Second Harvest North Florida 1502 Jessie Street Jacksonville, FL 32206 WeNourishHope.org twitter.com/wenourishhope facebook.com/wenourishhope
Fighting poor nutrition in food deserts Here’s a geography lesson that you probably didn’t learn in high school – the existence of food deserts in the United States.
“We try to make the people we serve feel welcome. Especially the children.”
Food deserts are neighborhoods all over the country and right here in our north Florida communities that lack full service grocery stores or produce stands. Families living in food deserts would have to travel significant distances to find fresh food. Instead, they pay exorbitant prices for food in convenience stores and eat the unhealthy fast food that is readily available in their neighborhoods. This lack of access to affordable, nutritious foods results in poor diets and poor health. It also means that the people who need to stretch their food dollars most have the most trouble doing so. To help our member agencies feed hungry neighbors living in food deserts, we have created a Mobile Pantry program. Our new mobile pantry truck is equipped with refrigerated and freezer compartments, enabling us to deliver fresh produce and frozen poultry and meat along with canned and boxed food items. It’s literally a produce stand and food pantry on wheels! Our ability to deliver fresh produce and protein will help provide healthier meals to families who need it most. Each mobile pantry features a truckload of food that can feed between 200 and 250 families. “Getting fresh vegetables, fruits, bread, yogurt and poultry has forced me to learn to cook again!” jokes Denise Huger, a recipient of food at New Mt. Zion
Church’s weekly distributions. “But seriously, I’ve lost 12 pounds since I started getting this fresh food and just last Wednesday my doctor told me my hemoglobin has dropped three points so he took me off my diabetes medication! Second Harvest is truly a blessing!” “The need just keeps growing,” said Pastor Gene Dillon of New Mt. Zion Church. “Last month we fed 2,614 people. A year ago we fed about 500 people in the same month. Without Second Harvest our small congregation could not support this ministry which has become so vital in our community.” Last year, more than 61,000 families benefitted from healthier food as a result of our mobile pantry program. In 2012, we intend to more than double that number to meet the growing need in our community. Our new mobile pantry truck will enable us to target two distributions every day, Monday through Friday. We will provide enough food for 7,000 meals at each distribution – that’s more than 3.5 million meals for families who otherwise had few healthy options for eating.
E STRUGGLE TO MAKE ENDS MEET. I TRY TO FEED MY KIDS FIRST AND ME LAST.” “I WORK WITH CLIENTS WHO DO NOT ALWAYS HAVE ENOUGH FOOD TO EAT. THEY ARE CHILDREN AND MANY TIMES THEY CAN N NCENTRATE ON THEIR STUDIES, BECAUSE THEIR PARENTS DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH FOOD IN THE HOME.” “IT DOESN’T HAPPEN OFTEN [THAT WE HAVE TO USE THE FOOD BANK], ONLY WHEN WORK SLOWS DOW E DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO AVOID IT.” “WE STRUGGLE TO MAKE ENDS MEET. I TRY TO FEED MY KIDS FIRST AND ME LAST.” “I WORK WITH CLIENTS WHO DO NOT ALWAYS HAVE ENOUGH FOOD TO EAT. THEY A ILDREN AND MANY TIMES THEY CAN NOT CONCENTRATE ON THEIR STUDIES, BECAUSE THEIR PARENTS DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH FOOD IN THE HOME. “IT DOESN’T HAPPEN OFTEN [THAT WE HAVE TO USE THE FOO NK], ONLY WHEN WORK SLOWS DOWN. WE DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO AVOID IT.” “EVERY MONTH A CHURCH, AFFILIATED WITH YOU ALL, BRINGS ME PLENTY OF FOOD. I COULD NEVER SHOW HOW MUCH IT
Providing relief to a community coping with poor water We think of unclean water as a problem in developing countries, not something that people in our own state have to cope with. But that is exactly what’s happening in the local community of Mondex. Residents who live in the six square miles that make up this rural neighborhood near Bunnell rely on private wells for their water. A shift in the water table has made their water unsafe for drinking and cooking. “The water has such high iron content that it’s turning people’s hair orange,” said Pastor Charles Silano of Grace Tabernacle Ministries. Pastor Silano, whose ministry runs a food pantry to serve the hungry in Flagler County, approached Second Harvest about the situation and we responded to the crisis to provide immediate relief. On Dec. 21, we delivered 72,576 bottles of water to the community center in Mondex where residents lined up to receive a precious supply of clean water. We will continue delivering water until a total of 362,880 bottles have been delivered. “People here can’t afford expensive filtration systems to clean the water for their homes,” said Doug Baxter, president of the Flagler
County Chamber of Commerce. “The county is working on the problem but funding is an issue and no quick solution is in sight.” “We know this is a short-term solution to a crisis situation,” said Pastor Silano. “But for the people who live here, it is truly a blessing and a reminder that there are folks who care.”
Mobile pantry sponsorship challenge promotes teamwork in service to others If you are looking for a unique and meaningful philanthropic experience, then challenge your company, community organization, faith-based institution or your friends and family to sponsor a mobile pantry distribution! Raise $1,000 to sponsor a distribution of food for 7,000 meals and we’ll create an event for your group to work with one of our member agencies to help hand out the food to families in need. The mobile pantry sponsorship challenge can be a great corporate team building experience that will inspire employees to work together towards a goal and build stronger working relationships in the course of helping the community. If you belong to a civic group or a faithbased institution that is looking for ways to help people who have
been hit hard by the recession, the mobile pantry challenge is simple and turnkey. Or if you want to rally friends and family to spend a day together that you will never forget, create your own fundraising event and meet the challenge! A mobile pantry sponsorship is an exceptional win-win opportunity! It is truly both a meaningful experience for the sponsors and a blessing for those struggling families who receive the food. If you are interested in learning more about the challenge, please call Toni Williams at 904-517-5560 or twilliams@wenourishhope.org.
E STRUGGLE TO MAKE ENDS MEET. I TRY TO FEED MY KIDS FIRST AND ME LAST.” “I WORK WITH CLIENTS WHO DO NOT ALWAYS HAVE ENOUGH FOOD TO EAT. THEY ARE CHILDREN AND MANY TIMES THEY CAN N NCENTRATE ON THEIR STUDIES, BECAUSE THEIR PARENTS DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH FOOD IN THE HOME.” “IT DOESN’T HAPPEN OFTEN [THAT WE HAVE TO USE THE FOOD BANK], ONLY WHEN WORK SLOWS DOW E DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO AVOID IT.” “WE STRUGGLE TO MAKE ENDS MEET. I TRY TO FEED MY KIDS FIRST AND ME LAST.” “I WORK WITH CLIENTS WHO DO NOT ALWAYS HAVE ENOUGH FOOD TO EAT. THEY A ILDREN AND MANY TIMES THEY CAN NOT CONCENTRATE ON THEIR STUDIES, BECAUSE THEIR PARENTS DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH FOOD IN THE HOME. “IT DOESN’T HAPPEN OFTEN [THAT WE HAVE TO USE THE FOO NK], ONLY WHEN WORK SLOWS DOWN. WE DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO AVOID IT.” “EVERY MONTH A CHURCH, AFFILIATED WITH YOU ALL, BRINGS ME PLENTY OF FOOD. I COULD NEVER SHOW HOW MUCH IT