COMMUNITY NEWS
Second Harvest Holiday Drive: More than 5 Million Meals!
F
acing a second year of pandemic upheaval, Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County surpassed its goal of raising enough money during its Holiday Food & Fund Drive to deliver 5 million meals to those in need. On March 3, its first in-person indoor event in more than two years, the 50-year-old food bank announced that the community raised the equivalent of 5,025,166 healthy meals. The campaign ran from Nov. 4, 2021, to Jan. 15, aiming to meet a need for food that had doubled in the pandemic from 55,000 to 110,000 people a month. Each dollar helps Second Harvest deliver four meals. Recognized local businesses include Martinelli’s, Fleet Feet, SUP Shack., Santa Cruz County Bank and Universal Audio. S. Martinelli & Co., which makes the Gold Medal apple juice in Watsonville, made a company record-setting donation: Nearly 87,000 meals. “I’m extremely proud of the Martinelli’s team for embracing this campaign
which are 100% juice made from U.S. grown fresh apples without added sweeteners or chemical preservatives. “The Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County relies on the generous and ongoing support of our corporate partners, like Martinelli’s,” said Richelle Noroyan, corporate and community relations director, Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County. Big Step anta Cruz County Bank won the Big Step Award, collecting the equivalent of 32,060 healthy meals — an increase of 12,000 over the prior year, thanks to the generosity of its customers, employees, and Board of Directors. “We’ve been acutely aware of the extraordinary need for support, heightened and amplified by the pandemic,” said Krista Snelling, Santa Cruz County Bank president and CEO. “We’re so grateful to be part of this hugely successful campaign to fight food insecurity. Our entire community stepped up!”
S At the start of Fleet Feet Aptos’ Run for Pie 5K on Thanksgiving, everyone is trying to catch the turkey. and setting a donation record,” said Gun Ruder, president and CEO of S. Martinelli & Co. “We are committed to doing all that we can to provide nourishment to those who need it most.”
The company sponsors the eyecatching Second Harvest trucks that deliver food to its partners. Throughout the year, Martinelli’s donates its award-winning juices and sparkling ciders,
“5 Million Meals” page 15
www.tpgonlinedaily.com Aptos Times / March 15th 2022 / 11
