SECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK OF EAST CENTRAL INDIANA PROFESSIONAL
Where does the food come from? Second Harvest is a member of Feeding America, the largest domestic hunger-relief organization in the United States and this allows national access to donated product, professional resources and a network of other like-minded organizations. Volunteers bagging potatoes at the Second Harvest warehouse “We need a few groups to work a few hours once a month so relationships will grow and kids will be in a better place because of it.” Kean said “this is a great opportunity for a church to ‘adopt’ a school and supply the volunteer needs on a regular basis.” He noted that volunteers are needed to support existing pantries and expand into more schools.
Volunteers are very important to the operation of school based pantries, according to Tim Kean, president and CEO at Second Harvest. Slide from a presentation given at the 2017 Blackford County Fill a Bowl Community Luncheon. In Delaware County, pantries are operating at Southside Middle School, Grissom Elementary School, East Washington Academy and Southview Elementary School. The School Pantry programs are designed to distribute enough food to fill a family’s food insecurity gap for a week. “That ongoing dialogue serves to promote and strengthen relationships between the school and the families.” “Our goal with the School Pantry program is to provide families in need a safe and convenient school environment to access food.” She noted that this helps raise parent engagement because it gets the parents into the schools for positive interactions over time. During a recent meeting, she highlighted some interesting facts about the organization, stating that “In 2016, Second Harvest provided 7.5 million pounds of food to families in East Central Indiana, and 26 percent was in the form of fresh produce.”Ĭheesman also described how Second Harvest’s 20 school food pantries provide more than food.
Gretchen Cheesman, programs coordinator for Second Harvest, is a participant in the Healthy Community Alliance Nutrition Workgroup. Warehouse at Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana In Delaware County, the food insecurity rate is 17.2 percent, affecting more than 20,000 people. According to information provided by Second Harvest, 1 in 7 adults and 1 in 5 children in Blackford County are considered to be food insecure, meaning that a family does not have enough food to provide the amount of food needed for every meal during the week. Its service area includes Delaware and Blackford counties as well as Grant, Henry, Jay, Madison, Wabash and Randolph counties. Second Harvest joined the Healthy Community Alliance of Delaware and Blackford Counties in early 2016. An example is the Poverty Alleviation program which is designed to engage local community members in efforts to increase the economic stability and vitality of struggling households. In addition, Second Harvest collaborates with an extensive group of partners to address the root causes of food insecurity, with the goal of “shortening the line” of those in need. Second Harvest works with partner agencies, local schools, corporate partners and a wide network of volunteers to serve food to hundreds of people each week. The non-profit organization is funded by philanthropic and community support and is devoted to feeding the hungry, advocating for those with food insecurity and providing nutrition education. Muncie – Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana has been fighting hunger since its founding in 1983. Partner Agreement - Healthy Community Alliance.
0 kommentar(er)
