Foodbank FOCUS Spring 2012

SPRING 2012

DID YOU KNOW? 1 in 4 kids in our area is at risk of hunger.

THE FOODBANK

FOCUS

A publication of the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank

Serving Carroll, Holmes, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, Tuscarawas & Wayne Counties

You are giving new hope

350 Opportunity Parkway Akron, OH 44307-2234 main: 330.535.6900 fax: 330.996.5337 akroncantonfoodbank.org BOARD OF DIRECTORS George Sarkis, Chairman Richard Wilson, Vice Chairman Patricia Gibbs, Treasurer Mark Purtilar, Secretary Shelly Allio Robert Bender Chris Coughlin James Deluca Michael J. Dowling Lia Easler Kristin Hannon Suzanne Hobson Michael Lapides Michael Moldvay Pamela Simpson Bernett Williams Jan Wojno Daniel R. Flowers PRESIDENT & CEO

The air is fresh. Plants are stirring from their winter slumber, and new life is all around us.

Mary, a grandmother of six, originally from Cleveland, finds herself optimistic of what this new season will bring her.

Mary shared that at that moment she felt very scared and helpless. She turned to a friend for immediate comfort, but later reached out to local agencies for clothes, food and guidance on how to rebuild her life.

By looking at Mary in her white blazer and pearls you would not believe the difficult times she has endured this past year. Mary suffers from severe osteoporosis and osteoarthritis that has left her dependent on a motorized chair and no longer able to work. One year ago, Mary and her husband, who were separated, came to Canton to look at an apartment for Mary. While she was touring the apartment, her husband drove away and abandoned her. He disappeared, leaving Mary without her chair, any money, food or a place to stay.

Thankfully, Refuge of Hope, an agency that receives food from the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, was there to help Mary in her time of need. Daily meal services helped Mary regain her strength and positive attitude. Mary said, “This place is a lifesaver for me. I don’t know what I would do without it.”

Spring is a season of change and a time of renewed hope. Because of your generosity, today, Mary is brimming with confidence and hope, embracing the many possibilities of her new life.

CORPORATE & FOUNDATION GIFTS Akron Children’s Hospital Employee Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,795 American Assn. Of Healthcare Administrative Mgmt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,322 Ameriprise Financial Services . . . . . . $5,000 Anonymous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $35,000

Sourcing & distributing more fresh produce The Foodbank is doing more to address

want them to have access to the most

hunger and malnutrition in our community

nutritious food possible,” said Dan Flow-

and is committed to increasing the amount

ers, President and CEO of the Foodbank.

of free, fresh produce distributed to member agencies and those struggling with hunger. As a part of this commitment, the Foodbank has established

show that growing children need a balance of vitamins and minerals for cognitive and behavioral

distributing five million pounds of fresh produce

Applied Vision Services Corporation $1,000

by the end of the year,

Belden Brick Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,000

an additional one million pounds over 2011.

Catholic Health Partners . . . . . . . . . $10,000

To accomplish this ambi-

Charles E. & Mabel M. Ritchie Memorial Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6,000

tious goal, the Foodbank will

Deerfield Farms Service, Inc. . . . . . . . $2,000

sourced from the USDA and Ohio

Diebold Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000

Agriculture Program as well as accessing

Dominion East Ohio Foundation . . . $5,000

taining good health. Studies

a goal of sourcing and

Applebee’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6,635

Bemis Company Foundation . . . . . . $5,000

Access to nutritious foods is vital in main-

increase the amount of produce

fresh produce through Feeding America

development. As the Foodbank embarks on this new strategic initiative and places a strong emphasis on sourcing and distributing fresh, nutritious produce, we are dedicated to being a reliable source of healthy foods for families at risk of hunger.

The Foodbank would not be able to continue

and purchasing it from local farmers.

this critical work and provide nutritious foods

Haslinger Family Foundation . . . . . $25,800

“Our goal is ensure no one in our com-

food and fund donations are leading the ef-

Herbert A. and Jean S. Jones Charitable Trust Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,000

munity goes hungry, but ultimately, we

forts to creating a hunger-free community.

George H. Deuble Foundation . . . . . . $8,600

Interim Healthcare Fund of The Columbus Foundation . . . . . . . . . $2,000 John W. and Juanita E. Sanders Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,000 Knezevich & Foerster LLC . . . . . . . . . . $1,000 Kokosing Materials, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,840 Kovatch Castings, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,000 Laura R. & Lucian Q. Moffitt Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,000 Lloyd L. and Louise K. Smith Memorial Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,000

without the support of our community. Your

It’s easy to Stamp Out Hunger On Saturday, May 12th, the Foodbank will join services with the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) and the Campbell Soup Company to Stamp Out Hunger. Now in its 20th year, the Stamp Out Hunger effort is the nation’s largest single-day food drive, with more than one billion pounds of food donated since its inception in 1993. Simply leave donations of non-perishable food items next to your mailbox before the time of your regular mail delivery. Your letter carrier will do the rest, collecting the donations and delivering them to the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank.

Medical Physics, Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,200 Ohio Health Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,000 Sequoia Financial Group, LLC . . . $20,000 Sheehan Family Charitable Fund in Stark Community Foundation . . . . $1,000 Sisters of Charity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,000 Taylor Tele-Communications, Inc. . . . $1,000 The Ahmed Family Charitable Fund . $1,000 The Bruce and Erica Greer Family Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,000 The J.M. Smucker Company . . . . . . $35,000 The Pastore Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 The Robert O. and Annamae Orr Family Foundation . . . . . . . . . . $30,000 The Sterling Family Foundation . . . . $5,000 W. Paul & Thora J. Mills Memorial Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6,000 Wagler Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,000 Walmart Store Community Grants . $13,354 WEWS NewsChannel5 and the Scripps Howard Foundation . . . . . . . $8,000

Be an advocate As an advocate, you can play a significant role in our mission to Feed People and Fight Hunger.

Please visit our website and click on the “Get Involved” tab to sign up for the Advocacy Network. The need for advocacy is great and the time to take action is now. As an advocate, you will receive special alerts when grassroots action is needed to: • • • • •

Contact legislators regarding important hunger and poverty-related issues Spread the word through social media and face-to-face contact Participate in special events with other Foodbank advocates Attend an event, rally or townhall meeting Recruit new members or volunteers

Frosty key tags support the Foodbank The Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank is receiving a donation from proceeds of the recent sales of Frosty Key Tags at local Wendy’s restaurants in the Akron area as well as Portage and Stark County. We are grateful to have the support of local Wendy’s franchise, AKWEN, LTD., to help in the fight to end hunger in our community. Show your key tag every time you order and get one FREE Jr. Frosty per transaction, per visit with any purchase through 8/31/2012.

Wrapping up Harvest for Hunger Hunger is closer than you think, but your support of the Harvest for Hunger campaign moves us closer to a solution. Finishing up its 21st year of fighting hunger in Northeast Ohio, the Harvest for Hunger Campaign continues to be one of the largest food and funds drives in the country. The AkronCanton Regional Foodbank is one of four food banks that hosts the 21-county drive every spring. This year, more than 350 local businesses, schools, churches and other organizations joined the cause by hosting individual food and funds drives to benefit the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank.

You and other events held within businesses and organizations. One-hundred percent of all Harvest for Hunger donations are used for programs and services that specifically provide food at no cost to those in need!

Thank you to everyone who had a hand in this year’s Harvest for Hunger Campaign, including our generous campaign partners: • Akron Beacon Journal • Akron Civic Theatre • Buehler’s Fresh Foods • Dave’s Supermarkets • FirstMerit Bank

The Foodbank was honored to have two respected local leaders from the health care industry who are committed to the well-being of our community as Harvest for Hunger Campaign CoChairs. William H. Considine, President & CEO of Akron Children’s Hospital and Edward J. Roth III, President & CEO of Aultman Health Foundation led the Campaign, helping the Foodbank meet its goal to raise $865,000 for local individuals and families facing hunger.

Throughout the Campaign several events took place to raise much needed food and funds. Thank you to all who participated in the Harvest for Hunger Celebrity Bagger event, Harvest for Hunger Idol, Soup For

WE NEED YOUR HELP THIS SPRING

• Fishers Foods • Giant Eagle • Glenmoor Country Club • Heinen’s Fine Foods • The Independent • Newspaper in Education • The Repository • Stark Area Regional Transit Authority • The Suburbanite • The Times-Reporter • UFCW Local 880 • United Way of Summit County • Wendy’s

Akron Area Interfaith Council Walk To Stop Hunger May 6 Harvest for Hunger Wrap Up Celebration May 18, 2:00 pm Stamp Out Hunger May 12 AIA Akron CANstruction Display June 1 - 30

• WHLO 640 News • WHOF My 101.7 • WKDD 98.1 • WRQK 106.9

CORE Young Professionals Event June 21 Plant a Row for the Hungry through September 31 For event details, visit akroncantonfoodbank.org

Plant a Row For The Hungry

SAVE THE DATE

Do you plant a garden or have a farm? When gardening, you often end up growing more items than you can use, so rather than letting this surplus go to waste, why not share it with those in need? Through our Plant a Row for the Hungry program, you can help individuals in your neighborhood struggling with hunger by donating your excess harvest to the Foodbank. Last year, local gardeners donated 16,844 pounds of fresh, nutritious produce.

Participating in the program is simple. Take your donation to any of several drop-off sites from June 1 until September 31.

Visit akroncantonfoodbank.org/plant-a-row.aspx for a list of sites.

09.18.12

INTRODUCING THE AKRON-CANTON REGIONAL FOODBANK’S NEW GROUP FOR YOUNG PROFESSIONALS

Young Professionals.

Making connections. Making a difference.

Join CORE in 2012 for three

CORE is made up of motivated, energetic

Volunteer projects may include

volunteer projects followed by an

young professionals interested in growing

sorting, inspecting and repacking

opportunity to network and learn

their professional network while actively

various food items in our warehouse

about the Foodbank. Snacks and

giving back to the community in which

as well as calling and writing to

drinks will be provided by our

they live or work by helping feed the

thank our donors. Close-toed shoes

generous 2012 series sponsor.

hungry in our area.

are required in the warehouse.

PLEASE JOIN U S IN 2 01 2 JUN

AUG

NOV

21 7 8

VOLUNTEER 4:30 - 6 PM • NETWORK 6 - 7 PM 350 OPPORTUNITY PKWY • AKRON, OH 44307 Learn more or RSVP online at akroncantonfoodbank.org/core.aspx.

Flagpole dedicated to long-time Foodbanker On February 23, 2012, the Foodbank honored

Once Clark returned from combat, he

Clark C. Bennett for his service to our country

began a career at Firestone Tire Company,

and our community. At the age of 18, Clark

where he worked for forty years. After

registered for the draft and was sent to

retiring from Firestone, he began a new

Fort Laudin in Seattle, Washington for basic

journey in 1986 with the Akron-Canton

training. After completing basic training, he

Regional Foodbank. Twenty-six years later,

was deployed to North Africa, then sent to

Clark is the senior-most employee at the

India for assignment. Clark served in WWII

Foodbank, and the only employee who has

and the Korean War, where he was a Front

worked at all three Foodbank locations.

Line Machine Gunner. He also spent time in Germany and Japan before his return to the

Clark is a part of the history of our

United States. In 1951, Clark was assigned to

organization. His contributions to

the Presidential Honor Guard in Washington

our country and this Foodbank are an

DC, and on many occasions met President

inspiration to all of us. We are proud to

Eisenhower. Later, he was again deployed to

celebrate what Clark has accomplished

North Korea until his final return to the U.S.

and dedicate the flagpole in his honor.

If you know anyone who might be interested in receiving this newsletter, or if you would like to be removed from this mailing list, please contact the Marketing Department at info@acrfb.org or 330.535.6900. Thank you for joining the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank in the fight to end hunger.