through community partnerships. Sincere thanks to all of our partners.
Inside the Heartland
3
Inside: Second Harvest Heartland partners
with Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity.
Nonprofit
Organization
US Postage Paid
Second Harvest
Heartland
CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED
Inside the Heartland
Winter 2006
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
Tickets On Sale Now for the
Fl
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presented by
February 22 | Metropolitan Ballroom & Clubroom
5:30–9 p.m. | 6:30 p.m. awards presentation
Enjoy food and wine tasting | See the 2006 restaurant winners unveiled
Silent auction to benefit Second Harvest Heartland | Cash bar
A Benefit Serving Up Gourmet Fare for Hunger Relief
Gourmet Samplings Wine Tasting Live/Silent Auctions
Radisson Riverfront Hotel
To purchase tickets call 651.209.7994
or go to www.2harvest.org
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’ Genevieve
Mpls.St.Paul
Magazine’s Best D
Mpls.St.Paul Magazine’s Best DIY Pinup!
11 East Kellogg Boulevard Saint Paul, Minnesota
Thursday, April 27, 2006 6:00-10:00pm
Call 651.209.7994 or visit www.2harvest.org
$60 per person or $600 per reserved table of 10
2006 Get In Gear
All proceeds benefit:
10k Run/Walk, 5k Run/Walk & 2k Fun Run
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Sponsored By:
Get in Gear and Second Harvest Heartland are
partnering to fight child hunger.
Get in Gear will match donations up to $10,000.
www.getingear10k.com